Author Archives: kidsviewtravel

Chinatown – San Francisco, California

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John – 12

Chinatown located in San Francisco is the largest Chinatown in the United States.  It is the oldest Chinatown in America too.  Chinatown is 1 mile long by 1.34 miles wide. Chinatown was founded in 1848.  In 2000 the census said that an average of 100,574 people lived in Chinatown.  Chinatown is a city within a city.  The town has over 300 restaurants and just as many shops.  One of the places we ate at was a dim sum restaurant.  It was called City View Dim Sum.  (We will be doing another blog on City View – so watch for it!)  Chinatown compared to other places is really huge with an area of 24 square blocks.  My family and I tried to walk all around all it, but we didn’t get done in the amount of time we had.  We went into one of the shops located there.  It was three stories tall and had over one thousand trinkets and gizmos.  Chinatown is a fun place to visit and to walk around.

 

Hadley-10

Chinatown in San Fransisco is the biggest Chinatown in the world except China.  In Chinatown the best place to eat is a Dim Sum restaurant.  There are dozens to choose from. When we were there, we walked around in a bunch of stores.  The one we went in is three stories tall with stuff.  You can also buy clothes from China.  They also have a bunch of restaurants that have unique and interesting food.  I recommend going for a long time to see every thing and be prepared to spend a lot because there are a lot of fun things to buy.  Chinatown is definitely worth going to if you are in San Fransisco.

Barnett – 7

 

Store in Chinatown

Chinatown Cable Car

Chinatown Shops

Reno Rodeo

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

John–12

Reno Rodeo is a ten-day event.  The rodeo is in Reno, Nevada.  It is the biggest rodeo in the West.  The rodeo impacts the hotels around it by making them $42 million dollars a year.  It is the fourth richest rodeo in the world.  There are over 140,000 fans that attend the rodeo.  They have also donated 5.1 million dollars each year to the company of Kids Kampus Activity Center.  They also put $400,000 back into the community.  The rodeo is one of the my favorite things to do in Reno.  The rodeo is from June 19-28 for next year and the prices range from $1.00 to $25.00.  It runs from 6:00 to 10:00PM each night.  There are many different things they do each night – like the night we went, it was all bull riding night.  I recommend getting there really early; if you don’t, you may be waiting a while.  If you don’t like rodeos  then you could go to the carnival they have there too.  Going through the shops they had at the rodeo was fun.  I got to look at many different things that you would find back a long time ago in the west.  They also had new things that looked like they came from this generation.  My favorite part of the whole rodeo is the bull riders.  They had a giant stop watch/clock and when they let the bull lose it starts. It stopped when the rider fell off.  At the begin of the rodeo there are 50 girls that come out; they are called flag girls.  They’re girls that won the rodeo beauty pageant.  They ride around in a circle around the arena.  At half-time they have something cool to show.  They also have rodeo clowns -three of them.  Two are like real rodeo clowns and the other one messes around and makes people laugh.  They also give away door prizes to the people who are sitting in this area.  It is fun for the whole family to watch and to see.

Hadley-10

The Reno Rodeo is 7 days long and is one of the biggest in the world.  When we went we did not ride any of the  carnival rides, but they have roller coasters and a bunch of other games.  The rodeo has a bunch of gift shops too.  You can buy t-shirts, belt buckles, saddles and a lot more. The thing we came to see though is the bull riding.  We did not see anyone get hurt really bad, but some people did get a bloody nose.  One of the rodeo clowns got a little bit injured.  (The rodeo clowns are when the bull rider gets knocked off the bull, and the rodeo clown comes in and distracts the bull to get him to go into the pin.) The bull sometimes sits down and doesn’t want to stand up, so they send a dog in to bite its tail.  That is why we went to the Reno Rodeo.

 

Barnett-7

We went to the Reno Rodeo.  They said that last year someone died riding a bull.  One guy had broken his neck and back last year.  No one got hurt this year.  I liked watching them ride the bulls.  It was funny to watch the rodeo clowns and the dog chase the bulls into the pin.  One time the dog had to bite the bull on the buttocks!  The announcer kept saying – it is biting him on the buttocks!  It bit the bulls tail too.  Before the rodeo begins, the flag girls come out with 50 flags.  At the end of the girls is the Queen and the American flag.  We all sang the national anthem.  After the rodeo we went over to the shops.  I got a new shirt.  It says “Cowgirl Love.”  It is pink and orange.  There are sparkles on it.  You should go to the Reno Rodeo.  It is really good for a show.

