Things to Do in Pleasanton

Color Me Mine puts paintbrushes and pottery in the mitts of customers old and young. Budding Toyozo Arakawas will follow six easy steps to craft beautifully painted ceramics, first choosing a ceramic piece (most cost between $12 and $70) from Color Me Mine's selection of hundreds of seasonally changing items. After charting out the desired design from individual imagination or Color Me Mine's idea gallery, painters will select an underglaze from a cast of more than 50 colors, then apply paint with the focus of a peregrine falcon occupied by a Rockwellian spirit. Color Me Mine handles all kiln-firing work, allowing clients to take home their final products within three to five days.

IFly's wind tunnel simulates skydiving without plummeting toward the earth at 9.8 meters per second by suspending patrons only a few feet off the ground, sans parachute. Unlike an amusement-park ride, simulator, or a jump off a one-story house, the vertical wind tunnel re-creates the experience of actual flying, with professional instructors controlling the airflow the entire time and communicating with fliers via hand signals. IFly’s cache of knee pads, elbow pads, earplugs, flight suits, helmets, and goggles keep divers protected during flight. IFly plans flights for groups of all sizes and occasions including birthdays, corporate events, and summer camps.

Golfland debuted its first putt-putt green in 1953 and has since expanded to seven locations across California and Arizona. Each location features one to three 18-hole courses, replete with colorful castles, windmills, and fountains. After navigating the obstacle-filled fairways, guests can try their hands at an array of arcade games, whether felling foes in fighting games, stocking up on tickets to win prizes, or following the spellbinding plotline of a pinball game. At the San Jose location, visitors can cool off in the warmer months with a trip down parallel outdoor waterslides.

The FAA-certified flight instructors at California Airways offer something for aspiring fliers of all ages with pilot certification programs, high-school summer camps, and birthday parties for smaller children. No matter what their experience level is, guests of legal age can handle the rudders of not only the business’s simulators but also its Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes. Joining the California Airways club allows license-carrying pilots to rent these aircraft, provided they know the proper levitation incantations.

Weathered stone walls envelop an old country road. In the distance, rolling hills streaked with ranks of wine grapes—some originally planted more than 100 years ago—spread into the horizon. The independently operated Livermore Wine Carriage invites guests to explore these verdant surroundings while seated in a crimson carriage, a fitting mode of transportation for the rustic expanses.

A scottish clydesdale horse leads the carriage to area wineries, making stops at Concannon Vineyard, Wente Vineyards, or Steven Kent Winery, among other favorites. Staffers greet participants at each winery for wine tastings and tours of the brick, wood, and ivy-draped estate buildings. In warmer seasons, passengers cruise with the carriage top down, and in colder months, drivers erect a curtained cabin and decorate its frame in twinkling white lights.