On top of Mount Hamilton lies the lake observatory. This was my third time visiting the…read moreobservatory, I came here with my four year-old daughter, and it was her first coming here. She was surprised and excited to see the telescope. Inside the observatory it's packed up but fascinating information regarding the meteors stars lots of scientific discoveries. This place also tells you about James Lick's achievements the way he brought the astronomy into reality and his life struggle. There are plenty of parking near Observatory just that while driving, you must be bit careful those were the newcomers because the road is very narrow once you get on the hill. There is a small gift shop inside the Observatory you can grab souvenirs like sweatshirt, T-shirt, magnets, some jewelries which was mentioned was made out of meteors which I found it fascinating and some kids related item, etc.

Took my "Goon Sqaud" Neo and laiza to come check out the Famous Lick Observatory. They've never…read morebeen here before. Make sure to go on a weekend because during the week you won't be able to see the telescopes! It's about an hour drive once you start from 130 or from quimby rd. Make sure to ask someone from the area to give you the history behind Lick Observatory. I'm sure you'll find it interesting!

I had the honor of escorting one very excited astrophotographer and his girlfriend (my Goddaughter)…read moreto experience a talk by Dr. Filipenko on the 150th anniversary of the James Lick Act of Congress. The talk started at 7:45 pm in the evening, and went well into 9 pm after the speaker allowed for a short Q&A session. I learned more about James Lick and how generational wealth was built than I'd ever imagined possible on a Sunday. Unfortunately for us, humidity was at an all time high, so we only had the opportunity to look at these massive telescopes, instead of gazing at the far away stars they were built to study. I did get to walk through The Chabot science center and see how fun it would be to come back with you get kids. Can you believe, you can even decorate a postcard that they will send to space. I would now like to design a piece of mail destined for space. Also, you can come out on Friday and Saturday nights and get the opportunity to look into the heavens with these giant creatures. I guess, this just means I have a rain check to visit Oakland in the near future.

This place is so great! It has a lot of kids to do and the planetarium show was awesome. The…read moretelescopes and observation deck was beautiful. The bottom floor is being renovated right now so I definitely want to come back when that is done. Great place to take kids of all ages!

Unfortunately I came on a weekend, and so the Observatory was closed, but it looked pretty cool…read morewhen I walked around it! The building right next to it is big enough for a classroom, but I am so curious to see what the Observatory looks like from the inside! It's an easy walk from the Evergreen campus, with two parking spaces (one is for disability access). At least from the outside, the Observatory looks great. Hopefully I can come by when there are students and faculty around, and maybe I can catch a glimpse of the Observatory!

BEAUTIFUL VENUE!!!…read more The road going up and down is a little scary (for me), but everyone seems to be very careful. The venue is absolutely beautiful...outdoor theater with great views of the city below & beyond. And when the sun goes down.. it is even more magical. I had the empanadas, which were really good and tasty. The wine was also very good - we stuck with the Pinot Noir. Staff were a little high strung... they should smile more. Would I go back? Yes, for the concerts... but I will probably eat before going instead of eat there.

In general, I like this venue. I've been going to this venue before the amphitheater seating, I was…read morea patron back when there were only rows of benches and the only thing you could see was the person in front of you. No complaints on the venue itself but there are some ushers with the rudest attitude in such a bad way. I have a hallway that is strictly music themed memorabilia and some of the best pieces are the set lists that I've collected over the decades. I frame and treasure them as memories that got me through good and bad times. Music is and always has been a huge part of my life. The other night, we were at a show and I went to get a set list for my collection. There was nobody around and the people working on stage were clearing the set as fast as possible as they only had a few minutes to clear the stage and set up for the next band. An usher, I think her name was Karen asked me if I took the set list. I said yes and she took it from me and PUT IT BACK ON THE STAGE!!! I think I'm still a bit shocked because it was so unnecessary. She told me, no,I can't have it..... I have to ask for it! At this point, I'm beginning to feel like Pavlov's dog, I turned around and faced the stage. I had to interrupt the guys trying to clear the stage and said (in my best Dicken's Tiny Tim voice, "please sir, may I have that piece of paper?". Ummm.... What the hell? She was smirking like she did such an amazing job with teaching me a lesson! I've been to other shows where people are begging for set lists. This was not the case. If there were other people before me, I'd make sure they got it over me! She also told me numerous times not to touch the stage. I did have to lean my upper torso in a few times maybe 20 degrees (again only my upper torso!) to interrupt the guys swapping the stage. I did not intentionally try to touch it, please take a look at the CCTV cameras. I am too old to be submissive to someone with a twisted issue with power control. I know I shouldn't have let this bother me but I slept on it and I just think it was so unnecessary. It was humiliating but I was given three set lists that night that I will add to my beloved collection. I complied with everything asked of me, I was not touching the stage on purpose and that was clear as day. She is unfit to interact with your guests. She was treating me in such a condescending manner which was bizarre and can ruin the experience of patrons to come! A big shout out to your security upon entering, your merch and bar staff. Unfortunately( it just takes one person to change your overall experience. She may think she did anything wrong but it's not a good experience moving forward. Also, please let people have a set list if they want it! It may just be a piece of paper to one, but a an amazing memory to another. Best

