Train of Lights - Niles Canyon Railway Part III

Final thoughts on the Train of Lights:

1 - Bring warm clothes.  The train has a few open-air cars.  Kids LOVE open-air cars...

2 - Bring hot chocolate and snacks.

Note - the Niles Canyon Railway runs weekends year-round.  Check their website for details (see our earlier post).

Train of Lights - Niles Canyon Railway, Part II

We had a great experience on the Niles Canyon Railway.  We arrived just in time to catch the train (which I can't recommend).  Our son had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the Niles station (right near Niles Avenue in Fremont, which is a great neighborhood with lots of shops and a few restaurants).  It took him about 15 minutes to finally wake up; he was happily surprised to find himself already comfortably situated on the train.

The train was full of families, but not packed (perhaps since we were riding the train on the Tuesday after Christmas; the train can get very busy, especially on weekends in December before Christmas).

As we were moving through the Niles Canyon, my wife got up to get some hot cocoa from the food & drink car near the front of the train.  After a few minutes, the train came to a stop.

My wife returned about 5 minutes later.  It turned out that the train had decoupled.  Luckily, she hadn't made it to the hot chocolate and was on our side of the train.  The delay lasted about 20 minutes or so, by which time our son was just starting to get a bit restless.

The rest of the trip (which ended up at just under 2 hours because of the delay) was a mellow, fun ride for all of us.  Our son enjoyed walking through the different types of vintage cars (though we never did make it all the way to the hot chocolate car).

By the end of the ride, it was dark outside.  The Train of Lights is, indeed, a train of lights:

Here's the locomotive:

Santa Fe car:

More lights:

The outside of our car:

Here's where the train decoupled earlier in the afternoon:

 

Train of Lights - Niles Canyon Railway

The Niles Canyon Railway is one of the great hidden gems of the Bay Area.  It describes itself as "a railroad museum where the exhibits come to life," which is entirely accurate.  The Railway operates vintage railroad equipment along the Niles Canyon between Fremont and Sunol.

Each November and December, the Railway operates the Train of Lights.  The old trains are strung with holiday lights on the inside and out.  The trains are full of kids and parents; it is a really great, mellow way to spend a late afternoon with the family over the holidays.  

Two trains operate each night -- one leaves from Niles in Fremont at 4:15pm.  The other leaves from Sunol at 7:15pm (heading in the other direction).  The ride usually lasts around 90 minutes.  This seems to be just about the right amount of time for this sort of thing; by the end of the ride, most kids are ready to get going.  Tickets are $25 (early in the season you can get reserved seating, or even rent out an entire train car/caboose for a private party).

We recommend the 4:15 train out of the Niles station.  You get to enjoy the ride in the daylight, looking at the scenery along the steep Niles Canyon.  You can see the river, the steep hillsides, the old train equipment on parallel tracks, and the equipment yard (which is also the turn-around point for the train).  By the time you get back to the station, it is dark; you can see the amazing lights on the outside of the train.      

Here's a view of our train car:    

Facing the other direction:

Here's a shot of the canyon:

nutcracker shows for children in the San Francisco Bay area

There are several choices for seeing a Nutcracker performance in the San Francisco Bay area.

One performance that I want to see next year is the Dance along Nutcracker, "Clara's Magical Mystery Tour."  The performance occurred December 10th and 11th of 2011.  See sflgfb.townalive.com/dance-along-nutcracker-2011-tickets/.

The San Francisco ballet company was the first ballet company to bring the nutcracker tradition to America.  See www.sfballet.org/tickets/production/overview/nutcracker.

The Children's Creativity Museum in San Francisco has a special 50 minute version of the Nutcracker with live music.  See creativity.org/nutcracker-sweets/  for more information regarding ticket times.  This is the version that I'm looking at taking my three year old son to.  If you participate in the music together program then you are qualified for a discount.

At the Paramount theater the Oakland Ballet presents Graham Lustig's The Nutcracker.  A few of the showtimes also have a party afterwards.  See www.paramounttheatre.com for more information.

Walt Disney Family Museum, Part III

And here's the $3.50 cookie:

And here's a view from the cafe:

Walt Disney Family Museum, Part II

The Presidio in San Francisco is an amazing place.  It has changed dramatically since the end of the Cold War, when it served as an Army Base.

