Fantastic hidden gem! The downstairs nature exhibit was worth the price of admission alone!…read more Each sub-section was displayed beautifully so that the pieces of art, be it Western, Asian, African, Nature or Automobile, could be appreciated.

I visited this museum on Mother's Day with my family while 21 weeks pregnant. I had been here once…read morebefore and previously had a wonderful experience, which made this visit especially disappointing. Shortly after arriving, I noticed a water bottle refill station inside the museum and refilled my water bottle there. While quietly viewing an exhibit with my family, we were suddenly approached in a very loud and confrontational manner by a female staff member who stated, "Ma'am, ma'am! There is no food or drink allowed in the museum. You either need to leave or throw your water bottle away." I was surprised by both the tone and the interaction, especially considering the museum itself provided the refill station inside the building. I explained that I had filled the bottle there, but was told that people are apparently expected to "refill their bottles and then leave the museum to drink from them," which honestly made very little sense. Because I am pregnant, I asked if I could simply keep the bottle closed while inside, rather than repeatedly separating from my family whenever I became thirsty. She reluctantly agreed, but after that interaction, staff members continuously followed my family throughout the museum for the remainder of our visit, seemingly monitoring whether I drank water. What should have been an enjoyable family outing became extremely uncomfortable and unenjoyable. Being closely followed from exhibit to exhibit over a closed water bottle felt excessive and unnecessary, especially under the circumstances. Unfortunately, the experience left my family and I not wanting to return. I truly hope future guests are treated with more kindness, professionalism, common sense, and dignity.

We were fortunate enough to tour the Glass House. Tours are only available on Saturdays and not…read moreconsistently. When we showed up, there was no docent as promised, but we were able to ask a nice lady to give us the tour. There is a video online worth watching about this property prior to visiting the house; it will give you more context and understanding. Great historical experience but they need more docents and support.

This white two story Italianate Victorian farm house build in 1877 has long been visible from busy…read morehighway 680; standing near the freeway and busy San Ramon Valley Blvd. it's a vivid reminder of the Valley's past. I always wanted to visit the house, but it only recently opened to the public has a house museum. I was fortunate to be able to join a small group for a private tour. As soon as we were met by a Docent in period dress the mood was set. Walking over the bridge to the house she started to tell the history of the Glass Family and the Valley as it was in 1877. Stepping though the door is really a step back in time. The nine room house is decorated as it would have been when the Glass family lived there. Everyone of the nine rooms was clean and not a bit of dust could be seen on the many knickknacks that the Victorians adorned their homes with. Everything in the house is original to the period. While the rugs, wallpaper, and some of the fabrics on furniture are new, they are all period reproductions. The knowledge that the two docents, Pat and Kim, shared was amazing. In addition to the story of the Glass family and the San Ramon Valley, they peppered their talk with some CA. history. I came away with even more of an appreciation of women in the 19th century working in those long dresses There is a connection between the Glass family and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You will have to take a tour with either Pat or Kim to get the rest of the story.

Fantastic interactive train exhibit going on currently. It's so cool with even ceiling things going…read morearound.

This is a cute little museum. We came here specifically for the train exhibit, which is only on…read moredisplay for a few weeks in the summer. The train exhibit was really impressive. There's the main display, with several trains continuously running. The details were incredible. There's also a small table with wooden train tracks and little train cars for young kids to play with. Then there's a smaller running train display with several motorized scenes, like log cutting and a moving crane. Our little guy (2 years old) didn't want to leave. And of course, there's a small gift shop you pass through upon entering and leaving. Overall, lots of fun for little kids. The place is pretty small though, so it does get a little cramped on weekends.

We like the purpose of this museum which is educating people about local natural wildlife and…read morerescuing and releasing orphaned and injured wildlife. It's not too big and overwhelming, and great for kids, parents, and grandparents with an excellent park and pool facility nearby. Our granddaughter had a great time.

Great little museum that's definitely worth the money. It's not huge, but there's a lot to enjoy,…read moreespecially if you take your time going through everything. The bald eagle was a highlight for me, and honestly the poop exhibit by the restroom was surprisingly fun and educational. Only here would that actually be a memorable part of the visit. I also really liked the outdoor show and the interactive animal encounters. They brought out animals you could touch like a snake and even cockroaches, which made the experience feel a lot more engaging. Overall, a fun and unique spot, especially good for families or anyone who likes wildlife up close.