8 Seconds

Bull Riding

Reno Rodeo Arena

The Cut Throat Saloon — Incline Village, Nevada

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John–12

The Cut Throat Saloon is in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Nevada.  It is right next door to the casino.  They have appetizers / soups / salads / entrees / sandwiches / and pizzas.  There appetizers include Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, served on roasted tomato coulis; Tahoe Spuds with Cajun chicken and bacon, topped with cheddar and pepper jack cheese, served with sour cream; Loaded Sierra Nachos; or Roasted Crab and Spinach Dip with Flatbread.  Their soups / salads include Western Chili, Grilled Chicken Caesar or Saloon Salad, with crisp greens, black forest ham, smoked turkey, bacon, eggs, cheddar, provolone, Swiss cheese, tomato-cucumber relish.  Entrees / sandwiches  including Prime Rib Sandwich, Fish and Chips, Grilled Chicken Panini with boursin cheese, caramelized onions on ciabatta bread, Steak and Fries or Barbecue Grilled Salmon.  Their pizzas are the Caprese Pizza, Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Three-topping Cheese Pizza.  Their prices range from $7.00-$30.00.  They are famous for their dollar bill walls and ceiling.  People come and pin-up a dollar bill on the wall and when the walls are packed they take the dollars down and give the dollars to charity.  The Cut Throat Saloon is one of my favorite places to eat at lake Tahoe.  I recommend going and eating and also putting up a dollar bill on the wall.

 

Hadley – 10

The Cut Throat Saloon is a restaurant inside the Hyatt Casino.  It is open to the public, and it allows kids too. When they have the blackjack tournament the appetizers are on sale for half price – which is every Wednesday.  We did not eat a full meal there, but we got appetizers.  The things we got were the nachos, the pizza, and potato slices.  First, my favorite – the nachos –  they had jalapeno, cheese, pulled pork, and chips which was really good.  My second favorite was the potato slices.  They had chesse and bacon.  The pizza was my least favorite because the pizza had no flavor other than the pepperoni, so I would not get it again.  That is what I thought of the Cut Throat Saloon.

 

 

Alcatraz — San Fancisco

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John–12

Alcatraz was one of my favorite things to do in California.  Alcatraz is one of the most freakish places in California, too.  You start out taking a boat trip to the island from Pier 33.  We used Alcatraz Cruises for our tickets and ferry ride.  It takes about 15 minutes, and they sell food and water on board the boat.  When you get off the boat you get an introduction about Alcatraz.  Then you can walk up to the top of Alcatraz – the prison section.  You can take the tour of the prison.  The tour is conducted by a headset with a recording that talks all about Alcatraz; the people who talk in it are real people who have worked there and were the prisoners there. The tour takes you through all of Alcatraz prison.  When you’re done on the island, you take one of boats back to San Francisco.  I learned about the prisoner’s daily life.  They had time each day for music, painting, and reading.  They had their own library.  Once you are done you can walk around most of the island.  You can see the ruins for the warden’s house, the housing for guards and their families, the island’s power plant, a water tower, the recreation yard, the lighthouse, and the parade yard.  The tour takes about and hour and is really fun to listen to.  It costs $28.00 for adults (12 and older), $17.00 for children, and is free for children 4 and under.  It does cost more to take a night tour to Alcatraz.  I think it would be fun but scary to take the night tour.  The history behind the prison would be creepy after dark.

Hadley–10

Alcartaz was one of the most secure places in the world when it was in business as a prison.  It is not in business now, but it is now a tourist place.  Alcatraz is a big jail that held some of the worst people like Al Capone.  First, when you get to the dock in San Francisco (Pier 33) to get on the boat, you can get your picture taken and buy it when you come back.  The boat ride is good.  You get to see part of the Golden Gate Bridge and have a great view of San Francisco and the Bay.  When you get to the island you will want to get the audio tour which is included in the price; it is a lot better than just walking through the jail.  I learned about their maximum security section, called D Block.  The prisoners there had no light, no sound, no room.  The prisoners there had to work each day.  Some of them gardened, a few did laundry, and some even cooked in the kitchen – with real knives.  I really liked learning about the people who tried to escape.  They still don’t know if a few of them were able to swim across the bay and escape.  Many people do not think anyone could have survived that.  When you are done with the tour then there are some other places you can go around the island.  If I were you I would just get back on the boat and head back to the dock.  I thought the prison was really the main thing that was interesting to see.  The rest of the island was OK to see.  The next time you’re in San Francisco you definitely need to go to Alcatraz.  I think the night tour would be fun but a little scary.  I want to read some books to learn more about Alcatraz.  It is interesting!

