Bay Meadows

Meet Mike Heenan—this local stay-at-home dad to two adorable toddlers is also the organizer of a local Bay Area dads group, SF Dads Group. SF Dads Group has over 500 Bay Area dads and their families joining in on all the fun adventures this group has to offer.

Mike loves to immerse himself in the parenting community and fatherhood advocacy, planning priceless events and activities with his children, especially during the summer months.

It was great catching up with Mike to find out what his family is up to this summer. They are excited that school is almost out, and they are ready for all the fun adventures this summer has to offer in and around San Mateo. Here’s what he had to share about why he and his family love San Mateo so much.

Do you have any fun adventures planned this summer with your family?

Aside from our near-daily utilization of San Mateo’s vast parks network, we also like to get off the grid and into famed Bay Area places like Muir Woods. Our kids love exploring among the Giant Sequoias, and the Ponderosa, Incent, and Sugar Pines.

What are some of your favorite activities to do with your kids during the summer?

My girls are 5 and 3, so they are still perfectly content to find a new playground to play at, every day and in that department, San Mateo certainly delivers. We, however, like to mix it up with SF Dads Group events and classic water fun like the beaches in Pacifica and HMB or swimming spots like Cull Canyon in the East Bay.

We absolutely adore the Summer Camps put on by Peekadoodle in San Francisco or La Petite Playhouse in Redwood City.  We are overjoyed to have partnered SF Dads Group with local favorites Plum Organics on their #ParentingUnfiltered campaign.  We are hosting a “Parenting Survival” event on June 12th and inviting 100 Bay Area families to a giant Parents night out at the end of July.

Father’s Day is around the corner; do you have any special plans?

Nothing planned, but I know that whatever we do it will be special to me. As my kids grow older and have schedules and commitments of their own, these summer months become increasingly significant in that we can all plan to be together in the same place at the same time.

We are considering attending the Father’s Day festivities at Recess Urban Recreation, as they always do a tremendous job supporting fathers and their families.

Half Moon Bay Brewery is a favorite spot of mine to relax and sip a house brew with the Mrs. while the kids take in the sun, surf, and sounds coming from the band inside.

I’m not one of those guys who needs a gift and some me-time on Father’s Day, although I don’t see anything wrong with that. I’d just much rather spend it with the people I cherish—the ones that gave me the ultimate gift of fatherhood in the first place.

Calling all dads! If you are looking to connect with other dads in the community, check out our calendar for fun events around the Bay Area. We hope to meet some of you awesome dads soon!

Conveniently located between San Francisco and Palo Alto in San Mateo, Bay Meadows offers new homes for sale and for rent within walking distance of Caltrain. Ease of transportation is only one of the many amazing aspects of Bay Meadows. Beautiful, new, clean homes sit among 18-acres of parks, a community garden, and within walking distance of Whole Foods, Chipotle, Crunch Fitness and more. Learn more about our ‘hood by following our Facebook page.