Bay Area Holiday Activities

Christmas is in a few days, and 2024 will begin in less than 2 weeks. There are many fun holiday and New Year's Eve events, including those around the Bay Area. Below is a list of some of these events that seem the most interesting to me.

Enchant Christmas, PayPal Park in San Jose (November 24-December 31)

San Jose's Enchant Christmas event features an all-new light maze called Santa's Magic Timepiece, The Village (consisting of tiny storefronts), an ice skating trail, Santa's Landing (where you can visit Santa), Little Elves Play Place (for young children), and various food vendors (including Pearls Mini Donuts, Scott's Chowder House Food Truck, and Lilikoi Boba). In addition, there are special theme nights, including College Student Night. The College Student Night occurred on December 15 but will occur again on December 28. Most of the special theme nights already occurred, such as Paws n' Claus Night (which took place December 3), but it would be nice if I could go to the College Student Night on December 28.

Christmas in the Park, Plaza de Cesar Chavez in Downtown San Jose (November 24-December 31)

I have been to Christmas in the Park several times before and have enjoyed it a lot, although the last time I went was 2016. Christmas in the Park is an annual holiday tradition that features over 40 musical and animated exhibits, glittering lights, and a 65-foot illuminated Christmas tree. The displays at Christmas in the Park include The 12 Days of Christmas, Enormous Ornaments, Snoopy's Christmas, Merry-Go-Round, and Countdown to Christmas. The event also has amusement rides and ice skating, with rides being $5 each and run by Winter Wonderland and ice skating being $21 per session (one session is 90 minutes) and across the street from Christmas in the Park. Christmas in the Park has various events and programs, including Jingle Bell Stage and Santa visits. When I visited Christmas in the Park in 2016, I remembered going on the amusement parks, but I don't think I have done ice skating there.

A picture of me with my brother and mom at Christmas in the Park in 2016

Holidays at Filoli, Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside (November 18, 2023-January 7, 2024)

Holidays at Filoli consists of thousands of glittering lights and decorations, and there is a 210-foot-long light tunnel, 3,600 strands of lights covering the gardens, and 7,000 ornaments individually hung throughout Filoli. Although the evening admission is sold out through December, there are still tickets to visit Filoli during the day, and the lights are on all day. There are also various events and attractions, including Santa Days, where one can snap a photo with Santa on his magical golden throne and enjoy a daytime stroll.

Glowfari, Oakland Zoo in Oakland (November 10, 2023-January 28, 2024)

Glowfari is a lantern festival event consisting of animal lanterns throughout Oakland Zoo, and this year features new themes, including the forests of North America, frosty friends of the Arctic, the Deep Ocean, and a stroll through the swamp. There is also a train ride through the island of Madagascar to finish the experience. Santa can be visited in the Rides Area Fridays-Sundays in November and every night  December 1-23 from 6pm-9pm, although tickets for December are sold out. There is a short video about Glowfari at Oakland Zoo on Youtube that briefly describes the event. Since tickets for December are sold out and winter quarter for college (UCSB) starts on January 8 for me, if I end up going to Glowfari, I would have to go within the first few days of 2024 (i.e. sometime January 1-6 since I plan to go back on January 7).

Glow at the Exploratorium, San Francisco (November 16, 2023-January 28, 2024)

Glow: Discover the Art of Light at the Exploratorium in San Francisco involves exploring galleries of luminous artworks, including touching quantum physics and playing with experimental LED dungeon crawlers and finding bliss beneath a vast glowing moon. The artworks at Glow include Quantum Jungle, Museum of the Moon, Sound Sculpture, and RGB Lights Mirror. Although I have been to the Exploratorium many times, I don't think I've ever been to Glow at the Exploratorium and so it would be nice to check this event out before I go back to college for winter quarter, which starts January 8.

Christmas at Temple Hill, Oakland (November 24-December 31)

Christmas at Oakland's Temple Hill includes a Christmas lights display along with events and performances, nativity tours (at the Visitors' Center), and Christmas lights tours. All of the Christmas events are free, and some events require a ticket to enter. For instance, most auditorium performances require reserving free tickets in advance.

Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train, Boardwalk of Santa Cruz (November 24-December 23)

The Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train departs and returns in front of Neptune's Kingdom of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The vintage excursion cars are decorated with thousands of colorful lights and roll through city streets past Santa Cruz homes. The train features various activities, including holiday sing-along, live music, hot-spiced cider, and Santa visits. Although I have been to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk before, I have never gone on the Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train and so this would be a cool holiday event to try out at the boardwalk.

New Year's Train, Boardwalk of Santa Cruz (December 26-31)

The New Years Holiday Lights Train involves riding vintage train cars decorated with holiday lights that roll through Santa Cruz's streets, as well as a live DJ and light-up hula hoopers. This event seems like a fun way to celebrate the new year, and it would be cool to try it out since I have never gone to it before.

Drive Thru Light Show, History Park San Jose (November 29, 2023-January 1, 2024)

This light show is programmed to music and helps fund non-profit organization Christmas in the Park. In this event, one can take a musical journey to a dozen of themed lands for a dazzling synchronized light show, and this event passes through a twinkling tunnel of lights and seeing more than 200,000 lights sparkling to holiday tunes. This sounds like a fun event to try out, and I have never been to this event before.

Garden of D'Lights, Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek (November 24, 2023-January 6, 2024)

Garden of D'Lights is an exciting winter holiday light exhibit at Walnut Creek's Ruth Bancroft Garden consisting of three acres of illuminated cacti, succulents, and other plants. Dazzling sculptural art and new light installations from local artists are also featured.

Fantasy of Lights Drive-Thru, Vasona Lake County Park, Los Gatos (December 5-30)

Los Gatos's drive-thru Fantasy of Lights event consists of 1.5 miles of large animated displays, sights and sounds of an erupting volcano in the Dinosaur Den, cheering on Santa shooting hoops, waving at a pen of playful penguins, watching blazing pirate cannons, and sailing through tunnels of moving lights. There are over 50 themed displays and a 90-foot twinkling tree, and the displays use environmentally-friendly LED lighting.

Boardwalk Winter Wonderland, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (November 23-December 31)

Activities at Boardwalk Winter Wonderland include various boardwalk rides, games, and arcades, as well as holiday decorations and lights (including a 3-story tall Christmas tree), photos with Santa, and delicious boardwalk treats. It would be nice to visit the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk during this time of the year since although I have been to the boardwalk in the past, I have never gone to it during the holiday season.

Winterfest at Great America, Santa Clara (November 24-December 31)

During Winterfest, Santa Clara's Great America is transformed into a winter wonderland and holiday festival. There is ice-skating in front of the iconic Carousel Columbia, dazzling sights, hot chocolate, and spectacular live shows. There are over 60 rides and holiday attractions, including checking out Santa's workshop and baking cookies in Mrs Claus's kitchen. There is also one of the Bay Area's tallest Christmas trees decorated with thousands of twinkling lights accompanied by toy soldiers greeting guests. The event features millions of lights, and I would love to check this event out since the event seems fun and I have never gone to Great America during the holidays.

North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens, Gilroy (November 24-December 31)

Gilroy Gardens's North Pole Nights involve exploring the North Pole's wintry wonderland and finding new ways to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. This immersive experience includes all-new characters, fun live shows, ice skating, a grand feast at Snowflake Square, Santa's Workshop, magical light displays, the brand new A Wish for Santa experience, and many more attractions.

