until suburbia!

A person taking a picture of the flower fields and a sign saying: Pick Your Own Bouquet today

Pick Some Flowers, Park Winters, Winter, CA

March 27, 2026Silvia

If you only plan on picking your next bouquet at the flower farm in Park Winters, you are missing out. They also have an amazing brunch where everything can be made vegetarian. Wandering around the beautiful estate, before and afterwards, is required.

Even with events going on, you can visit the gift shop near the estate. You may walk away with some olive oil, soap, or a cute greeting card.

Picking flowers on most Saturdays or Sundays can be a relaxing way to spend your weekend. You can just ‘walk-in’, but they recommend that you reserve a spot online. Take the kids, but make sure they are supervised at all times. Kids under 12 are not allowed to handle the shears. Please leave your dog at home. Each bouquet costs $38, not the most frugal experience, but an extraordinary one. Get inspired by nature, relax, and let your creativity bloom.

Not a fan of fresh flowers? No problem! The flower farm also offers to create a bouquet of dried flowers. Want to learn something? Sure, just book one of their workshops, like wreath making. Or book one of their garden tours and learn what’s in bloom.

Park Winters is located at 27850 County Road 26, Winters, CA. The flower picking experience is offered Saturdays and Sundays from 9am – 1pm.

Flowers blooming overlooking the Davis Cemetery

Gaze at the Bloom in the Davis Cemetery

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026Silvia

A cemetery might not be the first place you think of when looking at blooming trees. But the Davis Cemetery, established in 1855, is also a level 2 arboretum. With over 150 species of trees, it’s a great place to take a walk. Right now, some of the trees are in bloom. A wonderful stroll that is augmented by unique headstones and other memorials.

Besides that, they also have one of the nation’s first tributes to COVID-19. The walkway with some colorful arches ends in a cluster of benches that are ideal for social distancing.

If you prefer a meditative walk, they offer a labyrinth that is uniquely shaped.

The all-denominational cemetery is open every day of the week from sunrise to sunset. Located at 820 Pole Line Rd. in Davis.

The entrance of the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg

Taste Some Wines, Old Sugar Mill, Clarksburg

February 7, 2026Silvia

A destination for wine lovers is the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg. Originally established in 1934 as a production facility for sugar beets, it’s now a backdrop for 14 wineries hosting their tasting rooms. The large brick building and the courtyard is a picturesque event venue. The tasting rooms each have their own styles. For example Draconis with their cozy seating and dragon decorations impressed both of us. This would be a great place for a restaurant, but right now, they only offer a food truck on the weekends.

I think this location will be great in the summer. The outside courtyard is inviting, but the rooms were all a bit chilly. The staff throughout was super friendly. One winery even recommended the winery where we stopped for a wine tasting because of my husband’s grape preference.

Where is your go-to winery?

Old Sugar Mill is located at 35265 Willow Ave in Clarksburg, CA. The opening hours depend on each winery; check on the website https://oldsugarmill.com/wineries.html. No pets allowed, except service animals. No outside foods – there will be food trucks on Saturday and Sundays.

Explore Art by Native Americans, Gorman Museum, Davis

January 16, 2026Silvia

Contemporary art by Native Americans, First Nations, and Indigenous Peoples is the focus of the Gorman Museum in Davis, CA. This museum, located near the arboretum, is part of the UC Davis campus. Established in 1973, it has a large collection of earlier indigenous art – baskets, ceramics, and sculptures. The exhibitions now, however, present artists of contemporary Native American arts. Rick Bartow’s solo exhibit ends January 18th, 2026. Shelly Niro will be the next solo artist opening on January 28th, 2026.

I highly recommend the Indigenous Futurisms exhibit, where nine artists redefine their relationship with aliens and superheroes. The Star Wars theme is catchy and invites the viewer to reflect. My absolute favorite was Resistance by Andy Everson. Darth Vader wearing Native American symbols makes him stand out. Is it a ridicule of the powerful? Or a display of dark forces being rejected? The Indigenous Futurisms collection can be seen until September 2026.

The museum doesn’t allow taking pictures of the artwork. You can visit their website to browse their collection.

The Gorman Museum of Native American Art is located at 181 Old Davis Road, Davis. Opening hours are Wednesday to Friday from 11 am – 5 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from noon – 5 pm.

Parking is always challenging at the campus, but if you visit on the weekends, the parking lot 5a has free spots available. During the week, you can use the 7 metered spots in lot 5a, but they might fill up.

