| Spring and Summer Flings: Family Getaways in Maui, Yosemite, Monterey, Mendocino, Sunnyvale, plus, great products and books to ponder
 Doesn't this photo make you want to go to the tropics? Consider Maui this season as you plan for your family vacation. Our clan recently returned from this valley isle, and we are thrilled to share with you our findings. Enjoy our thorough review of the Westin here. More Maui stories will be coming along within a few weeks.
If you are looking to stay within the state, we highly recommend Yosemite. Do secure lodging in the refreshed Curry Village with new eateries. Consider making one of the heated tent cabins your home away from home. Now that I have experienced one, I am sold on the benefits of tent cabin lodging. Still, you are camping, but you don't have to schlep your tent to set it up! Read our review, and if you have a response to it, email me at editors@bayareafamilytravel.com!
 With report cards coming out soon and also end-of-the-school year festivities, you may want to celebrate by going to afternoon tea at the Four Seasons which just added weekend afternoon teas to its menu. Our family recently celebrated a birthday, and you can check out our assessment here.
We know how it is to be locked into many kid activities. Parents, get out on a date night. Consider a play. We review the latest hit, Chinglish, now playing in San Francisco. Check out our story. And, why not make a weekend of it since you will be in the city? We review the revamped hotel, The Barnes, and we have slept and eaten there just for you. See our review to see if this is the kind of pad that meets your vacation requirements.
Has it been awhile since you visited Monterey? We review the updated Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort and Spa, an ideal place for families to frolic, especially with its new family pool area filled with games and a great firepit.
Meanwhile, take advantage of the Fort Bragg Railbike excursion in northern California. If you have never been with the family to Mendocino County, so many treats are in store for you. Check out our review of the railbikes, and book yours today!
If you happen to be heading northward, a visit to Ukiah wil surprise you. It is slowly coming around as a tourist destination with a revamped downtown beautification project underway, and a true draw are the hot springs found at the Vichy Springs Resort and Inn. I recently visited the hot springs there with my daughter, and you can see the waterfall on this photo at the resort, and you can read our review here.
On another day, visit the new Junior Museum and Zoo in Palo Alto which has just opened to the public after eight years of planning. Read more about it here. Stay the weekend in Palo Alto and explore all of our eight places we recommend to stay and play.
This season take the clan to the renovated Carmel Mission Inn where you can splash around in their newly remodelled pool and enjoy the hot tub too. We traveled to see the remodeled resort, and we give it a BIG YES for it's family-friendly vibe. See the article and more photos on this link.
And we haven't forgotten you moms and dads. Certainly you deserve a weekend away. We recommend contacting your favorite babysitter, grandparent, or friend who owes you a favor, and getting away for a couple of nights to recharge and reconnect as a couple. Locally, the new Tetra Hotel offers an inexpensive getaway for less than $200 on weekends in Sunnyvale. We go into great detail here.
Been a while since you travelled to Mendocino? Up north are fantastic independent inns. We review the Glendeven Inn and Lodge with lots of animals. The Inn at Newport Ranch which features more than 2,000 acres and commanding views of the Pacific. Read our summary here, and don't delay your booking. Places these days fill up fast.
Travel is usually inclusive of food, and we bring you snacks and gourmet gifts in our NEW PRODUCTS column.We review the YETI backpack cooler, a Montery guidebook to the "weird, wonderful, and obscure," a cookbook titled Tuscan Women Cook, and more. See what you can buy this season for memorable gifts.
 On a totally different tangent, I want to share with you what it is like to go to Yosemite when you are in a wheelchair. While playing pickleball, I got hurt and went into surgery to repair my Achilles tendon. But I was undaunted and still went to Yosemite. See our story here.
Remember: stay safe, stay healthy, and be good to others.
Happy travelling!
Kathy Chin Leong
Executive Editor
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