Are you traveling with children?  Do they stink?  It happens.

Why wait until the next hotel to rinse them off?  That body of water you’re passing?  Throw them in it.

It’s like a bath.

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Photo by W. Honea

(photo courtesy of Clayton.com- All other photos by Joe Romano)

I recently introduced you to Clayton, CA, a small town in the shadow of Mt. Diablo. 

After many years of political wrangling, Clayton finally managed to move forward with its plans for The Grove Park, which is now a focal point for many of Clayton’s downtown activities. 

Situated between Main St., Center St. and old Marsh Creek Rd, the park is home to what was once a huge orchard of Eucalyptus trees, referred to by locals simply as “the grove.” As a kid I spent many a 4^th of July in the grove. Residents would gather there after the traditional 4^thof July parade to enjoy barbequed corn-on-the-cob, hot dogs and watermelon. There were greased pole climbing contests and other great activities. Nowadays the grove is home to a local farmers market and some fabulous evening concerts. Saturday night Lisa and I took in local act, Mamaluke. 

Billed as one of “the Bay Area’s premier classic rock dance bands,” Mamaluke was also one of two finalists in KFOX radio’s “Last Band Standing” competition. Adding to their local roots, two members, lead singer Kenny Byers and guitarist Chris Rossi, graduated from Clayton Valley High School. And, to drill-down even further on the local slant, I was in Mr. Almond’s 5^thgrade class with Chris Rossi, and worked at Skipolini’s Pizza with Kenny Byars. Did any of this earn me a guest vocal during last night’s show?  Performance fail! 

Nevertheless, take one warm summer night, mix in a pitcher of sangrias and one of Skipolini’s famous pies, and top off with some great rock and roll; result - a guaranteed great time. All of Clayton’s local eateries literally surround The Grove, and all of them offer food to go. Or you can even save a few bucks and bring your own picnic.

There’s also the Clayton Store on the south end of the park for those last minute snack and beverage purchases. I’d suggest arriving a little early to stake out a nice spot on the lawn. Throw out a blank, have a beverage and a snack, read and enjoy the sunshine before show time. 

The Grove Park also has a playground and plenty of room to run, so Concerts in the Grove is definitely a kid-friendly event.

To check out upcoming concerts, click here –>  Concerts in the Grove – 2009  <— there.

The Grove Park
Main St. and Marsh Creek Rd.
Clayton, CA, 94517

This year, why not take the kids to Santa Barbara Wine Country?

Zoe and me, Los Olivos, just prior to getting my Father of The Year Award

Oh, yeah. Right. There are dozens of reasons why. (“Daddy, what’s a hangover?”) Nevertheless, when we travel northward, we always take a detour when we reach Santa Barbara. For starters, it’s a timesaver: the 101 through Santa Barbara can be one of the slowest stretches of freeway in the state. Traffic can slow to a crawl at any time, and this is never fun after one has spent two hours grinding one’s teeth in the morass of motor vehicles that is the L.A. County freeway system. But! Take the 154 north, through Los Olivos, and you may save some time. You’ll certainly get to see some pretty scenery. And believe it or not, there’s some family-friendly stuff amidst all of the wineries, though you probably won’t meet Paul Giamatti or Thomas Haden-Church.

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We spent most of the recent Memorial Day weekend in the city of Davis, CA, attending the 23^rd Annual Davis World Cup Soccer Tournament, in which my son’s under-12 team was participating.

(davisworldcup.org)

In addition to plentiful fresh air and sunshine, it gave me the opportunity to do a little al fresco blogging, courtesy of my office laptop and a borrowed air card. Never having blogged al fresco before, I found it both invigorating and refreshing.  All I needed was a nice tall cocktail. Unfortunately there were no cocktail waitresses to be found at Sandy Motley Fields, so I had to settle for water and Diet Coke®.  Alas.

The City of Davis website describes Davis as a “university-oriented city with a progressive, vigorous community noted for its small-town style, energy conservation, environmental programs, parks, preservation of trees, red double-decker London buses, bicycles, and the quality of its educational institutions.”

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of college towns, and Davis is a good one.  Located 70-miles Northeast of San Francisco, and 11-miles West of Sacramento, Davis is home to UC Davis, one of the nation’s top universities.  

Like most college towns, Davis boasts its share of great bars and restaurants. On Sunday we lunched at The Graduate (affectionately known as “The Grad”), which is about as college town oriented as you can get. The Grad offers 55 different beers – 50 of them on tap – so you’ll be hard-pressed not to find something to quench your thirst. They also offer a Monday – Friday All-Day-Happy Hour, from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, when all beers, well drinks, ½ liter Long Islands and Smirnoff Cocktails are just $2.79. Oh, and a free Nacho Bar. SCORE!(Wikipedia)

But we were there on a Sunday, so we didn’t score any of that. I did enjoy a ¾ pound Ultimate Burger and fries. It was quite tasty but in hindsight I think my man-sized hunger would have been happier with the ½ pounder. Lisa had the BLT, which came on a Sciambra Sweet Baguette.  I think she enjoyed it. Hold on a second….yes, she did…

The boy, a hot dog freak, had the hot dog, and the girl joined me in bovine delight. Our friends, KC and Jenny went the pizza route, ordering (I think) the Chicken Club Pizza – Grilled chicken breast-bacon-tomatoes (cooked)-green onions & ranch sauce. I managed to abscond with a slice and it was delicious, a nice change from your basic pepperoni with red sauce.

(davisgrad.com)

The Grad offers dozens of TV’s for all your sporting event needs, in addition to pool tables and various video games. In other words, feel free to bring the kids; just get them out before the Spicy Salsa Tuesday.

After lunch we were back at the fields for game #4. A win would have put us into the semi-finals and required us to be back for an 8:00 AM game on Monday. As such, we came prepared for the possibility of spending the night. We didn’t win so we didn’t stay, but had we stayed Davis offers numerous accommodations from which to choose.

(Hotelscombined.com)

One such accommodation is The Aggie Inn (and I’m a sucker for any place with the word “Inn” in it). Located adjacent to the university, it offers “an elegant combination of tastefully decorated rooms and quaint, secluded two-room Cottage Suites.”

Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to stay there during the Davis World Cup Soccer Tournament 2010. 

Aggie Inn
245 1st Street
Davis, CA 95616
Tel: 530.756.0352
Fax: 530.753.5738
Reservations: 530.756.0352
info@aggieinn.com