HyperLocal News for Modesto, California

S.F. Streetcars: Hop aboard a Market Street F-line vintage trolley and visit the Railway MuseumFor more than a century, the conveyances that have moved most San Franciscans around the city have been its streetcars. F-line streetcars—colorful, vintage models that rattle along Market Street and The Embarcadero on the waterfront—are as packed with passengers as ever.

Lake Anza: A Tilden Park HavenThe Bay is too cold and rough for swimming, but you won’t miss the ocean at all when you visit Lake Anza in the Berkeley Hills. Tucked away in the trees, Lake Anza is nestled in the 2,079 acres that make up Tilden Park. One of this park’s many draws is a swimming beach, open in the late spring and summer, with lifeguard service in the summer months. Here, you’ll enjoy lots of sun and protection from the wind, thanks to all the beautiful vegetation that thrives around the lake.

Battery Yates and Horseshoe Cove: History, fishing and a viewLocated at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in historic Fort Baker, Horseshoe Cove is a significant spot on the gateway to the Bay. With its protected waters, the Cove once offered shelter and hunting grounds for Native Americans and, later, became a safe harbor for damaged ships. The military was quick to secure this area in the early 1900s, setting up the now-abandoned concrete harbor defenses nearby, known as Battery Yates.

Rodeo Beach: One of the best beaches in MarinRodeo Beach off the Sausalito exit consists of a small but lovely stretch of sand bordered by the hills of Marin on one side and protective, rocky cliffs on the other. Fort Cronkhite makes a unique backdrop, and of course, the front-row view of the immense Pacific is the best selling point.

Bay Area Discovery Museum: A world for kids“I’m bored!” Every parent has heard this complaint, but it’s safe to say it won’t be an issue at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, the museum is like a world built just for kids, one that fosters and encourages their innate creativity and curiosity.

Berkeley Rose Garden: Stop to smell the rosesThey’re bright yellow and pure white, soft purple and classic red. Roses of every color grace the Berkeley Rose Garden – 250 varieties of them, to be precise. In bloom from spring to summer, the 3,000 rose bushes are a sight to behold on the terraced garden, built like an amphitheater facing a view of the Bay.

Cantor Arts Center: See Stanford's remarkable Rodins – and it's freeTwo things set Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center apart from every other major Bay Area art museum. First, the museum’s main attraction is not even inside. It’s the Rodin Sculpture Garden outside the west entrance; Cantor’s collection of Rodin bronzes is the world’s second-largest behind only the Musee Rodin in Paris. Second, the Rodins and the wide-ranging art collection inside the museum can all be seen for nothing. This is that rare instance of a great museum that's virtually free.

Crissy Field: Spend a day on the San Francisco shorePart of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Crissy Field is a beautiful place to enjoy the San Francisco Bay. Restored in 1999 with the help of donors, volunteers, and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy efforts, Crissy Field consists of 22 acres of dunes, a promenade trail, beaches, tidal marshes, outdoor amenities, and a nature education center. Bring a jacket, because this place is notorious for high winds beginning in the early afternoon.

Coyote Hills: A bird-lover’s paradiseThe scenic entrance to Coyote Hills Regional Park seeps you into nature from the get-go. As you drive towards one of two parking lots, passing acres upon acres of wetlands on the way, the beauty and tranquility of the area is quickly apparent. Imagine golden hills in the distance, with raptors flying low overhead, and miles of grass-covered marshes hiding shorebirds of every size and stripe.

Lawrence Hall of Science: Hands-on learning for all agesHow do roller coasters overcome the force of gravity? What type of arts and crafts flying machine would soar highest in a wind tube? What’s the difference between a strike-slip fault and a reverse fault? The answers to these questions and many more can be found at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley.

Jupiter: Jammin’ Berkeley BeerhouseHouse-brewed beer, live music, a European setting, and a spacious, two-level patio with a fire pit and flower-covered walls make Jupiter one of the most popular spots in Berkeley. Twelve house brews range from the Jupiter Hefeweizen, a wheat beer with a light finish, to the Jupiter Porter, a dark beer and Gold Medal Winner at the Great American Beer Festival. In addition to the house brews, you can choose between 20 regional craft beers to enjoy with delicious wood-fired pizza.

