Things to Do in Alameda

In addition to leading circus classes for adults and children of various experience levels, the specialists at Trapeze Arts also manufacture custom circus equipment. At their 10,000-square-foot Oakland facility, they perform firsthand research to create solutions for high-flying performers.

The team has built equipment for Cirque du Soleil, UniverSoul Circus, Flynn Creek Circus, Jean Ann Ryan Productions, and several other professional performing companies. At their own facility, they teach students to use the flying trapeze, trampolines, hoops, silks, ropes, tightwires, unicycles, and juggling implements to increase confidence and babysitting abilities. Trapeze Arts has had such success imparting the aerial arts that several of their alumni are currently performing for Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

Segway of Oakland harbors a fleet of off-road Segway x2s and street-friendly Segway i2s, which renters mount for city tours, lessons, and offsite events. Both tours and lessons begin with a video overview of segway basics to acquaint the rider and the ridden. Two-hour tours then traverse the city, with guides sharing historical tidbits on Oakland’s oak-ruled past on a route that hits Jack London Square, the downtown sector, and the shores of Lake Merritt. Two-hour group lessons jet through skill-building exercises in parking lots and on bike paths. After building confidence, students graduate to higher speeds and more varied terrains, such as bridges and grassy fields, and lessons culminate in an independent ride. Segway of Oakland can also enrich team-building events for companies or exceptionally competitive families with segway demonstrations.

Although it hasn't quite reached the level of Napa Valley's 400-plus wineries, the East Bay's wine scene has experienced a rebirth—and East Bay Winery Bike Tours intends to ride right alongside as it continues to grow. Led by owner Jon Zalon, the company takes to the streets on two wheels to explore the area's ever-expanding collection of urban wineries and the faces behind the bottles at each stop.

In 2012, Diablo magazine plopped East Bay Winery Bike Tours at No. 10 on its "50 Things You Gotta do This Summer" list. No matter the season, EBWBT's rides present safe, scenic routes that include everything from a trip to an Oakland estuary to a pleasant cruise down Alameda's palm-lined streets—all without having to rent a car or a horse to drive that car. Every tour also makes sure to set aside plenty of time to soak in the surroundings, including picnics packed with homemade food.

Operating for more than a decade, Piedmont Avenue Pumpkin Patch both hosts Halloween outings and brings autumnal revelry to you. The expansive pumpkin patch and halloween store sell 15 types of pumpkins, as well as fall essentials such as gourds, masks, spider webs, and multicolored Indian corn. A harrowing haunted house tests visitors’ adrenal glands with dark corners, spooky sounds, and a befuddling maze. In addition to supplying frights, the staff also constructs pumpkin patches off site, redecorating homes and offices with pumpkins, straw bales, and house-trained scarecrows.

Master goldsmith Alan Revere founded The Revere Academy in 1979, creating a space where gifted metalsmiths could pass on their skills to burgeoning jewelry-makers. Today, more than a dozen expert instructors form the faculty, introducing hobbyists and hopeful professionals alike to the fundamentals. The facilities include magnified video feeds that broadcast larger-than-life demonstrations of the teacher performing small and delicate processes, a feat that once required each student to bring their own periscope to class. In the tool room, students will find a blasting unit, magnetic polisher, and other essentials needed to bring their bejeweled creations to shimmering fruition.

Departing from the charming town of Tiburon, the Angel Island Tiburon Ferry takes passengers on 10-minute rides to the historic Angel Island State Park. The ferry is run by the McDonogh family, which boasts a storied history of five generations of running boats to the island while quoting lines from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The company runs its route year-round, encouraging hikers and bicyclists to take advantage of the islands' trails in any season and also runs regular sightseeing cruises around the bay. Passengers can embark on one- to two-hour excursions that glide beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, explore Alcatraz, or cruise along the shoreline of Marin County.