We hosted our our daughters bday party here. It was a lot of fun. There were a few issues like very…read morelimited parking due to horse back riding lessons and difficulty for my guests finding this secluded spot. All in all we enjoyed ourselves with the horse back riding and petting zoo.

Waiting for my daughter at her horse lesson and was delighted to see this beautiful lavender farm!…read more I cut 3 bunches to give as gifts. They smell wonderful!

We attended the most beautiful wedding at Green Mountain Retreat! The location is wonderful and the…read morefood and ambiance were terrific! Very great place!

The setting (in Lexington Hills, CA -- who knew?) is fantastic. I was here for a large group for a…read moresymposium with talks, meals and hanging out; I liked all of the public rooms and buildings that I visited. Our food was lovingly prepared, and really quite good. There are lodgings scattered all around the property. Some of the cottages might be OK. I stayed in a dormitory-style building that apparently was some kind of monks' residence when it was first built. That was clearly long ago. My first thought when I walked into the residence was "museum of mildew." The rooms have old-style plumbing, or no plumbing at all, and what's there doesn't work all that well. My bedroom could be locked from the inside while I was sleeping but couldn't be locked for the day when I was gone. As a result, I ended up leaving my electronic devices alone in an unlocked room for much of my stay. That sure made me nervous, but there was no actual problem in the end. If it's vampires that keep you up at night, you can relax while you're at the Retreat. The crucifixes scattered around the property will keep them at bay.

I have only taken my son here once but I have already signed him up to come back. I paid $120 for…read morethe day. It sounds like a lot but when I'm given the security of his safety and knowing throughout the day he is enjoying himself, that $ is well worth it. I was nervous having never even visited the place and only going off of another parents recommendation but the staff gave me direct communication as I continuously checked in (shout out to LuLu) and she provided me the comfort of knowing he's having fun and he told me he wasn't ready to come home until the last min of his day. He is excited to go again. He talked about the fun he had that days for several days after. I would def recommend trying it out even if it's just for one time. I'm sure your kid will talk you into coming again.

This is our kid's second year attending the GrowFit sports camp at The Plex. It's a great program…read morefor a kid with ASD to stay active, be around peers outside of academia, and learn with a group of kind coaches and directors to help lead. With the high temps this summer, this was a plus to be indoors but active staying cool and safe. Thanks for another great summer GrowFit!!!

If you are going to row you need to understand it is a commitment. There are no MVP's in rowing…read more The boat wins or loses as a boat. You are as good as your weakest member. As such when you are all in the same boat, you need to know that the person behind you and in front of you is as committed to the goal as you are. When you are neck and neck with another boat in the last 100 meters of a race, you need to know that the people in the boat with you are putting everything into winning like you are. Believing in your team mates is everything. Hence, the purpose should be to make the fastest boats. Unfortunately this program appears to be more focused on revenue generation. Kids that have been rowing for months are all of a sudden teamed up with newbies who don't know what an oar is. Kids don't show up for practice on a regular basis and because the focus is to keep the money coming in, the coaches acquiesce to the kids and blow it off. As such the kids who are determined, become disillusioned when rowing with uncommitted team members. In a program run by a school, if you miss practice, they bounce you. You don't show up, you teammates lose faith in you, and when you are fighting for that win in the race, they need to know you have put everything on the line. If you can't show up to practice, clearly you mind elsewhere. Being good at rowing will get you entry to great universities. I WISH there was a high school locally that had a rowing program. LGRC has coaches that have limited if any experience, appear to be in a transition in their life between college rowing and a real job, and even the experience is from schools with marginal programs. Redwood shores has better programs, Redwood Scullers, Oakland Strokes, NorCal rowing, if you want to drive 40 minutes each way.

This club and the coaches have had a transformative effect on both our children. The club take…read morepromising athletes who may participate in sport socially at college or university, and turn them into athletes who compete at national and potentially internally level. As it becomes tougher to get into top-flight schools in the US, this club has continued to help provide a pathway for students to the likes of Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley to name but a few. Whatever your potential, LGRC can help help you reach and surpass it.

Our kids attending the week long summer camp and they loved it. It was the perfect blend of outdoor…read morefun and activities for their age, 9 and 11. They made connections with staff and other campers and were happy to chat about what they did each day. Staff posted email updates a couple of times in the week on what they did and what they would do. Definitely would recommend. I got a real sense that the staff took great care of the kids right from the start and were 100% engaged

My kids love Wilderskills. They come home every day from camp excited to be learning about making…read moreshelter, cooking food, identifying plants, and learning survival skills. And it's so wonderful to have them in nature all day, playing and coming home tired and dirty. Thank you to the counselors and leads for making this camp so special!