A fun way to celebrate the Halloween season with an historical ghost walk along Main Street in…read morePleasanton. This events ticket sales goes towards the museum. I was guided down Main Street with stops along the way of ghost sightings with a historical narrative of the town. I love hearing about the ghost viewings and learning about the history of the town I live.

We enjoyed checking out the current exhibit, From Earthquakes to Epidemics, showcasing and…read moreeducating visitors about the history of natural disasters and its impact on California and its people. Photos of candlestick park in SF just prior to the 1989 earthquake, displays about livestock epidemics as well as early epidemics in California missions, flooding in Sacramento in 1861-1862, the covid-19 pandemic, and even burnt and rusted items from the Camp Fire of 2018 shown behind glass casing. The main collection in the museum included a plethora of documents and objects representing the local area and surrounding cities, displays about transportation like bart, technology in the 1800's, and several antique musical instruments including a hearst organ, with tablets available for interactive learning. The digital exhibit of the Alameda County Fair especially captured my attention, presenting various aspects of its history, photos and descriptions of early fairs, food vendors, entertainment, exhibits, livestock and more... it gave me some ideas, as we were heading to fair after our visit to this museum :D We had zero interaction with staff while we roamed around at our own pace through several different rooms. The small gift shop had items unique to Pleasanton, like books, stationery, puzzles, and even a Pleasanton-opoly board game. Admission to the museum was free, and street parking was easy to find on a Saturday morning.

Our favorite pumpkin patch and corn maze! I've come here for many years and have enjoyed the…read morevarious activities this farm has to offer. It gets crowded on the weekends so be prepared for lines. When you arrive there is a ticket booth near the parking lot to get ride tickets but if you walk further into the venue there are other ticket booths with much shorter lines. We took our 1 1/2 year old son on the cow train and he loved it. The corn maze is super fun and nice they have trivia questions along the route so you can answer questions to see which way to go.

What an extremely fun spot to plan an afternoon or make a pit-stop from a weekend back to the East…read moreBay. This was our first trip to G&M Farms in Livermore and it was incredibly special and actually quite the fun surprise off the freeway. As we were coming home from a night away, we wanted to stop and have a moment with our little amongst the pumpkins and support an East Bay pumpkin patch. As we were about to pass Livermore, we saw signage and oodles of fun happening for G&M Farms so we pulled off. There is so much to do here! You can grab a red Radio Flyer wagon and truly go hunting for the perfect pumpkin within the patch itself, or if you're on the hunt for more smaller pumpkins/gourds there is a whole gift shop/farm store that is so incredibly cute for basically every pumpkin vibe you can imagine. Plenty of spots to stop and take pictures with friends or family. There's a corn maze, drinks/snacks like mini donuts, popcorn, and corn dogs, and speaking of corn..oh-em-gee! Truly wanted to share a review for this reason alone. Looking for a sensory activity for your little? There is not a sandbox, but a giant CORN box for play. The adults also tried it (essentially we just put our feet in and it felt surprisingly really nice. Something unexpected and truly unique, fun, and interactive. We also noticed a few other activities on the pumpkin patch side like a tractor/train ride and I'm not sure if there was a petting zoo? Regardless, worth a trip if you haven't made your pumpkin haul yet. Plenty of room for strollers and very spread out. Can't wait to make the corn box an annual tradition. Looking forward to truly enjoying the patch next year with more time. Thank you G&M Farms for the memories! Still finding little corn kernels ;)

This turned out to be one of my favorite stops, especially when I'm in between appointments in Palo…read moreAlto. I knew in advance that on Thursdays (2nd & 4th weeks only), the public street parking in front of the building was off limits for street sweeping/no parking between 7am-11am, so I got very lucky pulling up in front at 11am sharp. Nice. Easy walk. The Foster Museum was very simple, decent, positive, and relaxing environment filled with gorgeous nature views/sketches/watercolor artworks by the U.K. artist, Tony Foster. Good feeling here. Free admissions and good customer service staffs. You can just walk in or register online. There's a tiny gift area not far from the public restrooms. I signed the guestbook at the end of my walk. Good place to hang around/includes unlimited paper, paper/pencils/samples/etc. If you like to sketch and get some creative inspirations, all the nature artworks in the gallery is definitely a good place to start. Not huge, but perfectly quite and calm for art lovers. You can request for an orientation and/or tour as desired. Great first impression during first visit. It's the positive feeling I get from observing the energy and various colorful artworks. Simple and stress-free. Good value/free admissions is totally worth the 1-2 hours here. They also host art classes too, but I will need to take time to browse around online. Good vibes. Staffs are friendly inside. Hidden place. Love it.

