Sunil
Mountain View
My brother and his family are coming to visit me for a leg of their road trip from Michigan to California next year and his 7 and 10 year old sons want to see the famous missions in the area. I've never been to the missions here, so can someone give me an idea of the best ones to see? I guess the boys had learned about them in school and now they really want to see the real thing. Any other fun things for kids to do in the area would be great, too. I don't have kids so I don't know these things!
There are four missions nearby, one in Fremont ( Mission San José), San Francisco ( Mission Dolores), Carmel ( Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo (Carmel Mission)) and San Juan Bautista ( Mission San Juan Bautista). I have not been to all of them. I recommend going to the Carmel one as it is very nice and there are lots of other things to do in the area with kids like go to the beach and the very good Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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Hello! I know that the mission in the town of Sonomais easy to get too and a really nice experience for the kids. Plus, you can do a little wine tasting and shopping on the square or just have a nice lunch. Here is a link to the mission: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=479.
There are many missions around the Bay Area. I would recommend Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo (Carmel Mission) and Mission San Juan Bautista. For kids in San Jose The Tech Museum of Innovation and Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose are a must! Other attractions are California's Great America, Gilroy Gardens and Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
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No recommendation for missions. Haven't done that a lot in California. But would recommend Gilroy Gardens (a family theme park). It is seasonal though -- not open during the winter and part of the fall months. Also recommends California Academy of Sciences.
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