Tilden Park

We always knew that just above Berkeley, right on the ridge, sits a giant park but, we've never gone there. That park is Tilden Park. Even more incredible than this 5-mile long forest preserve is the fact that it is part of a much, much longer network of parks known as the East Bay Regional Parks. This 30 or so mile stretch of parks forms an almost unbroken corridor of hilltop forest including several redwood groves. What a treasure.
Even as we celebrate this wonderful preservation of some of the Bay Area's best nature, we went up there today to enjoy a much more unnatural attraction: the Redwood Railway. We've sampled plenty of miniature railroads in the Bay Area already but this one, probably the best, remained unvisited on our list. So, on a damp and drizzly Sunday morning, we packed up the car, picked up Auntie Kate and Uncle Neil (yes, we know that our car doesn't have that many seats...), and took Grizzly Peak Road to the top of the Berkeley Hills. The combination of rain, loud train whistles, unexpected blasts of steam, and days of abbreviated naps at pre-school catching up with you made for this a less than happy experience for you, Rai but Ko sure enjoyed it, didn't he?! We've got our second roll of unused tickets so we'll have to take you up again on a day with less rain and when you feel more well rested.