Wild Island Water Park — Sparks, Nevada

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

John–12

Wild Island Water Park is close to Reno, Nevada.  It is one of the best water parks in the state. They have a bunch of slides and pools in the area.  They have thirteen slides including the little kids slides.  When I went I rode all the slides but two – the Blackwidow and the Viper. The Viper is an almost straight down slide; it is also a body slide.  Black Widow is a tube slide, and it is close in style to the Viper – it goes striaght down then straight then down again.  My favorite slide is the Scorpion.  It looks like a giant skate ramp.  It seems scary at first, but then it is really fun.  They also have a wave pool and a lazy river.  If you are under 48 inches then in the wave pool you need to wear a life vest.  You can also buy tubes for slides.  Some rides have double tubes so you can use a two tuber with a friend.  The lazy river makes a lap around an island.  Half way through the river there is a mushroom shaped fountain.  The wave pool is a rectangular pool, and it gets deeper as you get closer to the wave mechanisim.  It gets up to eight feet deep, and it gets deeper too when the waves get going.  I recomend that you come right when it opens at 11:00 so that it not packed, but if you go later in the day it is really, really packed.  It cost $26.50 for people over 48 inches, $21.50 for kids under 48 inches, seniors citizens (60 +) are 9.00, and 3 and under are free.  They often run specials and have coupons available in area stores.  We went on a Tuesday and they had a “Two for Tuesday” special that saved our family about $15.00.

Hadley – 10

In Nevada they have a bunch of water parks, but Wild Island is the best.  Wild Island is located near Reno, Nevada.  They have a bunch of water slides my favorite is the Scorpion; it has a u type shape.  You have to use a tube for this ride and must be 42 inches tall.  The other 2 slides I rode were the Dragon’s Eye and the Dragon’s Tail.  First, the Dragon’s Eye has a toliet bowl hole in the middle, so you have to use a tube and be 48 inches tall. But, on the Dragon’s Tail you don’t use a tube; it is a body slide, and you have to be 42 inches tall.  The 2 slides I did not ride were the Black Widow.  It is a tube slide which you have to be 48 inches tall to do.  The Red Viper is the worst ride (I think).  It is a complete drop and is a body side which you have to be 48 inches tall to ride. That is why I love to go to Wild Island.

Barnett — 7

Wild Island is a water park in Sparks, Nevada – which is really next to Reno, Nevada.  They have a ton of water slides.  I started in the Little Kiddie Lagoon Pool.  There are three slides here.  You can have a tube on one of them, but you don’t have to use a tube if you don’t want to.  The other two slides are body slides.  They are too small for a tube.  The water is very shallow – like only a few inches deep.  Babies and small kids would like this area.  Next, I went to Hurricane Cove.  It is like a playground with water.  There is a bucket on top, when it gets full, it splashes down on you.  My brothers and I all liked this area.  It is mainly for kids 10 and under.  I was tall enough to ride the Scorpion.  It looks like a scary slide from the top.  You need to use a tube for this ride.  This slide sends you down a steep hill, then you slide back and forth until you stop.  I was also tall enough to ride the Dragon’s Tail slide.  You have to be 42 inches tall to ride this.  It is a body slide.  You can only go one person at a time.  It is fun and a little bit scary.  Next, I went in the lazy river.  It has a mushroom waterfall in the middle that sprays water out on you.  You can be in a tube in the lazy river if you want to.  I didn’t use a tube, but I just swam through the water.  Finally, I went in the wave pool.  Kids that are under 48 inches tall have to wear a life jacket.  You can borrow one from them, they have a bunch of them, and they don’t cost anything to borrow.  I didn’t do the other slides because you have to be 48 inches to ride them.  I am not big enough to do them.  My favorite thing was the Scorpion slide.  It was fun to slide up and down – if I were heavier I would have gone up higher and it would have been more fun.  I did not like that there was not a hot tube there.  They need a hot tub for the kids to go into.  There is a hot tub, but it is only for older people.  It is near a bar for adults – not for kids.  I liked the water park and you will too.

 

The Scorpion Waterslide

 

Lots of Slides to Choose From

 

The Wave Pool

 

Water Playground

 

Little Kids Slides