take the kids Archives - until suburbia!

Take a Ferry to San Francisco

July 19, 2024Silvia

I think ferries are a great way to use public transportation. I remember visiting New York City, a much younger me, and enjoying a view of the Statue of Liberty.

In the Bay Area you can see Alcatraz or the Golden Gate Bridge from a distance. And if you want to go to Alcatraz, you have to take a ferry. One of my greatest Ferry outings was with a city friend: we rented bikes; biked across the Golden Gate Bridge; and took the ferry back from Sausalito.

Most of the ports here are used for commuting. You’ll find the schedules serving the working community, most likely not running on the weekends and mid day. But many people take the ferries to visit the city. They do have seasonal sport routes for seeing games at Oracle Park and Chase Center.

The San Francisco Bay Ferry serves the terminals of Alameda, Oakland, Richmond, South San Francisco, and Vallejo. The Golden Gate Ferry will connect Larkspur, Sausalito, Tiburon, and Angel Island. Both of these companies accept Clipper cards and credit card payments. The shortest ferry ride is from Treasure Island to San Francisco. In 8 minutes you can hop over to the artificial island that was created for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. This ferry is not part of the Clipper system and accepts cash and credit cards.

Do you enjoy ferry rides?

Sign for the Flea Market at Berryessa, San José

Go bargain hunting, Flea Market at Berryessa, San José

July 5, 2024July 5, 2024Silvia

The Flea Market at Berryessa in San José is an institution established in 1960. On our last visit to San José I finally got to check it out. We were there late, close to closing time on a Friday. While some stores were already shutting down it was great to enjoy some stalls without hordes of people.

I got the impression that many of these goods are made in China. If you have someone in your life that collects Miss Kitty, for example, this is the place to go for gifts. I marveled at the cookware – restaurant–size pots and sieves! You can also find fruits and vegetables, and I heard, great Mexican food. I also loved the different types of piñatas!

The Flea Market at Berryessa is located at 1590 Berryessa Rd. San José. Opening hours are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from dawn to dusk. Admission is bundled with parking (Wednesdays free, Fridays $5, Saturdays $10, Sundays $20). If you decide to walk in you must enter through the Garden at the Flea entrance next to the Berryessa BART Station. Walk-in entry fee is free on Wednesdays and Fridays, and $3 on Saturdays and $5 on Sundays.

While someone once said to me that flea markets were their version of hell, I do enjoy finding treasures and bargains.

What is your take on flea markets?

Admire a Small Rose Garden, San José

June 8, 2024Silvia

Did you know there was a hidden gem rose garden on the outskirts of San José? I have talked about the two major rose gardens downtown before, but there is a third rose garden in the San José hills. Joseph D. Grant County Park, Santa Clara County’s largest regional park, can be reached on the winding Quimby Rd.

While spring is an excellent time to see the wildflowers bloom in the park, May and June are best to discover the small rose garden that Joseph D. Grant cultivated next to his ranch. A quiet place with a fountain in the middle.

Adam Grant, Joseph’s father, made his fortune selling supplies to gold miners. Joseph later managed his father’s dry goods business. He was also a member of the Sierra Club, and president of the Save-the-Redwoods League for 21 years. On this ranch he entertained among others Leland Stanford and Herbert Hoover. In fact Hoover stayed at the ranch after his election loss to Franklin Roosevelt.

If you would like to, you can tour the ranch house this Saturday, June 8th, 2024 from 1pm to 2:30 pm. Other tour dates for 2024 are Saturdays, July 6th, August 3rd, and September 7th.

Joseph D. Grant County Park is open year round from 8 am until sunset. It is located at Yerba Buena Trail, San José, CA 95127. Daily parking fee is $6.

Did you know about the rose garden in the San José hills?

Resources:

Joseph D. Grant County Park Cultural History

https://parks.sccgov.org/plan-your-visit/activities/cultural-venues/grant-house

Three concrete boulders with glass ornaments

Tour the Public Art at the Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz

June 1, 2024Silvia

The former tannery in Santa Cruz kept the name but is now known as the Tannery Arts Center. The eight-acre campus is an interdisciplinary and multicultural art space with twenty eight studios and affordable living apartments for about one hundred artists.

