Things to Do in Vallejo

Peruse and sample the flavors of five chocolatiers, five breweries, and two bands. Chocolatiers include Bittersweet: the Chocolate Café, Galaxy Desserts, , TCHO, Vice Chocolates, and Teeny Cake. Brewers include Trumer Pils, Drake's Brewing, Triple Rock Brewery, Napa Smith, and Linden Street. Bands such as The Beehive Spirit and Tornado Rider will entertain during the festivities. Also featured at the event will be a booth accepting charitable donations for Saffron Strand Inc., a non-profit dedicated to finding employment solutions for the local homeless.

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.

Seated in your kayak, you're surrounded by cerulean waters that stretch out into the horizon. To your left, the San Francisco skyline looms in the shimmering afternoon sun. You drift by a raucous Giants game, a village of houseboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Led through undulating waters by American Canoe Association– and Wilderness First Aid–certified guides, San Francisco Kayak & Adventures' nautical tour groups traverse the San Francisco Bay or Sausalito waterfront during the day, at sunset, and under the light of the full moon. The guides lead their groups through calm costal waters in sturdy, closed-deck tandem kayaks, which keep legs dry and don't require typical Flintstone-style paddling. The guides regale their group with area history while pointing out local marine life. They only shepherd about eight paddlers to keep tours intimate and personal and customize paddling instruction to the ability levels of the group.

Guides also help visitors explore the natural world on land during hiking excursions between redwood trees in Muir Woods, along a coastal trail in the Tennessee Valley, and past ghost-town buildings at China Camp Village. To expand visitors' wilderness exposure, they also lead adventures such as sailing, rock-climbing, cycling in the city, horseback riding on the beach, and sleeping in phone booths.

UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley’s first plants sprouted in a modestly sized garden on campus in the 1870s, and in the 1890s, the plot became an official garden dedicated to hosting a living collection of native plants. Since then, the nonprofit garden has expanded to 34 acres in Strawberry Canyon and planted more than 13,000 different types of plants from around the world, including endangered cacti, redwoods, and a significant collection of native Californian plants. Given the garden’s vastness, its informative tours and programs offer a handy alternative to exploring alone, which always carries the risk of stumbling into the carnivorous, fire-breathing species of poison ivy.

SkiMela.com facilitates skiing and snowboarding trips to seven of the areas best ski resorts, including Heavenly and Sugar Bowl. Charter buses pick up outdoor adventurers at six locations along San Francisco – East Bay and Silicon Valley – South Bay routes between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., ensuring guests get a full day’s worth of recreation and snowman heckling. The trips, held in January, February, and March, include breakfast and a movie, and SkiMela.com schedules around 60 trips per season.

Captain Dennis Garrison always felt more at home in the water than he did on land. He was born in the beach town of Playa del Rey, where he spent his days fishing, jet-skiing, and sailing along the coast of Southern California. His love of the open sea and knack for navigation eventually led to stints with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

Unable to ignore the roaring of the surf and the call of gulls after retirement, Garrison founded his own sailing company—Imagine Sailing Tours. Drawing on 30 years of nautical experience, he shuttles passengers towards scenic coastlines and popular sites throughout the San Francisco Bay area. He helms a majestic Irwin Citation 34 yacht, pointing out passing dolphins and seals as he steers towards Angel Island, Half Moon Bay, or AT&T Park. Upon arriving at destinations, Garrison leads activities such as snorkeling trips in Monterrey Bay, wine tastings on Treasure Island, and pottery-spinning classes on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. The skilled seafarer also offers sailing lessons for passengers who’d like to try their hand at steering the ship themselves.