Get in shape for free

Well, you only have to invest your time, of course. I found there are many adult fitness playgrounds  in public parks around where I live. Rengstorff Park in Mountain View has some gym type equipment, for example a chest press or an exercise bike. If you are feeling young and spirited you might even consider the skate park near the pool. Or the tennis and racquetball courts. In fact, the park is so large that a pick up soccer or basketball game would be possible, even on crowded days.

 The exercise options of Sylvan Park, also in Mountain View, and of the Hillview Community Center (Los Altos) are more old school.

Exercise area near the  Hillview Community Center (Los Altos)Exercise area in Sylvan Park, Mountain ViewWith places in both to do sit-ups and pull-ups, here your choice would be which location you prefer and which material. While in Los Altos the bars are blue and steel, in Sylvan Park they went with wood.

 

 
Do you have a favorite outdoor gym?

pinball wizard at play

Be a pinball wizard

All the way in Alameda is the Pacific Pinball Museum. For $15 for adults and $7.50 for kids under 16  you can play all day, yes even get yourself lunch and/or dinner and  return to play some more.

This is great for an all ages fun. You can learn something about the history while you wait for your turn or if you are feeling like taking a break stroll back to room one (of 4) to see the oldest pinball machines ever made.

An old pinball machine They also rent out one room for birthday parties. In fact we saw some kids coming out with a pinball related goodie bag.

I  so glad that I did wander around and explore, because I found a tiny pinball art exhibit and also the Addams family pinball: the best game ever!

 

 

 

Which one is your favorite pinball machine?

Hole #2 at Hellyer Disc Golf course

Frisbee + being in the woods = Disc golf

It is a simple equation, but needs a bit of prep work. Go to your favorite sport store and get yourself a starter kit for disc golf. They run at about $20. It will usually contain a driver, a midrange and a putter frisbee.

Then go to a disc golf course, there are a few courses in the Bay Area, and throw your frisbees around. To find one course near you  go to http://www.dgcoursereview.com/browse.php.

We recently went to Hellyer Park again, a well maintained 9-hole course.

You can play for free the first times, but should consider dashing out the $25 yearly fee to the Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club: http://svdgc.org, which pays for a yearly membership that is tax deductible. Other courses might charge you a Green Fee, so this is a pretty good deal!

Disc golf basket
In this basket you shall throw.

You are still wondering what it is? Well, disc golf is similar to golf as an advancement through a course with different baskets to reach. It is much easier than golf and a lot of fun.

If you are looking for a casual sport that is not too strenuous but gets you out to have some fun with friends you might want to consider disc golf.

 

Have you ever played disc golf before?

 

interactive art from teamLab

Immerse yourself in an art experience

Recently I went to see the teamLab exhibition Living Digital Space and Future Parks at the Pace Art + Technology pop-up gallery in Menlo Park.

20 installations by teamLab, a Japanese new media arts collective, let you truly interact with art.  Some objects react to your touch; in one you can download  a web site app to control multiple plant inspired lights and another one creates a room magically filled with flowers and butterflies that surround you. But my personal highlight was the kids’ section. There are five truly interactive installations. For example your fish drawings, once scanned in, swim away. Try to touch the screen aquarium, it’s interplay!

IMG_3632

The exhibit will run thru July 1st 2016 and is open Tuesdays – Sundays 11-7.

A great new approach to art and very fitting for Silicon Valley.

 

Have you seen other examples of interactive art?