If you are not there for one of their open houses, theater productions, or classes, you can still wander around and enjoy the public art. In partnership with the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County, over twenty public art projects have been created between 2022 and 2023.

You can still find a map for last year’s art tour of ten public art projects. I find it exciting that there are not only sculptures and murals but also a tour of the sound history of the tannery. exTANt is a sound installation that is a collaboration between public historian Kathleen Aston and media artist Yulia Gilich. You can listen to the tour on their Spotify channel.

If you are in Santa Cruz during the First Fridays, some of the Tannery Arts Center galleries will be open on June 7th, 2024. I enjoyed the fact that the studios utilized the outside walls, too. So if they are not officially open you still can view art.

An organist playing the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Grand Lake Theater, Oakland, CA.

Listen to a Mighty Wurlitzer before the Movies

May 24, 2024Silvia

At the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland you are treated to an organ concert every Friday and Saturday evening. The concert lasts between 10 to 30 minutes and is performed twice before the main auditorium movie.

I found this to be a real treat in the beautifully restored historic theater. These organs used to accompany silent movies and were produced by the thousands. Today only a few hundred remain.

When we entered the theater the organist was already playing even though we were the first audience. My clapping after a set was taken with humor amidst the scarce crowd. But he persisted and a few more people filled the auditorium. I can’t tell you if this is the rule or an exception. It might be the choice of movie? We saw IF, a children’s movie and I think we were the only adults without minors.

Nevertheless I enjoyed both the performance and the movie.

The Northern California Theater Organ Society will at times perform early weekend morning concerts. You can find details on their website.

Have you ever heard someone play a mighty Wurlitzer?

I have a few short video clips of the organ being played on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCQoyrqaGw38KaO6XVeeceqCp85eorm84

People entering the California Honey Festival in Woodland (2023)

Taste some Honey at the California Honey Festival

May 3, 2024April 8, 2024Silvia

In February there is the Almond Festival in Capay Valley. Honey Bees are a business related to almonds and other orchards. These flying workers ensure that the almond blossoms get pollinated. A valuable byproduct is the honey that the bees produce.

The annual California Honey Festival on May 3rd, 2024 along Woodland’s Main Street celebrates everything honey related. From 10 am to 7 pm you can learn about honey bees, games for the kids, and honey tastings at every stand that sells the golden nectar. They have a stage for speakers and you can also meet the current Honey Queen.

The California Honey Festival is happening on May 3rd, 2024 along Woodland’s Main Street. The admission is free.

Explore Six Times History in Sonoma

April 19, 2024April 7, 2024Silvia

Sometimes you have to show interest and interesting things will happen. Like when I was looking into the window of the Toscano Hotel near Sonoma Plaza and someone with a small group came by and let me in, too.

I really enjoyed the collection of old kitchen utensils and the chalk board with the menu of the day listed. Imagine getting a minestrone, a roast chicken or pot roast, ravioli, salad and bread and a glass of wine for 75 cents! This is equivalent to $8.70 today; assuming this is from 1955 when the place closed. I found one reference noting that the hotel is staged for 1890; this means this 75 cent multi-course menu would cost about $25 today.

We only briefly visited a few of the other sites, since this was an add on after our hike of the Overlook Trail. I liked the old, blue U.S. mail peddlers wagon from the late 1800s. And we spent some time reading the information signs.

The Sonoma State Historic Park is a park of buildings in downtown Sonoma. It is scattered over six sites near Sonoma Plaza. Mission San Francisco Solano, the Blue Wing Inn, Sonoma Barracks, the Toscano Hotel and Kitchen, and the Servants Quarters are right at the Plaza. General Vallejo’s Home, also called Lachryma Montis, is less than a mile west of the Plaza.

Sonoma State Historic Park is $3 per person, 17 years and up. Kids from 6 to 17 pay $2. The admission includes visits to the Sonoma Mission, Sonoma Barracks, Toscano Hotel, General Vallejo Home and the Petaluma Adobe on the same day. There are also free docent-led tours available on weekends.

