Traveling with a Toddler: San Jose & Santa Cruz - Psycho Donuts and Raging Rivers

Traveling with a toddler in San Jose and Santa Cruz continues with a visit to two unique spots.

We stopped off for a snack at the extremely unique Psycho Donuts. The server wears a nurse uniform and the décor reflects an asylum. They even had a padded cell and straight jackets for the inmates that stop in. Our three year old had a grand time playing in the cell and talking to us on the phone that connects from the cell to the outside world.

Psycho Donuts has a large selection of doughnuts with very unique flavor choices. As a vegan I was happy that they had five different choices of vegan doughnuts. Our three year old went for the doughnut bar that had fruit loops as a topping. They also have wine smoothies which sound very intriguing and are probably a hit for the visitors that attend the independent films in the adjacent theater.

We had an amazing time at Raging Waters Water Park, which is the largest water park in Northern California.

We had so much fun splashing in the little kids’ zones. There are three spots that are perfect for tots, Wacky Water Works, Little Dipper and Pirates Cove. What was really great was that the water was so low and so gentle that our three year old could go in and stand without being worried about falling or it being too deep.

The park supplies life preservers so we put her in one for the day. At the Little Dipper activity pool we waded into the water, took our three year old up to the top and she slid down the water slide. She loved it. I liked being able to go behind the waterfall and showing her the falling water.

The Wacky Water Works is like a giant wet playground play set, what fun! The Lazy River was so relaxing. On the river we all climbed onto a double inner tube and floated around the park. We got to see all of the big slides that people were going down. We passed some waterfalls and we could get off at various points on the river to explore other areas of the park. Visitors at the park were really courteous, handing off inner tubes as they entered and exited the river. I was very impressed by the staff.

The lifeguards were constantly scanning the waters; you could see them bobbing their heads as they were looking at everyone in the water. If you are making a day of it you can reserve a cabana, so you have a nice home base to take a break. There is so much to do that you can have fun there for a day or two. The price difference between a day pass and a season pass is $8 it’s so small that it definitely pays to get a season pass so you can go multiple times on your trip.

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