This place is a hidden gem in Palo Alto, in an industrial area surrounded by factories. It is a…read moremuseum of the work of Tony Foster, an artist from UK who paints beautiful watercolor landscapes. It's free, and a nice place to visit for an hour or so ... highly recommended.

If you want to experience a step back in time, the self guided tour or the paid for tour will leave…read moreyou feeling like you are in another dimension. Stepping into the house from the front door, the energy felt warm and welcoming. It almost felt as though the family was still there. Maybe the past is the present. I was lucky to have the house to myself- I was told the house docent would arrive shortly . Natural light pouring through the old windows was lovely. As I wandered about, I could hear agitated footsteps from upstairs, so I did not go to the second floor, but instead entertained myself with exploring all the downstairs. I was drawn to a beautiful painting on the wall of a woman with her horse in the front room. As I was looking at the painting my sweater pocket was gently tugged not once but twice. Inside the pocket was my lemon honey cough drops. ‍ If you want to experience a quieter peaceful time before "progress" changed Hayward you will enjoy the tour. Any funds that they make on these tours or events goes to the care of the two historic mansions. The house docents are lovely and share the family history in such a way they come alive. If you have wondered what the inside of this grand old dame looks like you will enjoy seeing for yourself on the second Saturday of the month 10am to 2 pm. Enjoy.

Randomly passed by while biking down Hesperian (unintended city sight tour) and noticed this cool…read morearchitectural gem. It wasn't open today so couldn't go in for tours but I looked it up online later. Reminds me of the Patterson House at Ardenwood Historic Farm. Neat piece of local history!

What a treasure in the midst of hectic Bay Area! Our parks tour guide was super knowledgeable- what…read morean interesting story of the life of Eugene and his wife

Sneaky cool nps site. A little hard to get to but website has good logistical info. Site is well…read moremaintained. Rangers tour has good interpretative content. A site worth checking out.

Came here to watch Toy Story 5 and also check out their spacious lounge/bar area. It was…read moresurprisingly empty on a Sunday afternoon, although finding our theater was a little confusing because the LED panel hadn't updated to the correct showtime yet. Luckily, the staff was friendly and helped point us in the right direction. The theater itself was a good size with clean and comfy recliners, but the screen was smaller than I expected compared to places like ShowPlace ICON. We tried ordering through the QR code at our seats but couldn't get it to work, so we ended up ordering directly with the staff instead. We got two drinks and a basic chicken tender with fries. Drinks came in about 10 minutes, but the food took 30+ minutes. Taste-wise, it was just okay, good portion, nothing particularly memorable. After the movie, we stopped by the bar for another drink. Again, nothing that really stood out, but the bartender took good care of us before clocking out for her shift. Overall, it was an okay experience. Comfortable theater, beautiful lounge area, and friendly service, but between the ordering issue, long food wait, and smaller screen, there's definitely room for improvement.

Unfortunately, we came here tonight and paid an overpriced amount of money to watch a movie and…read moreexperience the service promoted here. A simple part of that service is to serve the food to customers ordering from the theater, especially if we're immediately encouraged to pay an 18% gratuity. My partner and I ordered a bowl of popcorn, specifically through their online menu, so we wouldn't have to walk out and miss watching our movie. But after 40 minutes into the movie, us waiting and no popcorn being delivered, we had to walk out and ask for it, having to miss part of the movie just to be rush handed a small bowl of bland popcorn that wasn't with the specific modifications we requested for. I don't think it's that hard to put popcorn in a bowl or walk up a few stairs is it? I understand it was a late night, workers are getting tired, but services should still be available at any movie showing. Otherwise remove it because it's false advertisement. It's one thing to make minor mistakes, but to not be delivered the food is crazy. It's not like everyone at the theater is ordering food also, so what are these workers actually doing in the kitchen? If we hadn't gotten up, would we have not been served our food at all? We paid way too much for these tickets just to miss part of the movie. From another youngin I know you're gonna go home and doomscroll for another four hours. What makes your job go by faster is by actually doing your job! Hope this was helpful