Things to Do in Lathrop

Music thumps and LED lights flash as up to 15 people don props and watch themselves file into Flash Photo Booths’ private booth on a 20” flat-screen LCD monitor. After guests select color or black-and-white photos, an ultra-high-resolution, 18-mega-pixel digital SLR camera snaps shots every six to eight seconds. Lab-quality printers produce 4"x6” prints in fewer than 15 second, enabling partygoers to collect ample evidence of revelry at weddings, birthday celebrations, graduations, and reenactments of landmark court trials. Greenscreen effects are also available, allowing customers to set their photos against exciting backdrops such as a leopard-filled jungle or a hockey game. An onsite attendant follows the booth to take charge of both setup and takedown, and remains on-hand to assist with operation.

The sprawling 18-acre family-friendly amusement park dubbed Funworks! initially began as a miniature-golf course, Putt-Putt Golf, before expanding to include a coin-operated-game room in 1989, which first bore the Funworks! moniker. Today, its current incarnation helmed by Freddy Foreman, the facility's foreman of fun, showcases multiple family-friendly attractions at two locations. The grounds house remote-controlled racing tracks, batting cages, and an expansive mini-golf course that weaves across 54 holes. Additionally, patrons will discover other curios of entertainment such as a mechanical rock-climbing wall and a teddy-bear factory where children can customize stuffed animals to fulfill carpool-lane requirements.

Vintage Gardens is a compound replete with blossoming foliage and year-round flora that create picturesque backdrops for special events. A walk through the gardens treats eyes to scenic vistas and flowering plant life, and a stroll to the gazebo may conjure lingering memories of romance left by the many couples who have tied the knot beneath its peaks. Originally a private residence in the nineteen thirties and a meeting place of the Knights of Columbus, the grounds now contain ample space for events and special occasions and a café with a menu and catering options designed by Chef Rigo. With a professional staff and fully equipped facilities, Vintage Gardens is ready to accommodate weddings, banquets, and special events ranging from community get-togethers to public readings of books on tape.

Since 1960, the city of Modesto has been the minor league home to six different big league franchises including the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Oakland Athletics. But despite all the bouncing around, the Nuts have consistently won, and have captured five California League championships over the years. Now affiliated with the Colorado Rockies, the team is still looking for its first title under the Nuts moniker, which it officially adopted in 2005 as a nod to the region's farming products and any fans who try to catch foul balls in their mouths.

The Stockton Ports have been a part of California baseball since before there was even a league. Players have been slinging pitches, swinging bats, and attempting to translate umpires' calls in the town of Stockton for more than a century. But it wasn't until 1941— when Minor League Baseball decided to plant roots in California—that the Ports became an official organization. The Ports jumped at the chance to join up, becoming one of the founding members of the newly created California League. Over the course of the team’s 63-year history, the Ports have won 11 championships, including one in 2008, all while advancing players such as Gary Sheffield, Ben Sheets, and Trevor Cahill to the big leagues.

Banner Island Ballpark

Looming on the waterfront of the California Delta, Banner Island Ballpark was built in 2005 and accommodates up to 5,200 Ports fans during each home game. Special promotions fill the mitts of visitors with freebies and discounts almost on a nightly basis, including $2 beers and sodas on Thursdays and a jersey giveaway on August 31. Rather than driving or trying to squeeze the whole family into the same wiffle ball, fans also have the option of cruising to a game on their boat, docking for $10 at the Stockton Downtown Arena.

A golf ace at the club professional level of the PGA, Lance Johnson spruces up golf swings with morsels of advice culled from 17 years of teaching experience. Formerly head golf pro at two golf clubs, Lance possesses enough swing-honing savvy to adjust his teaching approach for each client, helping them conquer unique goals such as eliminating a chronic slice or revising the rules to allow for gunpowder-assisted drivers. Lance operates out of the lush expanse of Escalon Golf Course, where he conducts focused swing analysis at the driving range and imparts more strategic, mid-round advice at the golf course. Pupils without their own set of sticks can use a set of Lance’s during lessons, saving them the hassle of molding irons out of titanium-plated wax.