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.

This is a quaint little farm in San Ramon that's open to the public (free). We came here with a…read moretoddler, who was a bit frighten by the animals at first, but eventually warmed up to them. They are all very gentle and just roaming around in their enclosed area. There is a horse, sheep, lamb, a goat, and some chickens. This is not a petting zoo. We came here on a Saturday and ran into the couple that runs the farm. They were eager to tell us all about the farm, its history, and current events happening at the farm. (Almost) every Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. there is a free event, such as art with corn, ice cream making, rug weaving etc. See their website for schedule of events. They also have a tractor museum with many tractors restored by volunteers. Because we had a toddler with us, we had to cut our visit short and didn't get to check out the gift shop and the tour of the Victorian house (tours Saturdays at 12:00 pm and 1pm). We brought a picnic lunch and sat at one of several picnic tables scattered throughout the farm. It was a fun and educational outing, and we'll probably come back again.

We came here for their Holiday on the Farm event and were so pleasantly surprised by how much there…read morewas to do there: - arts and crafts in the Boone house - Glass Museum hours - Santa meet and greet and pictures - Magic show - brass band - face painting - kettle corn, cotton candy vendor - sheepdog/sheep demonstrations - chicken coop - tractor rides - tractor barn - lawn games - gift shop The best part about it all was that it was free (with the exception of tips for the face painter, food for purchase, tractor ride donations)! Love that we came here by chance and left so happy, overjoyed, and full of Christmas spirit. We would definitely come back for their other Saturday events and sheep shearing in April! Lots of parking, and staff are so welcoming. Had an issue with unruly kids and parents, but other than that, it was a pleasant experience all around.

10/10 -- Worth Every Penny (Parlor/Dome Car Experience)…read more If you're considering the Niles Canyon Train of Lights, do yourself a favor and splurge on the Parlor Car or Dome car. It completely transforms the experience. From the moment you board, you're treated like a VIP: dedicated seating in a fully enclosed caboose, attentive service throughout the ride, and complimentary warm drinks and sweets that are perfect for a cold, wet winter night. Being waited on while rolling through a glowing canyon? Yes, please. One of the biggest perks is having your own reserved space, while still being free to explore the rest of the train--knowing your seat is secure and shared only with fellow Parlor Car Riders. It strikes the perfect balance between comfort and adventure. I've done both the 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm departures, and while both are enjoyable, 4:30 pm is the clear winner for me. You get to take in the scenery before the sun fully sets, which adds a magical transition from daylight to twinkling lights. The 7:30 pm ride feels more social and cozy--great for lingering conversations with family and friends--but the earlier ride lets you truly appreciate your surroundings. As for the cost, it's important to note that this railway is 100% donation-funded and entirely volunteer-operated. Knowing that every dollar goes directly toward preserving the historic railway, maintaining the trains, and supporting the volunteers who make this experience possible makes the price feel even more justified. You're not just paying for a ride--you're supporting a piece of living history. Bottom line: Cozy Thoughtfully curated For a great cause Perfect for winter evenings If you're on the fence about the Parlor Car or Dome Car upgrade--it's absolutely worth it.

All aboard! If you…read moreare looking for a low key outing that's suitable for all ages then consider booking a ride on Niles Canyon Railway. Enjoy a slow ride Sunol to downtown Niles and back, approx 1.5 hours. A docent will share tid bits of history during the ride. There are snacks for purchase and you can bring your own. I prepared a simple charcuterie for me and mom, gotta have something to nosh on as we enjoy the view. It's June and the hills are brown already but oh well it's still pretty. I was a little worried about whether my mom would struggle boarding the train as I didn't book ADA as she is not in wheelchair. The steps are slightly deeper than ours at home but she made it up without difficulty, there is a railing for support. Conductor did offer us to go to the car with the lift if we wanted. My next anxiety was holding up the boarding as mom navigated the stairs slowly and there quite a few people behind us. Everyone was patient thankfully and no one scoffed. Would love to do their holidays lights ride sometime but I haven't been successful in last few years to get tickets, they go fast.

Firehouse Arts Center doubles as a museum/art gallery and a local theater. Located in downtown…read morePleasanton the building was an old firehouse. Black Badge Yelper Steve T. invited us to a night of Comedy on a Saturday night. On the backside of the Center is the city park were they have free concerts in the summer. The theater is small and intimate. The evening showcased 7 local comedians some of which were better than others. During intermission we browsed the gallery with all of the art work. The art was for sale. All in all a nice evening.

