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Hidden Bay Area Treasures
I am always on the look out for new places to check out on weekends. These are some of the best I've found so far.
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27 Places
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Julia’s 5-star review: I love Carmel. - It has my favorite beach in the world. - I can wonder around the art galleries for hours. - There is great food of all varieties. - Lots of cute shops, even if I can't afford most of them. People are typically nice, and posers make for great people watching. If I ever move out of California, this is the place I will miss the most. -
Julia’s 5-star review: Super cool find if you've ever wanted to be an astronaut, or just wondered about what they eat, how they go to the bathroom, what is inside a space suit, or what a Soyuz landing capsule looked like. An absolute must if you have kids. They have some really fun hands on things just for the kids, and they have a mission control simulation room (but I think you have to book it in advance or for groups). The "Black Hole" planetarium show was pretty good, and they had some other ones I wouldn't mind checking out. We didn't stay late enough to use their giant telescopes to watch the stars. Definitely will come later next time (they stay open until 10:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays), just for that. That should be super romantic. -
Julia’s 5-star review: A couple of things you should know about Vasona: - it is gorgeous, - it is enormous, - serious bicyclists should enter at the own risk (toddlers and geese crossing trails at all times) - it is the best place to feel like having small kids in your late 30s and 40s is the norm ;) - a train and a carousel? good times! - you can bring your dog on the train, better times! Watch out for goose poop, it's everywhere -
Julia’s 5-star review: Yet another review I know I wrote has disappeared. This is a gorgeous park. You know how I know? I used to pull weeds here for my government service credit in high school. I am not going to tell you how long it's been - not that I look it mind you - but you should definitely check out my long since grown over handywork. I am sure other suckers have followed my lead since then. Gorgeous grounds and koi pond. -
Julia’s 5-star review: Such a cute town and the people are super super nice. We came here on our own version of "Bay Area backroads" when I saw a reference to Duarte's tavern in some magazine. How could it be that this town is just off the coast, "near" Menlo Park and we've never heard of it before? So we followed the GPS - bad bad bad idea, as it took us the "shorter" 84 route that took an extra hour. Do yourself a favor, cut over to the coast by Half Moon Bay and take HWY 1 south. So we finally get here, hungry and cranky, and as soon as we get out of the car, we hear an awesome band, smell amazing artichoke bread and become nicer people. Add a couple of sandwiches and some wine at the Pescadero store (with a woodfire oven to make their pizzas) and we are super happy to explore the cute antique and decor shops, buy some fabulous jam and veggies at the farm stand, and load up on bread (I bought 4 loaves), marinades, and olives at the bakery. Thank you Pescadero :) We are coming back soon -
Julia’s 5-star review: This is an amazing place for both kids and adults. I can't wait to bring little ones here and have them go nuts over fish and sharks and the tide pool. I love it, how could they not. My favorite of all time is the jelly fish though. I can stand in front of that tank for hours. The only downside to this place (if it could be called that) is the food court. Severely overpriced and poor quality. I don't come here for the food though and there tons of great food options nearby. -
Julia’s 5-star review: How did I live in the Bay Area all this time and known this place existed? Horse races, wiener dog races (so so funny), beautiful location and view, everything about it is so much fun. Next time I am going all out and wearing something fabulous and a fabulous hat (no you don't have to but why not?) -
Julia’s 5-star review: How did I live in Berkeley and Oakland for 2 years and not know that this place existed? Oh yeah, I was 22 and didn't even know anyone with kids. Fast-forward more than a few years, and last weekend my six year old niece had one of the best days of her life (that's a quote). She loved the park, the fairy tales, puppet theater, little old school rides. This park really is magical, and the people who work here genuinely love children and are super nice and helpful. Parking was a bit of an issue since it shares parking with a very busy marina, but overall a fabulous day complete with corn dogs and cotton candy (hey I am the aunt, not the mom, so I don't have to do carrot sticks). Prices are very reasonable, and their gift store has fabulous books. -