Park hours are from 10:00 am to 5 pm every day at all venues. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.

Tour Blake Garden, Kensington

April 5, 2024Silvia

Every second Thursday from 2 pm to 3 pm you can join a free tour of Blake Garden in Kensington. Here you learn about the history and design of the garden. This is a fascinating walk starting from the former residence of Anson and Anita Blake with the koi pond to the redwood grove, and to the more experimental parts of the garden.

The garden was deeded to the University of California in 1957. From 1967 to 2008 the former residence was used to house the UC Berkeley president. Now structurally unsound because the Hayward Fault Line runs underneath it, and crucial maintenance has been deferred. On clear days, as we had, you can enjoy a view of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge.

I really liked the projects that included art but also a few play gardens. There is a huge boulder and a wonderful tree that would invite kids to climb, but for security reasons it is not allowed. Luckily they created a few play garden areas that will inspire kids to interact with nature.

Nowadays, Blake garden is part of UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design (CED). It serves as a site for experiential learning for students in the Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning.

Starting in 2009 the garden opened to the public. The next garden tour is Thursday, April 11, 2024 from 2 pm – 3 pm. The tour meets at 70 Rincon Rd., Kensington. Parking is free. To register for the tour email Kathryn Lincoln, Blake Garden Manager, at klincoln@berkeley.edu.

Besides the monthly tour, Blake Garden is also open for exploring on your own, weekdays, Mondays through Fridays, 8 am – 4:30 pm (closed for major holidays). Admission is free.

Please remember that you should not pick any flowers. Leashed well-behaved dogs are also allowed on the tour. Due to some steep hills and uneven ground this is not wheelchair or stroller accessible.

Follow the Bagels at Boichik Bagels Factory

March 29, 2024Silvia

I love seeing things being made. At Boichik Bagels in Berkeley you can watch the conveyor belts of doughy bagels being made into their glutenous treat. The factory is located at 1225 Sixth St. in Berkeley. Opening hours are from 7:30 am till 1 pm. If they run out of bagels they might close early!

When we got there to order lunch we were almost too late for the taste test.

And we were too late to watch the bagels being made, though we were able to try the bagels and their famous white fish spread. I definitely plan to go back and see the factory during operation hours.

Nonetheless I liked the big window where a whole school class could put their noses on to get a closer look at the machinery. But the most sensible thing was the block for shorter people – I saw a little girl standing on it – to get a better view.

The outside seating was great, except for the next door neighbor who has an automated triggering system that tells you you are trespassing even if you just crossed the street.

Boichik has four more locations in the Bay Area and is expanding. There is a factory tour on Saturdays at 8:30, but I’m not sure I can make it that early. I will report if I do. Mahjong Mondays 10am – noon might be an option for further exploration.

Have you ever seen bagels being made?

The Boichik Bagels factory is located at 1225 Sixth St. in Berkeley. Their opening hours are every day 7:30 am – 1:00 pm (or until sold out).

Buy Chocolate in Bulk, Ghirardelli

March 15, 2024Silvia

Ghirardelli is the longest continually operating chocolatier in America. In 1849, Domenico Ghirardelli opened a supplies and confections store to miners in Stockton, CA. Within the same year he established himself in San Francisco. The San Francisco store at 900 North Point, near Fisherman’s Wharf, is now labeled the original store. In 1965 San Francisco declared Ghirardelli Square an official city landmark.

As a bargain hunter I was intrigued by the outlet store. In fact they have four outlet stores in the Bay Area! We went to the San Leandro’s outlet store. It’s fun to see all the different products they offer, from small packaged chocolates to hot chocolate mixes, and all chocolate related baking ingredients. As an added bonus you can also sip a mocha or enjoy an ice cream fudge. Which is a nice idea so you won’t shop hungry. We found that the super bulk items are the best deals. So, if you eat a lot of little chocolates, you might consider visiting.

Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Factory Outlet Stores:

1111 139th Avenue, San Leandro

1015 Promontory Pkwy, Tracy

11980 S Harlan Road, Lathrop

447 Great Mall Drive #189, Milpitas

Are you a chocoholic?