I've been wanting to take some pics here for a while, had to email the SF Public Utilities…read moreCommission to make sure it was open Monday 4/1/13. They don't get Cesar Chavez Day off so I was happy. It's FREE to enter & take pics. Open M-F 9-3 for the public. It's a nice drive in, with purple leaves in the California Redbud trees. Lilac bushes - didn't see them, Lombard Poplars - not sure if they are still there. You can read the history of the SWT & take pics. The ceiling wasn't finished, kinda neat to see. Spent about 20 min there. Website with more info: http://www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=94

A quiet place to stroll and contemplate. The structure is beautiful and the surrounding foliage…read moretranquil and gorgeous esp in fall.

Neighboring the old Elephant Bar, Chili's and just across from the popular Brunch spot Bill's Cafe…read morestands this historic building. Surrounding the old house is a Victorian garden with beautifully shaped boxwood hedges and the paved plaza with lots of seating areas. Bird of Paradise and some well taken care of lawn also present. Seems like the city of Fremont was given this house years back and it has been a long time since they put any money into it. I'd like to see some more life put into it beside the odd homeless sleeping on the porch. Maybe your getting new tires at Americas Best or perhaps your lady friend is digging through piles of junk at Ross and you'd rather hang out with the homeless here than watch her... Tons of parking as the strip mall is also a neighbor. If your in the area explore a little but don't make a special trip for this spot.

Located between a Chili's and an abandoned Elephant Bar. The house itself looks pale and not very…read moreattractive with damage to its walls and boards covering its windows. The park is small and somewhat clean with not much to it except for a couple benches, a drinking fountain, and homeless people sleeping around it. It's not a one star because besides the homeless people and uninviting house the area is not bad and I like the quietness mixed with the sound of cars driving by. If it was cleaned up I'm sure more people would come by.

The eyecatching and brightly painted watermelon is a nice rock to marvel as you drive along otis…read moredrive to get into Alameda. There's also a paved road right next to it you can meander near it as well for a closer look.

Review #700 The…read moreWatermelon Rock, or what I always called the Doolittle Watermelon, has been here for a long time. It's one of those things that, if you were a regular driver on Doolittle Drive (Highway 61) headed to Alameda, this thing always caught your eye, and consciously or unconsciously, you began to look for it. Well, now they have widened the road, and there's also a paved pedestrian path that allows you to run, walk, or bike past it. But, with the barrier that protects the path from vehicles, you can't see it when you're driving by anymore. Whoever painted this did a good job, but they also painted other fruit on rocks, but when they redid the road, only the watermelon rock survived and made the cut. I guess, technically, it's located in the Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline, which is 2 parks. This is some real original local flavor that's been here a long time!!

I checked out the San Leandro Historical Railway Society during their open house on Sun 12/6/15…read more It was 2 days: Sat 12/5/15 and Sun 12/6/15 from 10am-4pm. Donation of $2 the sign said, Up to you what you want to give them there is a box you can give them some money or not. They have one main area for the model trains. Only the members can use the remote so the public can only watch the trains go by. Upstairs is for members only too. Another room is where they have some museum items: old typewriter, some old dishes, and some train items. Outside there's another area for trains, but because it rained a tiny bit they weren't running them. Boo for me. FREE parking in the lot and it's next to a park.

A complete Bay Area treasure!! I have the best memories with my son visiting here, watching trains…read moreinside and outside, having conversations with the hobbiest that come here and were so kind to even give my son little parts from the train towns for his train set. We especially love the Christmas celebration here with a train engineer Santa and a raffle off of the Polar Express train that my son actually won one year. There's a playground nearby and a simple go to day for us would a lunch picnic, train station, and the playground.

most elizabeths are great. to name a few - the queen (rip), elizabeth taylor (the queen), and…read moreelizabeth hurley (also the queen especially when she pulled up in that versace dress, if you don't know what i'm talking about just google it). lake elizabeth is a spectacular elizabeth! it reeks of geese droppings and i'm HERE FOR IT. not in a weird way. it's super nostalgic for every fremont kid, has a great scenic 2 mile trail, and also offers alternative trails like the one behind the railroad. great place for community events and parties. squirrels are cute. note - trail is flat but there is one section that's super bumpy. not ideal for roller skaters like me who only have indoor wheels! some personal memories from childhood: watching an old guy catch a rainbow fish out of the lake, getting chased by a goose, falling off the brown playground slide, getting screamed at by a random parrot

Pros: It's a nice park with large lake. Plenty of plants and animals. Plenty of areas for picnics…read moreor sports. Cons: Lots of goose poop. Parking could be difficult. Lake activities seem prohibited.

