Summering in Belmont

Earlier this summer, I was trying to sell my kids on the idea that a summer spent in Belmont was the greatest thing that could ever happen to them.

“People from all over the world come to the San Francisco Bay Area to see the sights, experience its vibrant culture, and enjoy sourdough bread,” I said to my children. “Why in the world should we go anywhere when we can see the Bay Area and eat fresh sourdough bread?”

“Those people from all over the world don’t live here,” my teen son said. “They are getting out and seeing the world.”

“But those people have to deal with checking in and out of hotel rooms, body cavity searches by airport security, and wading through days and days of mail upon returning home,” I said. “We get to wake up in Belmont every morning.”

But despite my enthusiasm for staying in Belmont, my children weren’t happy with the idea of a summer spent making day trips around the Bay Area.

I think they would have preferred a trip abroad or at least out of state. But instead of jetting off to the south of France or spending leisurely days at a beach house on Martha’s Vineyard, the Wares of Belmont have chosen (some might say settled) to do our summering in Belmont.

But with school just around the corner, I admit I’m starting to feel pressured to provide my children with the kind of experiences some teachers expect students to have over the summer.

I don’t think your average English teacher has visits to , , or in mind when the writing prompt is “The fun and exciting places I visited this summer.”

Right now my children, depending on the kid, will probably write something like the following: This summer I went to camp in Belmont, read books from the , watched movies (in Redwood City), and took day trips around the Bay Area. It was the most fun a kid could ever expect to have. Not!

Having moved here last year, there is still so much of the Bay Area we have not seen. In fact, even a summer of day trips is hardly enough time to see it all. We are new enough to the area that the thought of going into San Francisco, Oakland, or San Jose is still exciting and fresh (at least to me).

Does being residents of Belmont mean we are not supposed to be impressed by things in the Bay Area that people travel half way around the globe to experience?

Lately, I’ve become a sort of cheerleader for our summer, offering up phrases I hope my kids remember when it comes time to write about their summer spent in the Bay Area.

In fact, the other day, I offered up the following: “Muir Woods are not simply woods, but a monument to tree lovers such as myself. Muir Woods provides not only a sanctuary for majestic old-growth redwoods, but for nature itself. And while I would travel half way around the world to see it, I don’t have to do it because I live in Belmont. It is a short drive away. Plus we can pick up some sourdough bread to eat as a snack.”

Later this month, my children, especially my youngest child, might have to stand before their classmates and tell about their summers. And when other kids are telling about trips to fun places such as Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Bentonville, Arkansas, I want my kids to be able to stand proud as they tell about visiting Belmont landmarks such as Water Dog Lake, Hallmark Park, and Twin Pines Park.

Or at least brag about all the sourdough bread they ate this summer.