Babi Yar is the site of a mass killing by the German Schutzpolizei in WW II

Discern Beauty and Terror, Center for the Performing Arts, Mountain View

January 4, 2026Silvia

Beauty and Terror is the current exhibit in the Center for Performing Arts lobby in Mountain View. Robin L. Bernstein’s beautiful creations using strings pressed into wax reveal, on closer inspection, an ugly truth. 18 artworks telling us about the Holocaust and its many awful atrocities.

Every piece is accompanied by a fact sheet detailing an awful occurrence of genocide during World War II. One features the resistance of the White Rose, another denounces Germany’s handling of its Nazi past.

I think I would title Robin L. Bernstein’s exhibit Strings Attached. Such a fascinating medium- she uses wax and colorful strings for her artwork. Many of the strings are vintage and of European origin.

On her website, she says:

“Dwell on the past, lose an eye.

Forget the past, lose both.”

With Beauty and Terror, she reminds us that we are able to create beautiful things; nevertheless, humans are also capable of killing each other in the most horrendous ways. Being human, we should fight every day to be able to live in peace and not slaughter each other. Learn from our history and never forget.

The beauty of the artworks draws us in to look closer and discover underlying ugly truths. We are capable of both.

This free exhibit runs until January 25, 2026, and is open Wednesdays thru Saturdays from 12 pm to 3 pm. Ask to be let in at the ticket office.

Some of the information might be distressing for people since the descriptions are very graphic, dealing with genocide and horrific acts of violence.

The Years in Review – Untilsuburbia’s 10 Year Anniversary

December 27, 2025Silvia

In November 2015, a new blog was conceived: untilsuburbia.com.

The idea: What can you do in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco? It turns out a lot!

Here are a few numbers from the last 10 years:

Over the last 10 years, I posted

487 blog posts
9 collections about 50 things to do in Bay Area cities

With an average of 240 words, each blog post isn’t extensive, but it presents you with an appetizer version of what you will find.

A huge thank you to Sharon, who reads every blog and makes the best suggestions! Many thanks go to the people who join me on my exploration adventures – you know who you are! And last but not least, thank you for reading this blog. Please like and subscribe!

For 10 years, this has been my hobby. A way to keep me writing and committed to an (almost) weekly blog post. I haven’t gotten any compensation for it. In fact, the frugal sightseeing category is part of the concept. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. The most expensive experience was the oyster shucking at Tomales Bay, a birthday gift for my husband.

Over the years, I wrote about 90+ cities. In addition to the Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma, I recently added Yolo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey County.

My favorite find

My personal favorite find was Victor Arnautoff’s murals on the former Palo Alto health clinic. Arnautoff was a disciple of Diego Rivera. His depiction of medical procedures caused a traffic jam in the 1930s, mainly because of the topless woman in one mural.

I only posted twice about the same place. Both are special finds! The first is the Arizona Cactus Garden on the grounds of Stanford University. A fascinating, if not magical, place with a myriad of cactuses and succulents. The second place also has magical qualities. The redwood grove in Los Altos is a truly hidden gem. Not many people frequent this grove, and it is a quick, meditative, and calming place.

Do you have a favorite post?

Did you ever get inspired to explore after reading one of my posts? Let me know in the comments!

Admire Old Toys, Hayward Toy Museum

December 12, 2025Silvia

We came for the giants and found the toy museum, too! Last week, I reported on the Muffler Man and other giant statues at Bell Plastics in Hayward. To my surprise, this is also the place to see toy banks, banned toys, and Pez.

If you missed your chance to go to the Pez Museum in Burlingame, head over to Hayward to see this extensive collection! Bruce Kennedy, the avid collector who acquired the plastic statues for Bell Plastics, got his collection bug started as a kid with toy banks. First, it was glass banks. But it evolved into all things antique. Now there are molds for antique toy banks, all kinds of birth banks, and glass baby bottles. When he took over the Pez collection from his friend Gary Doss, he installed a colorful floor that reflected the dispenser’s uniqueness. You can still take a photo with the world’s largest Pez dispenser. Also, the collection of banned toys is on display, with my favorite: the Atomic Energy Lab. This museum also holds some collector’s items like the first comic book (Famous Funnies No. 1) and the first wireless remote control (Zenith Flash-Matic).

