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.

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.

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!

1 of 2 Yelp reviews…read more Quality/Quantity - One of the "newer" cities. One of the nicer master communities (IMO). I remember when you started all those golf course master communities, etc. Things to do and see in San Ramon: If you love nature - Mt Diablo, Diablo Range, San Ramon Valley, Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, Forest Home Farms Historic Park, Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve, Bridges Golf Course, Canyon Lakes Golf Course & Brewery, San Ramon Golf Club, etc. 2014 - City center is still my favorite part of the city. 350k square feet! Beautiful space, plenty of restaurants, a brewery (Fieldworks), etc. Atmosphere - See above. 18.72 square miles, 0.03 of which is water. 2020 census population of 84.6k. Largest employers are - PG&E, Chevron (I believe they are moving, if they have not moved already), Robert Half International, BMO Bank, etc. Service - Good, they cater to a slightly more affluent customer. It also depends on what you do, eat, or drink. Price - Reasonable. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1983.

So I've lived in San Ramon for the past three years now, so I think I've got a fair grasp of what…read moreit's like living here. These are just my opinions on what it's been like. I'll start with the Pro's: -It's safe. Really one of the few cities left in the Bay Area where it feels like you can walk around in public and not be scared of being a victim of a crime, or worry that your car will be broken into for zero reason. -It's a clean city. You won't find streets or really any areas that have been taken over by trash or encampments here. -Public services are really good. The libraries are really nice. Lots of parks and sports things to take advantage of (skateparks, tennis courts, soccer fields, etc). Plenty of trails through the hills as well. Post office is really efficient. As for the Con's: -Driving through San Ramon is actually a nightmare for no other reason than the traffic lights and terrible drivers. It's like their city planner decided on pure chaos when they engineered the traffic lights here. They somehow managed to make it so that you will hit every red light possible. You'll have a main road with a 50 mph speed limit, and it'll take you 20 minutes to drive 3 miles, because you'll spend 15 of those minutes stopped at a red light. The problem is that their lights both have zero communication with one another, and the side streets take priority over the main roads. Stopped at a red light at one intersection? Be prepared to stop at a red light 100 yards down the street. What's the point of a 50mph speed limit if you're just stop and go every block (looking at you here Bollinger Canyon Rd). Single car just pulled up from a side road? Boom, instant red light for the main road. The lights linger as red's for so long as well. It's super common to get stopped at a red light, notice that zero cars have moved for the last 15 seconds, think to yourself "why is this even a red light", wait 10 more seconds, and then finally one of the lights will turn green and a direction of traffic will move, but usually not yours. -For some reason San Ramon has these walking trails that cut through main roads of the city, so you'll have a main road with 50+ cars stopped for one pedestrian that has suddenly decided to cross the road. Like, your city is rich enough, just build a bridge for the pedestrians. For example, there's one of these a few blocks away from The Lot. Massive and busy downtown shopping area, and you're going to have a pedestrian trail stopping all traffic for one person walking. It's absolutely dumb, especially when there's both crosswalks for normal pedestrians to use at regular traffic lights just a few yards away, and there's already 3 regular traffic lights just between Alcosta Rd to The Lot. You don't need that extra one just for a trail. -The drivers here are bad. I've lived in the Bay Area nearly every year of my 34, and San Ramon has the worst of any city I've ever been in. A very solid portion of drivers here are afraid of the speed limit, and will drive 10 to 15 mph below it. Others are just actually bad, like lane changes without any care for who's next to them, stopping in the middle of the road, or they're glued to their phones. Here in San Ramon, you will definitely have a Tesla cut you off, brake check you, and drive 10 below the speed limit. In other cities, you'll maybe encounter someone like this on the road somewhat commonly, but here in San Ramon it's about 25% of the drivers. -So expensive. I get it, cause it's a very safe spot in the Bay Area, but housing and rentals should not be this much for what you get. Food and groceries run pricier than the norm too. -If you've got any sort of color to your skin, you're more than likely to run into some sort of racism at some point in this city. It's a very rich city with people who like to act rich, and it leans conservative. So be prepared for the microaggressions. And the Mid's -Restaurants are so middle of the road. Most of the restaurants are just okay, not good and not bad. There's Marugame Udon and a Philz. Hooray? Orient Express and MJ Sushi are some of the more hidden gems in terms of food here. A lot of the restaurants here are designed for people who think Chipotle is ethnic food, so take that for what you will. -Somewhat central Bay Area location is fine. San Jose is half an hour away. Oakland is 45 minutes. The City is about an hour away. Could be better, and could be lots worse. -Weather is fine. Way hotter than the rest of the Bay. But, it's the Bay Area and it's better than 90% of the rest of the country anyways so I can't complain much. In all, it's a decent spot in the Bay Area to live. Haven't minded it too much the last 3 years.

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.

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.

Do you remember Port Chicago? Port Chicago is an important part of US history and it's in the Bay…read moreArea. From the Port Chicago website " Largest Homeland Disaster during World War II. On the evening of July 17, 1944, residents in the San Francisco east bay area were jolted awake by a massive explosion that cracked windows and lit up the night sky. At Port Chicago Naval Magazine, 320 men were instantly killed when the munitions ships they were loading with ammunition for the Pacific theatre troops mysteriously blew up." Why should we remember Port Chicago? It's important to remember it helped the US win WW2. Men served our country Remembering the young sailors -they helped the desegregation of the Navy and help lead to the civil rights movement of the 1950s & 60s. Historic root of racial justice We visited Port Chicago on Sat 7/21/07 when they were doing the 63rd Anniversary of the Port Chicago Explosion that happened Jun 17, 1944. You need to make reservations to come here by calling: 925-838-0249 and there is a meeting spot where buses take you into Port Chicago. The bus took us to the Special Event. We got to hear from Martha Lee, Superintendent of the NPS, John Berger, Chaplain, US Navy (Ret.) gave Invocation & Benediction. Kathy Hoffman from Congressman George Miller's office talked, Dr. Robert Allen reflected on the port Chicago Tragedy, there were memories & stories from members of the audience, Friends of Port Chicago Rev. Diana McDaniel talked. Then we took the bus again to the commemorative site where a bagpiper played and a wreath was thrown into the water. Some plaques to read, part of a ship was left, and naval artillery shells were seen. Everyone should visit at least once if in the Bay Area.

Today I attended the yearly commemoration of the Port Chicago tragedy, organized at the National…read moreMemorial by the National Park Service. The memorial itself is a simple but solemn affair -- a small open area featuring granite tablets etched with the names of the victims, a few static displays of debris and ordnance, and an American flag snapping in the crisp shore breeze. It has to be one of the smallest National Parks in the country, but the austere nature of the Memorial invites contemplation of the bleak time in our nation's history that brought about such a catastrophe as the Port Chicago Explosion and the so-called Mutiny that followed. The effect on this event and its aftermath on the fledgling Civil Rights Movement cannot be discounted. Minus one star only because the Memorial is on an active military base, and visiting it requires arranging access ahead of time through the National Park Service. This impediment, I fear, greatly reduces the visitor traffic, and may thus threaten funding to maintain and even expand the Memorial.