Enjoyed an evening of Disney jazz with the Jeff Bordes Quartet and Alanna Vicente. The lovely…read moresounds of the piano, bass, drums, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and vocals paired with an excellent sound setup and lighting in this theater. No concessions were available on site, but they did offer guests free bottled water in the lobby. Photography and video recording was allowed for this particular show. Note, you can't see the full stage from the side balcony section unless you lean forward drastically as the seats are too far from the railing and unmovable. There are also poles in front of some of the side balcony seats with no advanced notice about the obstructed view when purchasing tickets... there's a reason these are the cheapest seats in the house. The performance was great, including beloved tunes from Mary Poppins (Chim Chim Cher-ee), Cinderella (A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes), 101 Dalmations (Cruella De Vil), Aladdin (Never Had a Friend Like Me), The Little Mermaid (Kiss the Girl), Snow White (Some Day My Prince Will Come), Lady and the Tramp, The Princess and the Frog, Jungle Book, and a non-disney encore of What a Wonderful World.

This art gallery impressed me so much -Kim, the sweet, friendly and knowledgeable manager chatted…read morewith us as we looked at all the amazing artwork. Some paintings were absolutely astonishing - made me wish I had more wall space! This is an art gallery for everyone. Make sure you go in and enjoy!

Cute art and knick-knack store that featured various kinds of art work from sculptures, paintings…read more(realism, landscape, Disney, etc.), framing, etc. Obviously, the paintings from a local artist had me laughing.

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 ;)

I've been going to the Alameda County Fair since I was a kid, and I truly don't think I've missed a…read moreyear. Even during COVID, when they couldn't hold the regular fair, they put on a special fall version instead. Getting to go to the fair in a Halloween costume was honestly such an awesome experience. I hope they do something like that again someday. I definitely have my traditions. Funnel cake is a must (always with strawberries ). Non-negotiables include the Sky Ride, the petting zoo, and the Model Railroad exhibit (ask about their scavenger hunt!). Before I leave, I have to stop at one of the old-fashioned photo booths too. I write the year on the back of every photo strip, so I've ended up with this little collection that's basically a timeline of my life at the fair. One of my favorite things is that it really feels like the community coming together, and the whole place has such a festive vibe. My dad has won a couple of blue ribbons over the years, I have friends who enter competitions, and I genuinely love walking through the exhibits to see what people have grown, baked, photographed, painted, and created. I always end up spending way more time (and money! ) than I planned, so now I just budget for it every year. The concerts have been incredible too. I've seen Bowling for Soup, Smash Mouth, the Village People, Flo Rida, and plenty of others over the years. Between the concerts, the demolition derby, the drone shows, the animals, the rides, and all the new entertainment they bring in every year, I usually end up going more than once before the fair is over. Speaking of food, the best (and most ridiculous) fair food appears every year. This year it was Spam fries. Did I try them? No. Did I absolutely stop to take a picture? Of course I did. Also, one year I somehow came home from the fair with a mattress. We weren't planning on buying one, but I guess that's just another Alameda County Fair memory. After almost 30 years, I still get excited every time I walk through those gates. I have to leave with my traditional photo strip, my feet tired and dusty, and already looking forward to next year.

We went to this fair on July 11th, and it happened to be one of the hottest day ever!! If I…read moreremember well, it was 96 degrees that day! Before my granddaughter went back to Bellevue, we bought tickets online and went to this fair. It was quite a fun experience! We arrived early, and parking was a breeze, well organized . We headed to one most wanted attraction, the Alaska pig racing!! The benches were full, but some very kind people squeezed in to make room for us. It was quite a show, and the host made the crowd participate too!! Then the petting zoo, the games, the food, the snacks.... Expensive, but it was fun. Then the heat got to us and we went home. It would be so awesome if the weather was cooler so we can enjoy everything!!! Guess we need to come back next year.

Very fun haunted house for adults. It is as good and as scary as it gets - and seemingly there are…read moreno corners cut - so much effort and money is put into decorations and costumes. Been a while since I've been but I have great memories here with college friends. We went with a big group and even the one grumpus in the group admitted he enjoyed it in the end (no I'm not talking about myself). The characters are amazing. They stay in character when you talk to them and put 110% into it. I think there are a couple other similar places to enjoy on Halloween - Great America does something and Winchester Mystery House might also be fun from what I hear.

I've been coming to Pirates of Emerson since 2021, and it's always such a blast! They've got four…read morehaunted houses, and this year they added three new games--which were awesome! The only downside was the lines; they were crazy long this year, and there seemed to be a much younger crowd (lots of middle schoolers). It might be cool if they made it 18+ to help keep the lines more manageable. Most of my night was spent waiting, but honestly, it's still one of my favorite Halloween traditions. Maybe next year they can add a couple more haunted houses to spread things out!

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.