Mimosa Champagne Lounge: A night out in OaklandIf mimosas are your cocktail of choice, then Mimosa Champagne Lounge won’t disappoint – they’ve got more than just your orange juice and champagne variety. Mimosas here are served a medley of ways, with traditional, non-alcoholic, lemon ginger, amaretto, lime, cherry moon, honeydew, and many more mimosa varieties on the “Sip” list.

Marc 49: Wining and dining in the TemescalFoodies are in love with the Temescal, with the likes of Bakesale Betty, Dona Tomas, Sura, and Lanesplitter serving everything from gourmet sandwiches and Mexican cuisine to pizza and Korean BBQ. Marc 49 adds yet another reason to visit the “Gourmet Ghetto” of the East Bay, with wine “Flights” and Italian-inspired tapas to enjoy in a stylish yet comfortable ambiance.

The Fireside Lounge: The Bar Down the BlockGetting out with friends doesn’t always have to be a complicated and pricey affair, when you leave in your best shoes to pay a cover charge and mark up a tab with expensive drinks. Sometimes, you’re in the mood for something a little more laid back, and The Fireside Lounge is one of those neighborhood hang-outs that hits the mark – the kind of bar you’d like to have at the end of your block.

Era Art Bar: The old, the new, and the agelessSave your $4 and skip the Bay Bridge commute. East Bay residents are finally getting the chance to party in their own 'hood. The Oakland nightlife scene is stepping up, with help from new uptown venues like Era Art Bar, which opened in February 2010.

Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge: Escape for a cocktailIf you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you’ve already got one definite advantage. You’re just a quick drive away from one of many beautiful destinations overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean. But the Bay waters are cold, and quite often, temperatures here are far from summery. And yet, the opportunities for getting tropical are many. One hidden tropical hot spot is discreetly nestled in Alameda.

Heinold’s First and Last Chance Bar: Inspiration for Jack LondonAt the edge of the Oakland waterfront in Jack London Square, a rickety wooden saloon seems to have washed up from some other place in time. The saloon is in fact Heinold’s First and Last Chance Bar, and made from the planks of an old whaling ship more than 120 years ago, it looks every bit its age.

Yoshi's San Francisco: All that jazz (and sushi too)Open since 2007, this encore version has also been a hit. And why not? It is, after all, the perfect date: sushi in a romantically dark restaurant followed by a jazz concert under the same roof.

Mix Downtown: Where the In-Crowd Goes at NightChic, contemporary and upscale are all words that could adequately describe Sacramento's hottest nighttime gathering place, Mix Downtown. A luxurious rooftop patio and delightfully decadent restaurant and lounge area, Mix is the club of choice for Sac's "in-crowd."

Press Club: No reporters, just fine winesPeople have discovered the Press Club in a big way. Since opening in September 2008, it’s been packed on weekend nights with not only the after-work crowd, but later at night with singles who like its contempo vibe. Calling itself an “urban tasting room,” it’s comfortably and uniquely at the halfway point between a wine bar (too sedate) and a nightclub (too rowdy).

HomeRoom Racing Café: It’s a race to the finish lineHomeRoom Racing Café claims to have the largest and longest standing Carrera track in the country. It’s easy to believe – the track easily takes up two rooms. Most people you know probably aren’t slot car racing enthusiasts. But as you pass by this cafe and see that giant, looping racetrack through the window, your curiosity will get the better of you, whether you are a hobbyist or just someone on the look-out for new forms of entertainment.

Ici: Berkeley’s Artisan Ice-CreamIs “Rosemary Candied Bacon” an ice-cream flavor? It is at Ici, a unique ice cream shop where everything is made by hand from scratch and with choice, organic ingredients. What up with the flavors? You’d be surprised at how good they taste, and at the same time, these flavors will be different from anything you’ve had at other creameries in the Bay or elsewhere.