Six Flags Holiday in the Park, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo (November 24, 2023-January 7, 2024)

Holidays in the Park at Vallejo's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom consists of holiday-themed attractions set against a backdrop of seasonal music, millions of twinkling lights and breathtaking light displays, seasonal music favorites, and a visit by Santa and his elves. Sights, sounds, and attractions include a 65-foot Christmas tree at the Christmas Tree Plaza, a Celebration Station where one can learn how the holidays are celebrated amongst different cultures around the world, Winter Wonderlane (features dazzling lights, a giant snowman, and snowflakes falling from the sky), and Jingle Junction (features holiday activities, including rides, face painting, cookie decorating, and more). The festive entertainment includes A Very Merry Christmas (starring seals and sea lions in this holiday tale about the true meaning of Christmas), Dolphin Holiday (features awe-inspiring dolphins), and Let it Glow - Christmas Tree Lighting (65-foot holiday tree coming to life with thousands of radiant lights in the evening). Holiday activities include festive face painting, Christmas cookie decorating, and holiday s'mores fire pits. Festival-themed attractions include Penguin Plunge, Winter Whirl, and Merlin's North Pole Tours.

New Year's Eve at Gilroy Gardens, Gilroy (December 31, 4pm-midnight)

This New Year's Eve event at Gilroy Gardens takes place at the Event Plaza, with the celebration kicking off at 5pm, followed by The New Year's Eve Dance Party at 9pm. There is a live DJ, specialty appetizers, and cocktails, photo booth, and fireworks over Coyote Lake light up the night sky at midnight.

There are also various holiday ice rinks that are open throughout the holiday season in the Bay Area, including Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square (San Francisco, November 1, 2023-January 15, 2024), Ice at the Veranda (Concord, November 3, 2023-February 14, 2024), San Mateo on Ice (San Mateo, November 10, 2023-January 7, 2024), Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Rink (San Ramon, November 10, 2023-January 7, 2024) that includes S'more's night, Brentwood on Ice (Brentwood, November 17, 2023-January 8, 2024), and Walnut Creek on Ice (Walnut Creek, December 15, 2023-January 15, 2024).

The Bay Area has many different holiday events and activities, and I hope that I can check out some of these events this year to end 2023 on a happy note.

Summer 2023 Travel Recap

As summer break 2023 comes to a close for me, as I recently went back to UCSB for the upcoming 2023-24 school year, traveling to different places – including Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Bodie, New York, and Washington D.C. – has been one of the most memorable highlights from this summer.

Picture of my brother at the
South Lake Tahoe
hotel that we stayed at

During the evening of June 30, my family and I drove from our home in Palo Alto to our hotel in South Lake Tahoe. The hotel had a pirate ship vibe to it, and one of my parents took a picture of my brother in the hotel.

snow on Mammoth Lakes mountains

Tea House on the Emerald Bay Island

On July 1, the next day, we went to visit Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe and kayaked to the island at Emerald Bay. It was the first time kayaking, and although some of the water went into the canoe that my mom and I were on, it was a pretty enjoyable experience. After kayaking, we did some hiking at the island in Emerald Bay. We hiked to the top of the island and took some pictures with the "Tea House," the small stone building on top of the island. We continued exploring the Emerald Bay area and then drove to our condo in Mammoth Lakes. On the way to Mammoth Lakes, we noticed that the mountains still had some snow on them, most likely from the past winter, where the rainfall and snowfall was above average in California. There was a TV at the Mammoth Lakes condo, and I watched Sing 2 and the first couple of Bridgerton episodes.

snow on the way back home

On July 2, my family and I explored the Mammoth Lakes area, including visiting Convict Lake and Twin Lakes. After that, my brother and I went swimming in the pool around where our Mammoth Lakes condo was. Around early evening, we went to Mono Lake and went on a guided tour of the lake. There were many interesting facts about Mono Lake and the area in general, including the fact that the height of the tufa in Mono Lake indicates that the lake level of Mono Lake was once that high.

On July 3, my family and I continued to explore the Mammoth Lakes area, visiting a lake called June Lake. Afterwards, we drove to a ghost town called Bodie. We saw many different buildings there, including a church, a schoolhouse, and various houses. We were even able to watch a video that described Bodie, including its early years and how it became a ghost town. A fun fact about Bodie is that gold was actually discovered there in 1859. After visiting Bodie, we drove back home to Palo Alto, and like on the way to Mammoth Lakes, we saw some snow on the mountains.