I opted for the tour included in the price and received an extensive presentation. The museum is $10 for adults, $5 for kids 12 to 17, or $24 per car. You can find the Hayward Toy Museum on 2020 National Ave. in Hayward. Opening hours are Monday through Friday from 4:30 pm to 7 pm, and Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm.

Look up at the Muffler Man, Hayward

December 5, 2025Silvia

Big Mike, aka the Muffler Man is, at 20ft, a true roadside attraction. At Bell Plastics in Hayward, many of the old fiberglass attractions found a second home. Collector Bruce Kennedy has been restoring and preserving these giants since 2011.

Big Mike was originally installed in the 1960’s on Mission Boulevard at the Morris Car Wash in Hayward. Kennedy, who has now quite a collection of these oldies around, saved him. From a waving Santa to the octopus that formally decorated a car wash, it’s a trip to yesteryear.

There is also a Paul Bunyan statue, a giant lumberjack. The funniest I found was the Alfred E. Neuman giant, of MAD comics fame (he is sometimes called Half Wit)! This one got restored with a Hawaiian shirt and was briefly featured in the 2008 movie “Semi Pro.”

All statues seem to be missing the axes they once carried. There is one axe in the office that was left there by an anonymous donor. But it was too big for Big Mike.

I’m so glad that these statues found a savior! What a great roadside attraction.

Big Mike and all the other statues can be seen for free at Bell Plastics, located at 2020 National Ave., Hayward, CA. Opening hours are from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and Saturday, 10 am to 6:00 pm.

Thank you, Joel Baker, the founder of American Giants, for the comprehensive article on Bruce Kennedy’s collection.

The entrance to the Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito

Value the Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito

November 28, 2025Silvia

Do you know you can visit the World’s Largest Marine Mammal Hospital right here in the Bay Area? It is in the Marin Headlands, a 15-minute drive from downtown Sausalito.

Visiting the center is free, but you have to reserve tickets through Eventbrite. To enhance this experience, I highly recommend you book a tour. They are participating in the Discover & Go program through your local library, and we got a 50% discount. Our tour turned out to be a private tour. We were taken to the hospital and the seal restaurant which prepares the specific food needed for each species to heal. Which animals you will see depends on the season. February to May is pupping season for the northern elephant seal and the California sea lion pups. June to October is sea lion season and November to January is usually quieter. Current patients are posted on the website. In addition, you can do extra things such as touch the various seal and sea lion skins to see how different they are.

They do amazing research and take in seals from Monterey Bay to San Lois Obispo.

Stop by the gift shop to give some extra love. You can also donate or shop online. For delivery before Hannukkah, shop before December 4th; for delivery before Christmas, get your order in before December 9th.

The Marine Mammal Center is open Friday to Monday, 10 am – 4 pm (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day). It is located at 2000 Bunker Road, Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito. You must book a ticket online.

Extra Impact

For an extra impact, they asked if you’d like to leave a comment in favor of the Endangered Species Act. These protections are likely to be removed in order to allow oil drilling. The government is soliciting public comments on the four proposed rules now through Sunday, December 21.

Front of the Museum of International Propaganda

Find out about Propaganda, Museum for International Propaganda, San Rafael

November 21, 2025Silvia

When, in 2016, Tom and Lilka Areton opened the Museum for International Propaganda in San Rafael, some might have felt it was a comment on the political landscape. However, the museum’s focus is on the 20th century. Their fascinating collection takes you through 30 years of propaganda art for about 25 countries during the 20th century.

But their mission is also to inform you on how propaganda works. In their main exhibit, they display 7 propaganda ideas, from Leader Idealization to Vilification, all supported by posters that illustrate these ideas. At the end of the self-tour, you can look at the post–1989 area documented with posters and photographs. On their website you can also take a virtual tour, where Tom Areton walks you through the museum. But it is really impressive in real life.

They also have a room reserved for special exhibits. Right now, they are showing Robert Leon Bru’s collection of German political cartoons, saved while he was a POW in Germany during WWII. In the back library room, I was most impressed by a replica of Picasso’s Guernica.

What a great place to learn about propaganda!

Especially in a time of fake news and an overabundance of false information, we have to pause and consider, making sure we don’t get manipulated. Not an easy task.

The International Museum for Propaganda, located at 1000 5th Avenue in San Rafael, is free. Donations are welcome. Opening hours are Thursdays and Fridays, 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm, and Saturdays, 11 am to 5 pm.