sheffield village is one of the best communities in oakland, located in the very quiet and isolated…read morecorner bordering san leandro and oakland with beautiful partial views of the bay, and mountains, yet it is very close to shops, freeways, the oakland zoo and BART. it was built in the late 30's and is seen as the jewel of oakland is now a historical landmark. i spent almost most of my 30 plus years here as my grandparents lived here most of their life. i would always look forward to visiting them here as this would prove to give me so much do do in this great village. climbing up into the hills of oakland, sneaking around the dunsmair house, trips to the park and even playing doctor with the neighbor girl. most of the homes still to this day have original hardwood floors, china cabinets and the same old school construction. i will never forget my time spent in this great community as it a place right out of a movie. One thing is certain: for anyone old enough to remember the 1950s, a trip to sheffield village is certain to evoke waves of nostalgia.

I feel I need to answer the review about the "apartheid past." It has to be put in historical…read moreperspective. In 1939 that sort of attitude was the norm. I'm not saying it was right, but it was accepted and common. My family moved to Sheffield Village in 1946 when I was a 3 and I lived there until I finished college and got married. It was a great place to grow up, safe and self-contained. This was before the MacArthur Freeway chopped off the entrance to the village, and when there was a school and a library where the interchange now is. Also The Creamery, where they made their own ice cream (it was wonderful). Later the school moved to what is now the park area next to the rec center. I went to 3rd and 4th grade there and it was right down the street from where I lived on Marlow Drive. Back to the matter of color. When I was growing up I had never seen a person of color, there weren't any in Oakland that I remember. We shopped downtown and never saw anyone different from us (WASP). The large black population and the many people of asian descent are recent in my lifetime. We did see Chinese folks in Chinatown in SF but nowhere else. When my brother was little he saw a black man on the street and thought he was made of chocolate. i doubt that the conventions of the "law", which was more likely a CC&R such as are found in many developments today, have ever been followed. We were solidly middle-class and nobody had household help, or if they did it was temporary, so the matter of a black maid/cook/cleaning lady was completely beyond anyone's experience. I never heard a thing about it, it was a non-issue. Nobody's mother worked except for one boy whose father had died. Nobody got a divorce. It was Wally & The Beaver all the way. MIlk was delivered to your house, so was dry cleaning, women didn't drive. My mother was ill after my brother was born and my dad hired a housekeeper for a while, but she was a grandmotherly lady and blonde. There just weren't that many people of color around. What the original developer did was common for then, but times have changed now and for the better. I doubt you'll find that attitude today and you can't punish today's residents for something that happened so long ago. Blaming people in the present for the sins of the past is just silly, what we did to the Native Americans was awful, slavery was awful, the internment camps in WW 2 were awful, so was the restriction on black people in Sheffield Village--but my folks didn't do it, people today aren't doing it, and all any of us can do is move forward and make sure we don't do it in future.

The eyecatching and brightly painted watermelon is a nice rock to marvel as you drive along otis…read moredrive to get into Alameda. There's also a paved road right next to it you can meander near it as well for a closer look.

Review #700 The…read moreWatermelon Rock, or what I always called the Doolittle Watermelon, has been here for a long time. It's one of those things that, if you were a regular driver on Doolittle Drive (Highway 61) headed to Alameda, this thing always caught your eye, and consciously or unconsciously, you began to look for it. Well, now they have widened the road, and there's also a paved pedestrian path that allows you to run, walk, or bike past it. But, with the barrier that protects the path from vehicles, you can't see it when you're driving by anymore. Whoever painted this did a good job, but they also painted other fruit on rocks, but when they redid the road, only the watermelon rock survived and made the cut. I guess, technically, it's located in the Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline, which is 2 parks. This is some real original local flavor that's been here a long time!!

This wonderful location must be the best kept secret in Northern California…read more Upon entering this old train depot building, I was immediately greeted by several nice club members. They gave a fantastic tour of all the levels of this wonderful model railway. It's far more complicated and sophisticated than I would have thought. These are smart people who obviously love their hobby. This is one of the more interesting things I've done in recent years. Thanks for making this such a wonderful asset to our community

I checked out the San Leandro Historical Railway Society during their open house on Sun 12/6/15…read more It was 2 days: Sat 12/5/15 and Sun 12/6/15 from 10am-4pm. Donation of $2 the sign said, Up to you what you want to give them there is a box you can give them some money or not. They have one main area for the model trains. Only the members can use the remote so the public can only watch the trains go by. Upstairs is for members only too. Another room is where they have some museum items: old typewriter, some old dishes, and some train items. Outside there's another area for trains, but because it rained a tiny bit they weren't running them. Boo for me. FREE parking in the lot and it's next to a park.

The Cinemark Century Bayfair Mall 16 Movie Theater is a clean and efficient movie theater. Their…read morepopcorn is delicious, and they serve real butter. You can also pay a bit more to have unlimited bottomless popcorn, which can be a great money saver if you're watching movies that are over two hours long. Another plus is that there's usually no big line in front of the theater to get tickets, so you can easily catch a movie even if you're a bit late as they still show previews. The theater also has a large, free parking lot, so you don't have to worry about parking. The open-air concession area is a nice touch, and the decor reminds you of the late 80s and early 90s. It's a fun and nostalgic experience, and the theater seats are comfortable. The sound is great, and overall, I had a great time watching movies here.