Bay Island Gymnastics: BIG Classes to flip for!Even if they’re not destined for Olympic Gold Medal fame, kids can still benefit from the rewards of gymnastics training. Bay Island Gymnastics (BIG), which has offered beginning to advanced gymnastics classes for the past 20 years, believes the sport helps students become happier and healthier individuals. Some of the benefits include increased flexibility, strength, coordination and self-confidence.

Julie’s: Sippin’ tea in the Secret GardenIt’s difficult to pinpoint just one good thing about Julie’s Coffee & Tea in Alameda. For some, the garden patio is the kicker, propelling the café’s likeability factor a mile ahead of other, “ordinary” cafes. Julies’ outdoor space is a hybrid between a secret, storybook garden with crawling, flowery vines and the backyard garden you always wish you had, with plenty of shade for afternoon reading.

International Spy Shop: James Bond and Maxwell Smart would love this placeVisitors to the International Spy Shop range from the curious to the serious: Fisherman’s Wharf tourists strolling past who want to buy the CIA T-shirt in the window as well as private investigators who have their eye on the latest GPS tracking device that they can use for surveillance.

Kara's Cupcakes: Let them eat cupcakesThey look good and taste better. Most popular is the Chocolate Velvet, an all-chocolate dream topped with a velvety, dark-chocolate buttercream dollop. Most colorful is the Raspberry Dazzle, a raspberry-cream filled and frosted ensemble. Most nostalgic is the Sweet Smores, combining chocolate cake, graham cracker crust and (of course) a toasted-marshmallow cap.

Stanford University: Harvard of the West“The Harvard of the West” is no mere slogan. Stanford University has earned this boast for its academic prowess, with 16 Nobel Laureates on its faculty. Yet its greatest contribution in recent decades has been the graduates who have helped turn the Santa Clara Valley into “Silicon Valley”: ground zero for the computer, Internet and social networking revolutions.

Takara Sake USA: 5-Course Sake TastingTakara Sake USA, Inc. in Berkeley does more than produce plum wine and sake. If you haven’t been there yet, you’ve got a unique cultural experience waiting. A visit to the Takara facilities makes a refreshing change from wine tasting.

Sports Basement: The biggest, best basement everWhat’s a large retail store doing in a national park? What Sports Basement does at its 80,000-square-foot store in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park is cater to every need of the outdoors-minded folks who use the park. Just outside its doors, walkers, runners and cyclists stream past on the paths alongside the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge. Quite a few of them stop: for an energy bar, a bike tube or a sporty windbreaker.

Revolution Wines: Vine to Glass VarietalsRevolution Wine, a full-service vine-to-bottle winery and tasting room, is located on P Street in downtown Sacramento. After receiving all kinds of varieties of fresh grapes from local vineyards, Revolution Wine presses them, ferments the juices and ages the wine in oak barrels on-site. Wine certainly doesn't get any fresher than that!

Pumpkin Festival & Weigh-Off: The pumpkin also rises in Half Moon BayThe pumpkin is venerated on Halloween, but for three other days in October in the “World Pumpkin Capital” of Half Moon Bay. Following the Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Columbus Day, 100,000 people a day flock to the coast for the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival on October 16 and 17. It’s a celebration of all things orange.

Lunchtime Live!: Free Tuesday concerts all Summer at Jack LondonWho wouldn’t want to listen to free live music during their lunch break? That’s the idea behind Lunchtime Live! at Jack London Square, which features two-hour concerts each Tuesday and Friday during the summer months. The outdoor concert stage is set up in the middle of the Square near the Waterfront Hotel and Scott’s Seafood Restaurant. Audience members can enjoy the warm weather on the lawn or at one of many tables set up by the fountain.