Julia’s 5-star review: The Mission is a neighborhood that is distinctly San Francisco. Clarion Alley street murals has been one of my favorite discoveries. -
Julia’s 5-star review: This festival is a huge favorite, since we accidentally discovered it about 2 years ago. The floats are all beautiful and unique. People get really creative (take a look at the pics). Capitola is a cute town anyway, so it's a great excuse to come visit. Just a great thing to do on a sunny day. -
Julia’s 5-star review: I took my niece here a few years ago (she was 10 or 11) and I was amazed at how much she enjoyed this place. She loved the mummies, listened to the tour guide and actually remembered the lecture, loved the planetarium and the gardens. I was surprised to find this place in San Jose of all places. Definitely a hidden treasure. -
Julia’s 5-star review: This is a stuningly beautiful place and the place my Mom wants to go to for Mother's Day every time. It's a photographer's dream and if I had the money I would have loved to get married here. -
Julia’s 5-star review: Amazing local and free art museum. It looks like the works rotate often and the space is gorgeous. Loved the exhibits and that they host concerts and plays on the premises. Beautiful sculpture garden. -
Julia’s 5-star review: Now how are you going to give a museum dedicated to Bigfoot anything less than 5 stars? It's small but just the prominently displayed tabloids with a claim like "Bigfoot Hooker" with pictures are worth coming here for. The Bigfoot diorama outside must be a sight to see when you come upon it at night and the reflectors hit you. They show Bigfoot movies outside on Friday night, and although I can't come up with anything other than "Harry and the Hendersons" I am curious. Best of all - this shop is run by a true believer and hearing him discuss the history of the findings is worth the trip. Other than that - it's free and the drive to get here is gorgeous. -
Julia’s 5-star review: I can spend an entire day wondering around the galleries of Carmel by myself. I've done it before and, in a way, I like it better than spending a day in a huge museum. There are so many different genres, artists, and mediums - I never get bored. Linde B. Martin gallery (http://www.lindebmartin.com/) is my absolute favorite. I have a gut reaction to art. Yes, it is interesting to me to find out what the artist was thinking or experiencing at the time a particular work was created, but more often then not, I fall in love with a piece of art because it speaks to me, and I cannot explain why. If I ever have the money to buy art - this will be the place I shop. There is an old movie with Shirley McClaine, where she goes through lots of husbands by purposefully marrying never-do-wells and unwittingly making them millionaires. This leads to their demise and her being very very rich widow. One of those husbands - an American abstract painter in Paris - is played by Paul Newman. He invented a machine which paints to sound. He uses heavy metal (before that became a musical genre), and she - tired of hearing screeching and banging - suggests Rochmaninov (or something like that). Walking into Linde B. Martin's gallery made me think of that. It's like the most beautiful music demonstrated in art. -
Julia’s 5-star review: My husband and I try to go somewhere new and fun every weekend. I've been meaning to visit this place for years and so last Saturday we gave it a try. We had such a great time. I never realized that the birth of aviation (outside of the Wright Brothers) happened pretty much around here. There is so much neat stuff there. Our favorite part was the cockpit of the real 747 we got to sit in and an ex-pilot explaining all the buttons. Btw, you can get a $1 off admission coupon on their website. -
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Julia’s 5-star review: I didn't grow up here, so my husband (who often behaves like a 12 year old) and I checked it out during a trip to the city. It was so much fun. There all kinds of fun demonstrations of sound, electricity, optics, plant biology, etc. in here. I would have loved the Exploratorium as a kid and I am sure my future kids would love it too :) -
Julia’s 4-star review: Amazing zoo, much better than SF. Big enclosures, so the animals don't look cramped and sad. If there was one thing I'd change is that there is more of an information booth at the back parking lot entrance. We had a hard time trying to navigate since we got there late. It took tracking down some of the staff for us to be able to navigate ourselves. I definitely want to come back since we didn't get to see everything in 3 hours. The sky ride is a great idea and it let us see a lot more of the animals who were hard to see from the lookout spots (like the lion). Next time we'll do the train also. One of my new favorites for a day trip. -