People hate soooo hard on this movie theater but it's actually not that bad! Especially if you come…read moreon Tuesdays - tickets are $6 and it's very empty and it's the best haha. Came a couple weeks ago to see Sheep Detective with a cinemark gift card and got a delicious popcorn, enjoyed some leather seats that have cupholders but don't recline (just a little bit of posterior tilt haha). Always reliable easy parking in the parking lot, all the staff are very efficient, and everything is an acceptable level of clean. I think the complaints in these reviews on the clientele really depends on what movie you're seeing. This theater is wayyyyy better than the one in Hayward

My friend and I were in town and came to visit the temple first thing off our iteniery…read more I've only visited once prior for the Christmas lighting and Nativity back in 2016. Christmas lighting happens almost every year and free to the public and members alike. They do free tours and put on quite the show with music ensemble and nativity from all different cultures. You'll see much more abundance of sister and brother missionaries as theyll be the one leading the tours. They're so sweet, kind, willing to answer any questions or concerns you have without pressuring you. I came to love the missionaries bc of that. Ofc if anyone does, feel free to let them know you arent comfortable and theyll back off. Hence, coming here during the summer was a nice treat. We actually happen to arrive in the middle of someone's wedding day. It was a beautuful Tongan wedding. Maybe its a sign?? Lol. The parking inside is ample but when it has events, it does fill quickly. We almost didnt find one, but thankfully we lucked in with the three parking. Everyone visiting was so friendly that we saw and met today. (Xmas, too, in 2016.) There's an abundance of flower garden at the front of the temple, a stream, and water fountain. Up the stairs, to the second floors, has another flower garden. It overlooks the city of SF, so its quite scenic. Our church focuses on making sure its clean so everyone that visits has a pleasant moment with our Heavenly Father. Though, a picnic does seem tempting, I would advise against any food or drinks on the premise as its church grounds and a reverent place. A place is only as beautiful,if everyone puts in the effort to keep it so. We hope everyone visiting can treat this place with the same respect. Other than that, feel free to enjoy. :) Such an ideal place to relax and meditate too.

If you are looking for view one the city this is a great place to come to. Just go onto the rooftop…read moregarden and depending on the fog situation you can see far off into the distance. If you are looking for a quiet place to meditate and to contemplate life this is your place. If you love flowers and want to see them blooming year round then this is your place, If you are looking to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this is your place. They have a fabulous visitors center. The staff isn't pushy. I come here for the pure beauty of the place. It's such a great place to find some solitude. There are benches you can rest on.

The golf courses are beautifully maintained, and have the perfect amount of challenge for the…read moreaverage mini-golfer. My family and I visited on Sunday morning, and the cashiers were pleasant and seemed to actually enjoy their job. Arcade was clean, and games were all operational. I highly recommend bringing your family or friends here. We will be back soon!

Roll up your sleeves, loosen your hips, steady your stance and get ready for some putt-putt at…read moreGolden Tee Golfland! Castro Valley hosts this mini golf spot that's an affiliate of the Golfland family and features its two 18-hole ranges perfect for beginners and experts alike. After a few rounds on the green, consider venturing into their arcades to play some good old fashioned video games (Time Crisis and other dual player shooters, Mario Kart and other racing games, and fighting games) and skill games (like skee ball, table air hockey, and claw machines). Be wary, however, for those who have game cards from other Golflands, they're location specific so they won't work here unless you have one from this spot. Starting from the giant parking lot which is just off of a busy street, you'll make your way through the gates and stroll up the long walkway to the front desk where you'll register to get your clubs and balls (you'll get your choice from among a few colors). From there, you'll have your pick of the two courses, one for novices and one for the more adventurous. Make your way through the obstacles and mark your scorecard to determine the winner of bragging rights! We came for a birthday party and logistically, they have the main room amongst the beginner course which is well lit from all the open windows but I believe they have another space near the arcade for those looking for a more enclosed, private gathering. Once the guests arrived, they hosted an orientation and got the members all equipped and ready to go. The youngsters had a lot of fun and can't wait to return! The staff were all very friendly and helpful. You'll interact with them more at the arcades especially if you'll be redeeming prizes with your hard-earned digital tickets. The ticket values on the top tier prizes were pretty large but for frequent visitors or lucky winners, you can get some pretty neat stuff here. The mini prizes definitely reminded me of my times at the arcades when I was a kid, very nostalgic! Overall, Golden Tee Golfland is a well-maintained, family friendly environment conducive to an awesome time outdoors as well as an exhilarating experience soaking up the old school arcade vibe. We accumulated a ton of steps during our visit here and the kids could not stop hitting the greens to get their fluorescently colored balls into the holes. The obstacles are fun - there are water effects and moving doors and bridges. While most of them functioned as expected, there were a few hiccups with some like balls getting stuck or certain doors just not functioning as expected. For wetter seasons, the holes for the balls do end up pooling which makes picking the balls out a bit of an unpleasant endeavor. For being exposed to the outdoors, the place was in pretty good shape, however. It's a bummer that the Golflands don't have a unified system for the game cards as it just incentivizes families to just pick one and stick with it instead of venturing out and exploring the other amazing locations like this one. If you're a local, this is a great place to take a date or the family - it'll tee you up for a good time!

