I took classes here this past semester and it was surprisingly easy to locate around. To be fair, I…read moregot lost my first and confused the other building for it. There's a lot of parking and it's pretty quiet. Across the street is a small cafe and there aren't much people around on Fridays.

So in my final lecture of the semester after a spotty dictation of text copied and pasted (from…read moresaid website), a line from a student presentation has decided to haunt me for the rest of my days at this institution: "...and the website didn't say anything else so that's the end of my presentation." *crickets chirping*

Got to take a tour of the RMI facilities for the first time as part of a work conference -- this…read moredefinitely was not around when I attended UC Davis! First stop was the Sensory Theatre to hear about the Olive Center and do a few olive oil tastings. We also stopped at the pilot winery, pilot brewery, tomato/peach processing labs, and dairy lab to hear about all the work they're doing there. I hear you can also do tastings at the Honey and Pollination Center. It really is a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified facility for both Viticulture and Enology, and Food Science and Technology. Walking tour lasts an hour or so for groups of 15 or more, can be setup through their website. Parking nearby includes the Gateway Structure, or parking lots #1 or #2, permits can be purchased. Located at the south side of campus by the Mondavi Center, Alumni Center, and Conference Center, it's a very nice addition to the ever-growing University. Makes me proud to be an Aggie!

Gorgeous new facility for the advancement of the science and art of winemaking. Set on the edge of…read morethe UC Davis Campus, this new state of the art food science facility has several labs for advancing the food science, brewery technology and winemaking. UC Davis' annual open house, Picnic Day, is a great opportunity to visit the center and see what it is doing for these areas of science that are so important to California's economy.

We visited UC Davis so my daughter could take a look at the campus. It's one of the schools she is…read moreconsidering applying to. This is the largest and most spread out campus we visited. There is a lot of walking involved. This is the place to rack up Fitbit steps. Many students ride their bikes around campus, and there are many bike circles (roundabouts) at intersections to help keep traffic flowing smoothly. I think everyone should come here to learn how to manœuvre around a roundabout (especially people who shop at Costco Santa Clara because they can not figure out the new roundabout they installed in the parking lot). The campus has changed quite a bit over the decades. There are many new buildings, and many old ones being demolished. There is a large new visitor parking lot and a nice Visitor Center near it. The visitor center is a good place to grab a map and make a comfort stop before exploring the campus. You can also schedule a tour before you arrive. There is a mini gift shop at the Visitor Center. I suggest going to the store at the MU for a larger selection of gifts and souvenirs. Check out the arboretum (near the Visitor Center) if you have time. The Memorial Union is the center of the universe. You'll find student services, a place to pick up or return Amazon packages, the bookstore/gift shop, the game room (it's downstairs; has bowling, billiards and gaming computers), and most importantly food and coffee. Another place to find food is at the Silo, where there are some food vendors indoors and food trucks outdoors. We visited various dorm buildings on campus and also off campus housing. We even saw cows near Tercero (dorm). And also checked out downtown Davis, which is no longer the "sleepy" downtown I remembered it to be decades ago. There's definitely a wider variety of restaurants in Davis today. Trader Joe's is near campus, how cool is that? The Chem 194 building (large lecture hall) has been renamed to Rock Hall. The steps out front leading up to the front doors seem much shallower than I remembered them to be. In my mind, the steps were more numerous, similar to the steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (think: Rocky movie). Ok, my memory must be fuzzy, after all, it was a long time ago since I was an undergrad here.... This would be a good place to go for the college town experience, with the pleasant side effect of graduating with a decent education... but does this really matter? How many of us go on to do something that is related to what we studied in college? It's more about the journey, the experiences we have and the people we meet along the way. .

2/18/26- Just found…read moreout my oldest received his email of acceptance into the M.S. program!!! I am so happy for him! He's worked so hard and this was truly a joyous moment.. He applied for another program, so I'm hoping that arrives soon.. He does have other applications that he submitted so, we will see where he goes.. If UcDavis can provide what he needs, this will be the first choice.. (his goal: to go to the Okinawa Institute )..! Thank you for allowing my son to truly venture out into this world with so many opportunities..

I figure this is the place to distribute this bit of Davis trivia. The stand of olive trees in…read morefront of Sproul Hall are from the original Davis homestead farm. Yes, before it was even a university, this land used to be owned by the Davis family. It seems the university has made an effort to preserve them, and simultaneously not draw any attention to the hundred year old trees. Take a look, there's a small plaque. It's pretty nifty.

We stumbled upon a small ceramic sculpture garden in the parking area for TB 9, the UC Davis…read moreceramics studio. The area was filled with amusing large scale ceramic sculptures. We came upon this little gem while walking along the Arboretum trail. We'd been on this trail multiple times over the last two decades and never looked to the right (heading west) before. If you find yourself at the Arboretum, take the brief detour to check out the sculptures, highly recommended.

With highly trained (and good looking) staff, the UC Davis EFL makes sure that you will be able to…read morefabricate your part with safety and ease. Just that no student has gotten hurt in the last several years is testament to how strict and orderly the shop is run. Just remember to be courteous and humble and you will have a great experience! Oh, and wear your safety goggles :)

Okay who designed this building. Even with a map I still get lost. Maybe that's why everyone calls…read moreit the DEATH STAR. I know i'm not the only one who gets lost here. I see people wandering around all the time. The SS&H building is the home of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology and a Psychology Lab. AKA College of Letters and Science & History. You can also find offices, classroom, computer labs and a very nice library for Agricultural and Resource Economics. The Ag & Resource Economics library is on the 5th floor on the west side of the building, from there you get a great view of the campus, and if you can get past the locked door you could get roof access. Other then schooling this building is a great place to play ditch, capture the flag & have nerf wars. A little side note: The DEATH STAR is said to be the secret headquarters of the Campus Crusade for Chaos and Confusion. A secret group on the UC campus.

Oh keane, you so crazy…read more So they told us that it was to facilitate communication that they designed the "death star" the way that it is. But what I heard is it actually was part of a scare about students rioting, and making sure they are easily contained. You will see similar buildings on most college campuses, usually just 1 or 2 because the riots stopped and they realized how stupid the design is. You can also tell if the administartion is scared of protests/riots because they will remove a handle from one side of a double door, this is so they can not be chained together. Anyways, the only thing good about the "death star" was to play tag or hide and seek. Make sure to not break a leg. . . they may never find you.

My daughter wanted something different and unique for her birthday. I was super excited when I…read morefound VanGo girl paint parties . Wonderful human being to work with, on time professional. Kept a group of eleven year girls in line as they had the time of their lives. She is patient fun to be around and talented. Every one is still talking about the party . Don't miss out and book her now

I hosted a Vango Girl Paint party in my home and it was the most amazing experience! Julia helped…read moreme come up with a custom design that we all loved! I would 100% do it again.