My son had a great experience here! It was his first time taking a soccer class. Coach Sophia…read moreworked so well with the kids to ensure they not only had fun, but learned the rules and skills of the game. The class was conveniently located and the registration was very easy. We can't wait to come back in a couple of seasons!

My eight year old son just finished World Cup Soccer Skills Clinic with Coach Alex and he had a…read moreblast! Class started with fundamentals and drills and ended with scrimmages. Coach Alex made sure to maximize all his time with the kids and kept them dribbling to the last minute. He was dedicated and ensured all the players were learning key skills and having a fun time. The clinic was a great way for my son to get in extra touches on the ball. Working with the admin team was also easy and they helped accommodated our situation.

Inspired by watching the TV series Alone made me want to get started with learning survival skills…read more- this course helps you get your feet wet in the core elements of how to analyze and think critically when faced with a survival situation. Dan Baird was an incredible instructor (his background as a primitive survival specialist must be highlighted here) as he gave a very clear reality of what we need to tackle i.e. shelter and temperature regulation, knowing your environment, etc. We got to build shelters on what we think we would good for a survival and Dan showed us a much more sustainable version: both in a limited amount of time to replicate more dire situations. We also got to practice tying up gauze in case of heavy injury and bleeding as well as how to properly navigate via a compass (who knew there were two kinds of "north"?!) Overall, I highly recommend and will be back for more! Note: our training was in the mountains of Livermore - your car will get dirt on it!!

My friend and I met up for this adventure and we both had a blast while learning practical survival…read moreskills. I enjoyed our instructor Dan Baird as he was skilled at his craft and excellent at involving everyone in our group of many ages and backgrounds. Can't wait to pack my survival/first aid kit and use my tools on my next adventure. Side note: The intro class does make you want to take more classes!

I've been to Vasona many times and seen the sign for YSI, though I finally ventured in today!…read more This place is somewhat of a hidden gem; while it offers a chance to learn more about endemic species in our area, it is also very small. For that reason, I would say it's great to come here but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. COST: $6 for parking, but no cost to enter! PARKING: there is a spacious lot right next to the entrance. AMBIANCE: clean, uplifting, and cozy. There are many educational toys and books, which complement the somewhat small selection of animals to see. Would come back, but would be best to combine this with a walk in Vasona or a trip to the Oak Meadow merry-go-round or train.

Science is Golden…read more Signed my son up for a week-long summer camp ("Geology Rocks!") here at YSi and he absolutely loved it. Which is saying a lot for a kid that hates school and would much rather be whiling away his summer playing the Minecrafts®™. *eye roll* The Good: *Great communication from the staff, as they send out plenty of helpful emails to keep parents informed of what's going on. *Easy pick-up and drop-off *Extremely cautious 'Rona™ measures that include masks; socially-distanced pickup and drop-offs; as well as temperature checks. *A bit overly cautious but safe pick-ups as they check ID and the pick-up person *must* be on the list. *They offer tons of classes with easy sign-ups online The Bad: *Make sure you sign-up early as their classes fill-up fast. We lollygagged and waited too late and were only able to sign him up for one class. :( TLDR: We've always been big fans of YSi but now love them even more! Honestly not sure if he learned anything--as it's tough getting an answer between all the mining and the crafting--but if he liked it, then you know it's good.

I make sure to reserve early for summer camp as our 10 y/o daughter loves this day camp. We go…read moreyearly for at least a week. It is slightly pricy and slightly far for us but worth it for her to get outside and explore some. They make interesting things they are proud to show you when they get back home and are pretty tired so that's good. They are getting activity and exercise outside. Kids seem friendly enough and counselors are helpful.

This review is for the their so-called "Mentor In Training Leadership School" for teens…read more My son who was 14 wanted to be a "Mentor in Training." He knows all about archery, various ways of fire starting, knife and ax throwing, shelter building, and other things that this camp offers for kids. He wanted to share his knowledge with younger kids. They make you pay the same price as the campers and recruit teens by telling them they will gain leadership experience and job skills and will be partnered with and mentored by adults that run the camp. My son said that all he did was stand around and watch while the campers did their free play and building with wood. There was no training from the adults, no job skills like they said, and they didn't even put him at stations he had expertise in. I emailed and called the camp leaders a couple times early in the week. I though maybe my son was misunderstanding his role there. I though it was impossible that they would just have him stand around. They were unresponsive and the same thing happened each day. He was there for 6 hours a day and maybe helped the kids or an adult do a couple things each day. It was a totally sad waste of time. I felt so bad for him but I made him continue the whole week because we had committed. and I actually thought it might get better. I would NOT recommend Tribal Wisdom for teens. It is not a "leadership school" as the website and organizers state. But the younger campers all seem to love it. I'm sure it's great for 10 and under. .