I'm realizing more and more how vital it is for one's mental (and physical) health to spend time in…read morenature. During a particularly low day, I was literally craving me some nature. Which makes sense when you're in a concrete urban jungle day in and day out - we just weren't meant to live this way. I literally searched Yelp for a park in the area on my way home, and Lakeshore came up. Tucked away in a residential area, Lakeshore is a small-ish, serene, well-kept park with, as the name implies, a lake being the central point. I strolled on the path for a bit. I'm not sure how long the path is, but it seems like a good spot to get a decent walk in, and there were a few walkers and joggers. After stretching my legs for a bit, I grabbed some bench and watched the birds - geese (these guys are huge!), seagulls, ducks, and crows - hanging out and eyeballing me to determine if I had food. They were so cute. There is nothing that gets me feeling better fast than being around animals. The human animals that passed by were nice as well, with smiles and hellos, how refreshing. I spent some time just sitting and resetting. It was good. I need to do this more. Nice park, enjoyed a much-needed reprieve here, and would return.

I parked in a neighborhood and after a run around the park, I noticed a small lot. Tons of parking…read moreon a weekday evening. There are a lot of people walking/running around the park and there are half mile markers on the ground. There is a wide variety of geese here, some I've never seen before. Great paved path!

sheffield village is one of the best communities in oakland, located in the very quiet and isolated…read morecorner bordering san leandro and oakland with beautiful partial views of the bay, and mountains, yet it is very close to shops, freeways, the oakland zoo and BART. it was built in the late 30's and is seen as the jewel of oakland is now a historical landmark. i spent almost most of my 30 plus years here as my grandparents lived here most of their life. i would always look forward to visiting them here as this would prove to give me so much do do in this great village. climbing up into the hills of oakland, sneaking around the dunsmair house, trips to the park and even playing doctor with the neighbor girl. most of the homes still to this day have original hardwood floors, china cabinets and the same old school construction. i will never forget my time spent in this great community as it a place right out of a movie. One thing is certain: for anyone old enough to remember the 1950s, a trip to sheffield village is certain to evoke waves of nostalgia.

I feel I need to answer the review about the "apartheid past." It has to be put in historical…read moreperspective. In 1939 that sort of attitude was the norm. I'm not saying it was right, but it was accepted and common. My family moved to Sheffield Village in 1946 when I was a 3 and I lived there until I finished college and got married. It was a great place to grow up, safe and self-contained. This was before the MacArthur Freeway chopped off the entrance to the village, and when there was a school and a library where the interchange now is. Also The Creamery, where they made their own ice cream (it was wonderful). Later the school moved to what is now the park area next to the rec center. I went to 3rd and 4th grade there and it was right down the street from where I lived on Marlow Drive. Back to the matter of color. When I was growing up I had never seen a person of color, there weren't any in Oakland that I remember. We shopped downtown and never saw anyone different from us (WASP). The large black population and the many people of asian descent are recent in my lifetime. We did see Chinese folks in Chinatown in SF but nowhere else. When my brother was little he saw a black man on the street and thought he was made of chocolate. i doubt that the conventions of the "law", which was more likely a CC&R such as are found in many developments today, have ever been followed. We were solidly middle-class and nobody had household help, or if they did it was temporary, so the matter of a black maid/cook/cleaning lady was completely beyond anyone's experience. I never heard a thing about it, it was a non-issue. Nobody's mother worked except for one boy whose father had died. Nobody got a divorce. It was Wally & The Beaver all the way. MIlk was delivered to your house, so was dry cleaning, women didn't drive. My mother was ill after my brother was born and my dad hired a housekeeper for a while, but she was a grandmotherly lady and blonde. There just weren't that many people of color around. What the original developer did was common for then, but times have changed now and for the better. I doubt you'll find that attitude today and you can't punish today's residents for something that happened so long ago. Blaming people in the present for the sins of the past is just silly, what we did to the Native Americans was awful, slavery was awful, the internment camps in WW 2 were awful, so was the restriction on black people in Sheffield Village--but my folks didn't do it, people today aren't doing it, and all any of us can do is move forward and make sure we don't do it in future.

