day trips from Livermore, near San Francisco
 

We are staying several nights in Livermore in April. Besides the obvious winery visits..any ideas? We spent a week in San Francisco last summer, so visited most of those sites, though suggestions are certainly welcome. We have a car at our disposal. We=Dh and me, late 40s, like museums, culture, history, easy hiking not too far from facilities. Not into bikes or kayaks.

Go to Monterey and Carmel. See the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Walk along the coastal recreation trail in Pacific Grove. Go to Point Lobos State Reserve.

and make a stop in Capitola

Not far from Livermore is Walnut Creek and the Ruth Bancroft Garden. This is a cactus and succulent garden so you will probably catch many of the plants in bloom. We were there last May and had already missed the peak cactus bloom

http://www.ruthbancroftgarden.org/

You could also check out some walks on Mt. Diablo and perhaps wild flowers in bloom.

Good luck,

MY

Hello treble, I don't know if this would interest you but since you mentioned museums you might look at this website which is regarding the Egyptian Museum in San Jose.

http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/

Another vote for Mt. Diablo. Also in Walnut Creek are the Lindsay Wildlife Museum and the Lesher Theater.

Thanks all for your suggestions. So we just returned from our week in Livermore here is a brief report for you--
Day 1: Lengthy hike in DeValle State Park (sp?), what pretty birds and lake/forest areas. Well marked trails. Afterwards, Wente winery visit, ($5 for an abundant wine tasting) dinner at Strizzi's, great Italian/Mediterranean influence food.
Day 2 Mt Diablo, three hikes outlined in the pamphlet--one of the summit, with descriptions of geology and foliage, one around the middle hills and of course the wind caves. Then Concannon vineyards (so much really great wine to taste!)and later, appetizers at Bocce's and dinner at a mexican restaurant in Pleasanton.
Day 3..USS Hornet in OAkland. Spent all day on this ship which has quite a few small museums onboard. Visited Jack London Square and considered Yoshi's but were not crazy about the musical offering that night. Returned to Livermore--dinner at Swirl on the Square, a wine flight/tapas place with live music. Comfortable casual but nice.

Day 4 Monterey BAy Aquarium, two hour walk on the coast, and browsed through shops...lunch on the beachfront area, can't remember where...Dinner in Livermore at Uncle Yu's--what a beautiful Asian restaurant, with free flowing wine flight...and delicious haricots verts in a black bean sauce, really yummy.
Day 5 Drove to San F. and strolled the coastal trail near the Cliff house, where we ate in the nice restaurant downstairs, which has beautiful 2 story windows, quite the view. Climbed around the Sutro baths. Took another walk. Drove around Presidio. Walked across the Golden GAte, watched the surfers and hang gliders. Tea in a little Russian bakery. Dinner in Livermore at Bruno's, a family style Italian place. What a great week!

Your week sounds wonderful, treble, relaxing and fun. Thank you for sharing it with us as I am sure all that contributed ideas will enjoy reading about how you two spent your time along with your comments regarding the restaurants you enjoyed.