DeLanceys Go to Chabot Space and Science Center - December 4, 2011

If you don't already know about this, you should.  If you have any Bank of America card, you can get into select museums for FREE on the first weekend of every month (well you still have to pay for children unless your children also have debit cards).  I think the last time we utilized this was when we went to Zeum back in March, but since RJ has recently been interested in Outer Space, we decided to check out Chabot Space and Science Center this month when it was cheaper.

We LOVED it.  It is geared for older kids, but even Logan seemed to enjoy himself, and we were able to explain a lot to RJ without having to simplify it too much.  I definitely geeked out.  It brought me back to my childhood when I wanted to be an astronaut (obviously before I realized how much math and physics was involved).



Our first stop was the planetarium for an educational movie about the planets in the solar system.  This was a strange experience since RJ was FREAKED OUT by the planetarium before the movie came on and it took a lot of convincing to keep him in there.  He was fine once the movie came on (and he insisted on reenacting it several times at the park the next day), but then Logan, who was perfectly happy in the room before the movie started was entirely terrified by the movie (which was Animated, making his reaction a little odd), perhaps due to the fact that it was all around us given that it was made for a planetarium.  He didn't make a sound, but clung to me and would not look at it at all.  I guess its a few years until we can take them to the Dark Side of the Moon Laser Light Show...

Both boys got a chance to try their hand at some shuttle maintenance tasks, while laying on us (we got to do the work of moving the cart around to the various stations for them), which RJ especially got a kick out of.  They also really liked hanging out in the small space pods on display.  RJ was fascinated by viewing the moon up close through the telescope and I was bummed that we just barely missed viewing the sun through the modified telescope.  We were only there for a couple of hours, but I think we will be back sometime to see more.

And when we were done, RJ requested (on his own, completely unprompted I might add) sushi, so we got some!

More pictures from our visit are here.

DeLancey's go to Folsom and Old Sacramento

Since Kasie's wedding was in Folsom (2 hours from our house), we decided to stay at the hotel for the evening and do stuff in Folsom and Sacramento on Sunday before heading home.  We drove through the historic downtown before getting some breakfast at Mel's Diner and then went to the Old Folsom Powerhouse, which is apparently a hot spot for local family portraits as there were at least 4 photographers, Christmas props, and a steady stream of families filing in and out of the park!  So, I played photographer with our kids!

We also met up with the Dorsey's while we were there and met a praying mantis friend on the sign as well as getting a tour of the old powerhouse, which was one of the first hydroelectric plants.

After that we headed to the California State Railroad Museum (where, for $2 extra, we are members for a year and can go back for free anytime!).  RJ loved going on the displayed trains and both kids enjoyed the huge Thomas Train play area!

We also rode the "Spooktacular" train up and down a few miles of the Sacramento River, which the boys loved.  The train was all decorated for Halloween, but not scary, which was perfect for our little ones!

After our train ride, we decided to explore Old Sacramento for a little while before eating dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.  As you can see - RJ loved his crabby bib/cape!

More pictures from Folsom & Sacramento are here.