Oakland Art Murmur: Gallery hopping after hoursOn the first Friday evening of each month, the galleries of downtown Oakland, from 65th and Stanford to 19th and Broadway, open their doors to the public, attracting bicyclists, BART riders, carpoolers, parents and singles from all over the Bay. Hundreds of visiting and local art enthusiasts fill the side streets, curious to see the latest works by talented emerging and established visual artists.

San Mateo County Fair: Nine days of funThe fair is coming to San Mateo … can you hear the carnival music? In this case, carnival music is not of the bouncy, circus variety you might expect from a kids’ venue. This year’s fair will feature world-class entertainment from the likes of En Vogue, Eddie Money, Rick Springfield, Tower of Power, and the Shane Dwight Band.

Alameda Point Antiques & Collectibles Faire: First Sunday Treasure HuntingWhere can you find vintage buttons and baubles, doorknobs and dolls, and collections of all sorts of things you never expected to see in one place? Whether you’re a sculptor, a collector, or just someone on the look-out for a deal on patio furniture, you’ll find what you’re seeking and ten things you aren’t at the largest antiques and collectibles faire in Northern California.

Piedmont Park: Neighborhood park rich with regional historyPiedmont Park was once a very different place, home to the grandiose Piedmont Springs Hotel from the late 1800s to the 1940s. Mark Twain was a regular visitor and the teahouse that still stands on the premises was the biggest of its kind in the United States. Today, the 15-acre park consists primarily of green space, with a playground, recreation facility, plaza, and dog run. But a series of markers located throughout the park commemorate the rich history of this East Bay hills destination.

Cordonices Park: Have a picnic of a day in BerkeleyWhile there’s much to be said about Cordonices Park, the 40-foot hillside slide gets top mention. There are always pieces of cardboard at the base of the slide, so find a good size square and climb up the wooden stairs leading up to the top. From there, it can be intimidating to look down – it’s quite a drop on the winding, sometimes slippery concrete. This ride is nothing like the one on typical playground slides. It will remind you of slipping down a snowy hillside. Without the cardboard, the

North Beach: Eat, drink and be merryNorth Beach boasts a rich history, from the Italian immigrants who built it in the early 1900s to the Beats who created a new literature in the 1950s. Generations later, the Italian and Beat influences persist in the form of many Italian restaurants, pizzerias and coffeehouses, where espresso-fueled poets still produce counterculture verse.

The Marina: A neighborhood and a shopping and recreation destinationThe Marina district’s three retail rows on Chestnut, Lombard and Union Streets feature a healthy mixture of shops and restaurants, old and new, for tourists and locals alike. People visit from throughout the Bay Area to shop; only Union Square is a more shopping-intensive district in San Francisco. But besides its reputation for shopping and recreation on the bay, the Marina is a neighborhood, where you can pick up a screwdriver at Fredericksen Hardware (“Since 1896”) or check out a book at the

Park Street Neighorhood in Alameda: From Time Warp to TrendyComing into Alameda is like entering a time warp, people say. It’s both an island and a small town, home to a former naval base and the highest concentration of Victorian-era houses on the West Coast. Needless to say, it’s a little bit different from the rest of the Bay Area, but for many, that uniquely Alamedan vibe gives the city its charm.

West Portal: A hilly neighborhood in southwestern San FranciscoIn addition to Parkside and the Outer Sunset, West Portal is one of three main neighborhoods tucked away in the hills of southwestern San Francisco. Some tourists may never see it, and not because it’s blanketed in fog for much of the year. The area is somewhat off on its own, connected to the thicker downtown crowds through the West Portal Muni Metro Station. But don’t spread the word too much, because that’s just the way most residents want to keep it.

New Bay Bridge Ready for InstallmentA piece of the tower that will define the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge's new eastern span is set to go up.

District 8 Election: A close race in the city's most renowned districtWhen Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to win elective office in California in 1977 by winning over its electorate—a story retold in the Academy Award-winning “Milk”—District 8 became the most famous local electoral district in America. More than three decades later, sexual orientation is now a non-issue in the district, as well as citywide.