Julia’s 4-star review: Hey, it's my 500th review! How appropriate that it should happen to be a science museum. Last weekend we took advantage of the Goldstar promotion and visited one of the museums we always wanted to check out, Academy of Sciences. It was great for the most part. Aquarium - really cool, although not as extensive as Monterey Bay. The best part was watching little kids trying to grab fish through the glass. The albino aligator was pretty cool although he didn't do much. Rain forest - my favorite part. It made me want to go to see the real thing, although I am terrified of spiders and according to this exhibit they are everywhere and they are deadly. African hall - cool but nothing compared to Museum of Natural History in NYC. Planetarium - the only thing I really didn't like. I came for a Planetarium not for an IMAX movie. I get sick in IMAX movies and would have really appreciated a heads up, not one person told us that we were going to be watching a movie rather than an old school planetarium show. I took a nap. Overall a fun experience. -
Julia’s 4-star review: This is a really beautiful drive, lots of scenic stops. A great place to come on a romantic date or if you are showing tourists around NorCal. It's better to come here when it's not overcast. I guess it's a private road so they do charge you to enter, $8-9. -
Julia’s 4-star review: After skipping Christmas in the park for the last 10 years, my husband and I brought our niece and nephew here after the "Walking with Dinosaurs" show at the HP pavillion. Wow, it has grown. Ferris wheel? Rides? The kids had a great time. I was really looking forward to hot chocolate and wish I saw the booth for the Mexican hot chocolate first. The one we saw first was kind of crappy - tasted like a 7-11 hot chocolate. -
Julia’s 4-star review: Just thinking about this place makes me laugh. I love roller coasters, and cotton candy, and weird photo/drawing booth, and deep fried twinkies (I finally tried one, and while it is the definition of "diabetes to go" it was surprisingly tasty). However, can I suggest leashes for the kids at this place? I got my nephew some dip'n'dots, sat him down, turned around for a napkin and he was gone. The 30 seconds of me screaming his name, and him finally running back to the table felt like a year. The beach here is crowded but good for kids. -
Julia’s 4-star review: There is no better place for a Museum of Innovation than in the heart of Silicon Valley. It's a lot of fun for my inner geek, although I was too creeped out to see Body World. -
Julia’s 4-star review: Really pretty, small rose garden. There is a beautifull fountain in the middle. Even on an overcast day like today, it's a nice place to walk around. There are picnic areas and tables there too. I am looking forward to having one here when the weather gets better. PS: when we were getting married, I checked this place out as a ceremony option. It is gorgeous and very well priced. We only decided against holding the ceremony here, because you cannot set up chairs here and we had elderly family members we were concerned about having to stand for any periods of time. -
Julia’s 4-star review: There is absolutely no better people watching than this place, ok maybe at a hockey game, but strictly for mullets. Renaissance Faire: 1) We got flashed by a drunk guy who asked us if we want to know what's under the Scottisman's kilt. (We didn't, for the record, but it didn't save us) 2) Ginormous b0soms everywhere you look, usually surrounded by pockmarked skinny guys way too involved with their swords, haha :) 3) Turkey legs and mead - both disgusting for different reasons and yet you have to try them. Part of the show. 4) Relatively cool shows - like the jousting competition 5) Kids seem to have a really good time. Word to the wise: - bring Purell - if you are a girl buy that stupid $20 flower garland or they won't leave you alone - you will have to do a lot of dirt walking, don't wear any kind heels(even platforms) - be ready to get flashed, at least by boobs -
Julia’s 3-star review: I am sure this is more fun to do with kids, but my husband and I decided to check it out in our never-ending quest to find stuff to do on a weekend. He was really impressed by the redwoods. I thought the train was kind of cool but hey a tree is a tree to me (for the most part). The Starlight Evening thing sounds interesting, so maybe one day we'll do it again. After we have kids.
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