We took a tour inside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple's Visitor's Center…read more The Visitor's center is open to the pubic and it's free. In addition you don't need to make reservations. We were warmly welcomed when we entered and were asked if we wanted a tour or would we just like to look around on our own. We opted for the tour. There was a short video presentation on families and them being together for ever. It was a sweet presentation. Unlike the Carousel of Progress at Disney World where the room moves for you, in this presentation you have to walk to each viewing area. It wasn't an issue. You just moved down the seats 5 feet or so to the next stage. It was a well done presentation. After that we wandered around. In the back part of the visitor's center there are floor to ceiling windows and today was a clear day and you could clearly see the Golden Gate Bridge. What a sight. They also had 3 examples of historic temples. One all the way back in the Old Testament to Moses's time. I thought that was really cool to see temples were built back in the biblical times and not something just made up for today. My parents enjoyed their theater and sat though many of the 8 stores of missionaries and there journeys of faith and service. I listened to 2 and really enjoy hearing about their stories and struggles. The Visitor's Center is Staffed with full time missionaries from the Church off Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Unlike what you may have heard about missionaries, these are just sweet kids trying to make everyone feel welcome and if you're intreasted they will tell you about God and his plan of happiness. These are not used car salesmen they aren't trying to sell you something or pull wool over your eyes. If you are interested in knowing more about them or there church you are free to inquire, but they aren't going to push anything on you. The grounds are beautifully maintained and well manicured. There are always flowers in bloom and the trash is always lush. If you go to the top of the temple you can see a view of the city. There is a staircase to the right and left of the entrance that will take you to the roof. Parking is great. They have there own private lot and parking is free. The spaces are wide and I had no issue parking. Bathrooms, the visitors center has plenty of clean well stocked bathrooms. Concerts and Programs, all free of charge- Their are lots of different offerings depending on the season. I wanted to take a picture of the Easter Celebrations for the week, but my phone died on me. They have some Holy Week activities, if you are interested I'd give them a call and asked for the list of activities that are happening soon. During December there are lots of programs and organizations and other churches participated. I believe they have an interfaith concert which brings people of many faiths together. The last concert I went to was a bell concert. People with musical bells came to perform in the concert hall. It was something I've never heard of before, but enjoyed. Family history center- They have a family history also referred to as genealogy center in the basement and that is also free to the public. We didn't pop our heads in, but we heard it's there.

Really gorgeous building and sunset view but they didn't allow service animals past the gate onto…read morethe rooftop garden (I asked security). I was confused because temples and churches are meant to be inclusive to all people... some cannot go too long without their service animal for medical reasons. It felt like it goes against the message establishments like these pride themselves on... Hoping they will change this soon, for safety reasons.

Came to this place to walk around after having a heavy dinner and fell in loooooooooove. I stumbled…read moreacross a tree you simply can't miss when you come here. It's amazing! It's gargantuan! It's historic! It's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen in a city. Highly recommend visiting and falling in love food yourself.

Peaceful and quiet garden with Japanese style aesthetics on the grounds of a historic Victorian…read morestyle home in the middle of a nice neighborhood. House tours are on the 1st Wednesday and 3rd Saturday of the month, from 1 to 3pm. What I liked about this spot is that there's about 2 gazebos in the enclosed Japanese garden with bench seats (no tables) where you can sit and meditate or quietly enjoy the calming ambience of petite Japanese maple trees and rock formations. There's also a tall tree near the front which was apparently planted in 1878, as well as some old olive trees with cool trunks in the periphery of their small and enclosed Japanese garden. There were quite a few bees and butterflies fluttering around during my visit - all signs of a good garden sanctuary for these insects. In the front and center lawn, there's a couple of picnic tables where I saw some locals sitting and having a nice conversation and enjoying the atmosphere. Towards the back is a much bigger barn and open space, which seems like it would cater for events, like an outdoor wedding reception or BBQ style party. During my visit in the late afternoon I saw a few people taking fashion and engagement photos here too. The parking lot looks like it could hold about 10-15 cars. I stopped in here for a quick stroll and visit after running errands in the area, so that I could enjoy some quiet relaxation and wait out the early rush hour traffic before my drive home.

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.

Our family had the best time here. We attended the fall fest last weekend and there was great…read moremusic, we learned more about East Bay Parks and rec Association. We learned a little bit about the history of the farm and we got to do a scavenger hunt. All around we really liked it Unfortunately with the parking somebody dinged your car left their car paint on our car with no cameras around, which was unfortunate for us because now there's a dent and paint from somebody's white car. All in all, the weather was great, the wine was incredible, we wish there was more options for food, but at least the children were able to eat lunch and have fun.