Calzone's: Affordable Italian fare found in North BeachThe namesake dish at Calzone's, located in the heart of North Beach, is made six ways: smoked chicken, Italian, marinated eggplant, lasagna-style, swiss chard and pesto chicken. These delicious calzones ($14-$15) are big enough to satisfy hearty appetites, and like the restaurant's pizzas, are shaped like surfboards and served on oblong plates.

Cappuro’s Restaurant: Casual dining in Fisherman’s WharfRight in the thick of Fisherman’s Wharf, Capurro’s is located by the entrance to Hyde Street Pier on the busy Jefferson Street strip. After wandering the historic ships, take a moment to relax and rejuvenate here, where the maritime theme continues. The décor includes fishing nets, anchors, and photographs of the fisherman’s life at sea.

Hanh’s Hibachi: Korean Barbeque on the SquareJack London Square is on the forefront of the restaurant scene. Steps away from Bocanova, Scott’s Seafood, Il Pescatore, and Yoshi’s Oakland, there’s Hanh’s Hibachi, adding Korean cuisine to the international selection in this up-and-coming Oakland destination.

East Ocean Seafood Restaurant: Dim Sum in AlamedaFor fresh dim sum, one feels inclined to visit a restaurant in Oakland’s bustling China Town. Outside of this area, there’s one destination that stands out – East Ocean Seafood Restaurant in Alameda. Arguably serving the best Chinese food on the island, East Ocean has come to be recognized for a quality dim sum selection and fresh seafood choices.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.: Revisiting Forrest GumpWe all know how much Forrest Gump loved shrimp. He talked about shrimp wherever he went. In the end, he lived out the dream of launching a successful shrimp company after his tiny boat bore the fruits of the sea. The name of the company was Bubba Gump. But which came first – Forrest Gump the movie or the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, now a humongous worldwide franchise?

Boulange de Strawberry: French-style goodies in Mill ValleyWhen you walk into La Boulange and see the glass display filled with rustic tarts, sugar brioches, fruit danishes, madeleines, raspberry financiers and chocolate shortcake, you won’t want to look at anything else. But try to yank your eyes away, because this French style café and pastry shop also offers a range of specialty breads, savory sandwiches and delectable salads, so there’s much to sample before dessert.

Epicurious Garden: Food court for food loversIf you’re hungry and short on time, the options aren’t so slim in Berkeley’s “Gourmet Ghetto.” Not with the likes of Epicurious Garden offering a new spin on take-out. In close proximity to Chez Panisse, Lo Coco’s, Saul’s, Café de la Paz, and others on the northern end of Shattuck Avenue, Epicurious Garden is the place to go for something quick, but no less savory.

Rainforest Café: A tropical dining adventureIf you can’t afford to go on safari, there’s always the Rainforest Café by Fisherman’s Wharf. A meal here is a feast for all the senses. And while it’s definitely a tourist destination with hiked up prices (Rainforest Cafés are located in major destinations throughout the U.S., from Disneyland to Vegas to Atlantic City), it’s well worth experiencing at least once, even if you’re a local and especially if you have kids.

The HobNob: Where every night is game nightEvery night is game night at the Hobnob, where all your timeless childhood favorites, from Scrabble to Connect Four, are on the shelves. The simple addition of board games draws crowds from across the East Bay to this neighborhood destination, along with the casual, upbeat atmosphere and good eats that can be found within its doors.

Marti’s Place: Like your grandma’s kitchenMarti’s Place is a few steps above other hometown cafes with a home-style menu. For one, it doesn’t just feel casual, but comfortable – as in “your grandma’s kitchen” sort of way. All the coffee mugs are mismatched and include an array of souvenir mugs, company mugs, and department store pieces – the likes of which your own cupboard might hold if you saved every mug you’ve owned since college.

U.C. Berkeley: Pride of the Golden StateWhy is U.C. Berkeley also called Cal? Cal is short for California, and chartered in 1868, U.C. Berkeley represents the state as the oldest major campus in the U.C. system. But Cal represents more than the state – it is highly regarded as the premier public research university in North America and even the world.