To be honest, the view from the observatory out towards the valley, with the fog layer sitting…read morebelow you like the biggest bowl of whipped cream known to man was just about as cool as the observatory. That alone was well worth it. The observatory too was neat. We happened to be campng there the night of the month they open it up. There was a nice video presenation (nothing you would not see on the discorvery channel but cool never the less), a QA with the on site volunteer and then they let the guests look through the various telescopes which were focused on the moons of Jupiter. They have one big honkin (about the size of a VW Bug) telescope but the volunteers also had about 1/2 dozen (6 if you must) other telescopes set up as well, so the kids were able to take a little more time on those. For anyone into astronomy it would be a must. Probably pretty entertaining for almost any 7 to 11 year old kid. Side note, the drive up has some sharp turns. My mothe rmade it up with a trailer on her truck but it was a bit hairy. The camp ground there is usable, but nothing too special. It was dry when we were there so we were not allowed to have a camp fire :(

It took me having to take astronomy at Hartnell to knlw about the observatory. I didnt know we had…read moreanything like this around. My professor required us to go up last week. The view is just so amazing. Its a little walk up to observatory so make sure you layer yourself. Its free bug there is a donation box. There are other people with other telescopes out that let you see things. I saw the milky way which is a haze. Its cool. The observatory itself is cool. The roof gets pushed off or rolls off. This is 100% a place everyone needs to check out at least once in their life.

Lovely group and hooray for raptors and good cause but the director is discriminatory…read more They gladly accept seniors with oncoming dementia but after training - an excellent veterinary fit volunteer as she was just getting diagnosed with sudden onset pots syndrome- and not aware what her limitations may be disclosed to the director He told her he "did not want to slow the group down" This is flat out discrimination .

Wow! It's beautiful! We've been here a lot of times but this was a good time to take pictures…read morebecause it was clear. There were no clouds or fog. The perfect time to take a picture is at sunset.

Treasure Island Music Festival is one of my favorite music festivals. I've been most years. I think…read moreI've only missed 3 or maybe 4 years. I really like the stage layout. There's only two stages in an L shape, and the schedule alternates between each stage, so there's only one band playing at a time. This is fantastic because this is one music festival where you can actually see every band on the lineup! The festival is two days long, with Saturday usually featuring hip hop and/or electronic acts, and Sunday featuring rock and indie acts. When this festival was on Treasure Island, getting into and off the island was sort of difficult. One aspect of this festival is there's always free shuttles that take you to the festival. The same is still true now that's it's moved to West Oakland; however it's a bit easier now since the shuttles pick up and drop off at BART. For those in the East Bay, you save yourself the bridge toll if you're driving now. Getting there is always easy since people arrive at different times, so there's never a wait to get on the shuttle bus; however, getting home is annoying because you will have to wait to load the busses. In 2018, the first year in Oakland, I think they handled it pretty well. There were a ton of buses, so we didn't have to wait long at all. Instead of one line, there were several lines for the buses, so this sped things up too. I like that festival feels smaller and more intimate. Previously, you could stand in between the stages and see and listen to all the bands. However, at the new location in Oakland, the stages are much further away unfortunately, so you will have to trek between the stages and move between them to see and hear all the acts. One of the nicest features of the festival is the gorgeous views on SF. Don't miss sunset for amazing views. I also love the surprise touches too like the light up jellyfish the come through the crowd and the massive light up balloon arches. TIP: Also, be sure to bring layers. Your cute festival look will feel foolish once the sun goes down when it turns downright chilly.

This year marks Treasure Island Music Festival's 10th and LAST year. I was so amazed at the free…read moreshuttles to Treasure Island, but was very disappointed at the very last minute warnings for cancellation of events. I know that this event is usually more organized and rain is hard to plan around, but it's just sad a few acts were cancelled. Ran by Another Planet Entertainment Music, treasure island has a great amount of acts and a good amount of food trucks. With the bay bridge in the background and a colorful Ferris wheel, the festival offered beautiful skyline photos! It's very sad that this music festival had to end on a rainy note, but at least they won't lose business next year because there will be none next year! Will miss you TIMF!

First time came to the observation deck, I think it is best spot to view the golden bridge, even…read morewas cloudy day we still able to get quiet a few very good shots of bridge, I can't imagine how great views would be in sunny days. It's very easy-accessible, you can drive and bike to there with short walk to the top, very windy at the top, bright a jacket and watch your hat is great idea. At almost 500 feet above the bay, this high cliff-top vantage point was a prime location for big coastal defense guns when the army was there.