Lots of details about this interesting corner of the Bay Area provided by our guide Dan G. He was a…read morewealth of information, pretty funny and as a local was able to share a lot of perspective on the islands changes. Great day trip and I wish we had more time to poke around.

Wonderful tour led by Jim. History + nature! A great morning spent on the island…read more For people who are looking to visit the Naval Museum on the island, it is no longer open, but this tour is operative and you get to see the naval chapel and walk around the area. I was originally looking for information about the museum and arrived at this page: https://www.mihpf.org/tours. I hope this will help you find their tour options and dates! All digitalized, no fuss. And it turns out I was the only who signed up for today's tour, and they did not cancel on me because of that. I really really appreciated it. One last thing, the money you spend on the tour goes into helping this foundation : ) Yay!

I was here for the Big Bang concert. Many people questioned why this venue for their world tour. It…read moreis an older stadium and a lot of the seats are falling apart due to age. I would say that the service was great! The staff, security, and police were upbeat! They were so much more positive and enthusiastic than when there were sports here. I think if the county or city can renovate this place, it can become a pretty darn good venue.

We came to the Oakland Coliseum for the BIGBANG concert this past weekend. Although the concert was…read morea lot of fun, we wanted to note how disappointed we were with the experience at the coliseum. Cons: -:Some of the worst experience was the lack of water/non alcoholic drinks at the venue. Yes, there are water fountains and if you brought in an empty water bottle, you were luckily helped a bit here by tracking down a water fountain. However, nearly all the vendors we saw on the 200 level ran out of all drinks except for Modelo. After asking the cashier if they would replenish the drinks, the cashier mentioned that 'they' should have known better and that no drinks would be added for the rest of the night. That's a really poor experience and terrible for anyone looking for anything without alcohol. -:In addition, lines were just terrible throughout the entire 200 level with lines to the restroom mingling with lines to vendors and little guidance from anyone. It was really up to us to push through and figure out which line led where before the start of the concert. -: Yes, getting out in any sort of sports/concert venue is tough. And I appreciate that you can get to this venue via BART super easily. However, both our friends and us experienced issues getting out that could have been better managed via staffing. Those getting in via car had a tough time getting in. Even though our friends had left from San Jose nearly over an hour before, they were stuck in their cars trying to get in and missing 15-20 minutes of the concert, even though parking was ample. For them, getting out wasn't too hard though on the flip side. For us, getting in via the BART as mentioned was not too bad. However, getting out, there was just a huge amount of people that were crowding the stairways and entry into the BART station. This area was also where the rideshare was oddly enough rather than at the venue. Some more barricades/staffing could have helped better guide folks more easily through the area. +/-: Our seats in the 215 section were great and easy to see the stage with good sound. However, we got comments from others that their seats were partially blocked and not explicitly told on the tickets, especially in some of the 100 sections. Although the seats were old, we thought our area was comfortable. Pros: +Although the line/vendor experience were generally pretty poor, we did like the chicken sandwich and french fries we got and appreciated how quickly they were coming out. The chicken itself was juicy with a good green goddess mayo and the french fries were hot. Overall, we were pretty disappointed with the logistics of the experience and how those managing the event prepared for the event.

"No Dinosaurs, just a really steep hike!"…read more Dinosaur Ridge is quite a steep hike, but worth the effort to see (once, anyway.) You start at the Chabot Staging area, off Redwood Road. There is a large parking lot there, with a primitive outhouse, and not much else. There might be a water faucet there (but I didn't look for one.) There are signs warning about car break-ins, so don't leave valuables in sight. Note that this hike is on EBMUD land, so you need to get a hiking permit to access. This is available online, and is very cheap. The park police come around occasionally, so don't risk a ticket. Be sure to carry your permit with you. Very close by is a fun business, "Castro Valley Christmas Tree Farm." It's on Miller Road, which is usually blocked off. However, on the trail, you go right behind the farm (see my photos.) From the staging area, it is less than a 3 mile hike to Dinosaur Ridge. For part of the way, you are on the "Ramage Trail." It's a pretty, green-covered trail. Later, you make a right turn to go towards the ridge. Then, it's just brown dirt, and not so pretty. The name of this landmark comes from all the rocks lined up in a row at the top of the steep ridge. Does it look like a Dino-Ridgeback? Well, maybe, if you have a good imagination. (I put a geocache near the top.) The trail you are on for most of the time is also part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, as well as the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. This latter trail has some interesting historical significance--worth reading about. So all in all, just an "okay" hike. I thought it was worth traveling to one-time, but may not merit a second visit.