Now, it plays host to Lucasfilm (George Lucas' company, which has its headquarters there).  And it is also the site of the Walt Disney Family Museum, which we discussed in our earlier post.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful buildings that now house the museum:

The Walt Disney Family Museum (for Children)

When I saw my 3 1/2-year-old son at the end of the day today, I noticed that he had a sticker on his shirt from the Walt Disney Family Museum.  I said to him, "Wow!  You went to the Disney Family Museum?  That sounds like so much fun.  Was it great?"

His response:  "No, it wasn't."

"Why?"

"It was REALLY SCARY."  He didn't elaborate and ran off to play with some toys in another room.

I related the story to my wife.  "What happened?" I asked.

Turns out that my wife had wanted to check out the museum for a long time, and they went to the Presidio in San Francisco to check it out.

The entrance fee was $20 per person (kids my son's age were free).  The only thing our son really enjoyed was the gift shop.  They had some great stuff (though a fair amount of breakable stuff, too).  And they have a cafe with treats, etc. (though the cookies were pretty pricey at $3.50 a pop).

The museum really just doesn't seem appropriate for kids until perhaps ages 10 or 11 (depending on the child).  Perhaps not even until middle school.  And even then it will only really appeal to older kids interested in art.

There's no denying that some of Disney's content is just pretty dark.  Death.  Death.  More death and darkness.  Even some of the original models of Mickey Mouse have very creepy expressions.

And one screen looked like a fun cartoon, but switched to images of naked nymphs interspaced with images of Walt Disney.  

Our son was pretty darn freaked.  Bottom line: the guy at the front desk should NOT have said "some kids like it."  These folks should be warning families with youngsters not to bring in the youngsters.

What is appropriate here?  Check out the list of upcoming events for the museum. A few upcoming events look appropriate, even for younger kids.  For example, they have a "Sunday Story Time" on the first Sunday of every month from 3-3:45pm, for children ages 5 to 8.

They definitely have a lot of really interesting exhibits and events for adults.  This would be a REALLY interesting place to visit WITHOUT kids.  Every month they have something going on for people interested in art.  It would also be a great place to go have some coffee and draw or write.

This month, for example, the museum is hosting a "Disney Discoveries" class on December 10th and December 18th, from 1:00PM -3:30PM in the Learning Center Art Studio (A).  The class involves making personalized  snow globes (filled with holiday cheer)!  My wife loved the snow globes in the gift shop and she wishes she could attend this class.

Overall, this museum is really more for adult artists, inspiring artists, those interested in creativity, or those interested in the Disney empire, than the average person or family.  The only child friendly item on the newsletter offerings for December was the storytime once a month and the "Noon Year Eve Celebration" beginning at 10:00AM on Saturday, December 31, 2011.

The write up for the "Noon Year Eve Celebration" says:

"Countdown to Midday - who wants to stay up all night when you can celebrate at noon?  Join us for our very first Noon Year's Eve Celebration.  We will have indoor & outdoor activities including a beach ball bounce.  There is a special showing of 'The Love Bug' in the Theater and you can visit Herbie & friends in front of the Museum.  Enter to win a special screening in our theater for you and your 50 closest friends!  Make your day complete by pre-ordering a 'picnic' lunch served in our Special Exhibition hall at 12:30 pm."

That actually sounds pretty brilliant to us.

Deck the Halls

The San Francisco Symphony is hosting children's holiday shows during the weekend that are worth seeing.  There are two shows on Sunday -- one begins at 11am, and the second concert and show is at 3pm.  They include a post-show party.  For details, check out the Symphony's Deck the Halls page.  The Symphony is a real San Francisco experience; it is approaching its 100th anniversary.  The architecture of the building is amazing; with curved walls and windows, the view from the street is like you're looking at a grand piano.

For reservations call 415-864-6000.

Chanty Singing at Hyde Street Pier

Tonight (October 3), at 8pm -- and every first Saturday of the month -- the Living Museum at Hyde Street Pier (part of the National Park Service) hosts chanty singing.  We've done this before; it is a lot of fun.  It provides a real taste of maritime history, and is fantastic in the atmosphere of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Wear warm clothes -- it is cold on the ship.  Also, bring your own mug (or a to-go cup) if you can -- for hot cider!

Call 415-561-7171 to reserve a spot.  Seewww.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/chantey-sing.htm for more details.