My older sister and I are both soon-to-be college graduates, and in our family, that means one thing: my parents grabbing onto any last excuse to make frequent and impromptu family trips. It’s their way of dealing with the fact that all four of us will soon be working a full-time schedule. It’s gotten to the point where my mom is trying to bribe me to move back home; apparently four years away from me is enough of a break for her.
So to grant my dear parents’ wishes and catch a break from job hunting, I drove home to the Bay Area to spend a day in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. It’s a charming park tucked up in the hills and ideal for hiking and swimming in the lake (when it’s nice out). It’s dotted with cute, small sites, including a merry-go-round, petting farm, and botanical garden. Admission is free, it’s not too far from our home in Pleasanton, and we’d heard good things about it from family friends.
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We arrived bright and early at 8 a.m. on Saturday to secure a parking spot and decided to hike the accommodating Selby trail (one out of many). On the way, we spotted a pack of wild turkeys, pretty butterflies, and a couple of blue-bellied lizards. The sun, perfectly peeking through the trees, was accompanied by a cool morning breeze curling through the boughs. The freshly bloomed wildflowers looked so lively that my dad commented on how they seemed to enjoy our company, blushing with bright color and beckoning us with their stems leaning in toward our path. There’s nothing that brings my family back to our humble roots quite like a good old stroll through nature.
After about 30 minutes, we sat on a bench at the top of the trail and ate our homemade sandwiches while enjoying the sound of birds chirping, insects buzzing, and critters and humans alike scurrying along in their daily activities. Lake Anza, a calm blue-green body of organic scenery, sits at the top, and you can swim for just $2 therapy in its cheapest form.
I was impressed with how well labeled the trails were; we were able to get back to the park easily despite the seemingly endless branches and different paths along the way. It was a nice, shady downhill hike back down to cool off and digest our brunch, with sweeping views of the Bay Area around every corner.
Back at square one, we decided to visit the Tilden Regional Park Little Farm, the very popular petting zoo. I was in the mood to relax a bit more, so I contently stared wide-eyed at the goats, ducks, hens, and large pigs. Surrounding me were plenty of little kids and their parents feeding the cows, goats, and sheep some lettuce and various vegetables. My dad, on the other hand, was busy subtly throwing bread from our leftover sandwiches to get the ducks to flock around him. We were all momentarily back in our childhoods, actually eager to check out the Environmental Education Center, where we engrossed ourselves in some pamphlets on local wildlife. Yup, that’s what this park did to me: I was reading outside of school.
Next stop was the Merry-Go-Round, an old-school carousel that looks very well cared for. I was really into my childhood-themed day by this point, and didn’t hesitate to hop on the nearest animal, a zebra, as my sister followed suit. After a short but fun, comforting ride, we visited a nearby store selling treats, including popcorn, ice cream, and cotton candy, to top off our morning. Nothing feels better than having such a great time before it even strikes noon. There were also miniature steam trains ($8 for five tickets), but we decided to skip out in order to digest our treats; people of all ages on the ride looked like they were having a ball, though.
This was truly the one day since the beginning of the year I wasn’t busy worrying about my life after graduation; in fact, I was doing the exact opposite: reminiscing back to the days when I was eager to go with the flow without a set plan or schedule. Instead of checking my phone for e-mails and texts as per routine, I fished it out only to take countless photos of a day I won’t forget for a while. It wasn’t a fancy vacation, but it was definitely enough to keep me satisfied while trekking on to adulthood.
Intern Andrea Kang thinks growing up is hard to do—sometimes. Send comments via the managing editor at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 6-13, 2013.