The last 3 pics of one of my Instagram posts consists of photos from my Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Bodie trip

On the evening of August 2, I took a plane from SFO to the east coast, specifically to Newark, New Jersey airport (EWR), to meet up with my family since my mom, dad, and brother were already at the east coast due to my brother going to Cooperstown, New York for baseball. The plane arrived at EWR during the morning of August 3. It was my first solo flight, and although I did not sleep that much on the plane, I tried my best to stay awake. When my dad picked me up from the airport and drove us to the New York hotel that he stayed at with my mom and brother, I also tried to sleep a bit on the car ride to the hotel. However, the hotel that my family stayed at had some water problems and so my dad ended up switching to another hotel, which was where my family and I stayed for the night.

During August 3, my family and I visited various places around New York City, including Empire State Building during the morning, Grand Central Terminal and United Nations Headquarters during the afternoon, and Vessel, The High Line, and Little Island during the evening. I also visited Top of the Rock by myself during the afternoon since my mom, dad, and brother already checked that place out. At Empire State Building and Top of the Rock, I was able to capture various photos of New York City's landscape. The Empire State Building is also considered to be the world's most famous building, and many celebrities like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande and cartoon characters like Miss Piggy from the Muppets have visited the Empire State Building. The Vessel has a pretty cool design, and the building's material allows people to be able to see their reflection.

On August 4, my family and I continued to explore NYC, visiting the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Wall Street, The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art), and Central Park. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum explored the event of 9/11 in great detail, including showing how NYC looked before and after 9/11, audio recordings of some of the people – including flight attendants on hijacked planes – who were affected by 9/11, and detailed descriptions of the four attacks that occurred on 9/11. There were many different sculptures at The Met, including European sculptures and Egyptian sculptures, as well as pottery from Asia and various pieces of artwork. During the evening, we drove to New Jersey to the house where three of my cousins grew up in. At New Jersey, my family and I got to meet my uncle (my dad's brother) as well as one of my cousins and her husband. My brother and I also played the board game version of Codenames with my cousin and her husband.

My Instagram post featuring some of the photos from my New York trip

On August 5, my family and I went with my uncle, my cousin, and her husband to an Asian restaurant in New Jersey for lunch, and the food there was pretty good. After lunch, my family and I left New Jersey and drove to Washington D.C. On the way to D.C., we passed by Amish Country in Pennsylvania (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). We arrived at D.C. during the evening of August 5, and since our hotel was located near National Mall, we walked around the National Mall area shortly after we arrived and went to and saw some of the landmarks at National Mall, including the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and World War II Memorial, which featured 56 pillars representing U.S. states and territories that surrounded a fountain.

On August 6, my family and I visited some museums in D.C. and nearby Virginia, including D.C.'s National Museum of Natural History and Virginia's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The National Museum of Natural History had many different exhibits, including an exhibit on human origins and another exhibit on ocean life. There was a lot to explore at the National Museum of Natural History, as we did not have enough time to view all of the museum's exhibits. At Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, there were many different aviation and space artifacts, including Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, a Concorde, and Apollo 11 Flotation Collar. My family and I then went to D.C.'s Chinatown for dinner, and the food at the restaurant we ate at was pretty good. Because it started to rain later in the evening, my family and I ended up staying at our D.C. hotel during the evening.

On August 7, my family and I visited D.C.'s International Spy Museum. The museum was pretty cool and interactive, as my family and I got to learn more about spying and different spies throughout history and work on a mission that uses spy skills. After visiting the International Spy Museum, my family and I went to the National Mall, and in addition to seeing landmarks that we saw two days ago – like the Washington Monument and World War II Memorial, we also saw the Vietnam War Memorial and the World War I Memorial. Later on, we went to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) since we had a flight from DCA to SFO at 5:30pm. Although the flight got delayed, we were able to arrive safely at SFO.

D.C. Instagram Story

Overall, it was great getting to visit many different places this summer, and I look forward to visiting more places in the future. It was also nice getting to visit D.C. since I last visited D.C. 10 years ago in 2013.

New York, New Jersey, and D.C. travel recap

Below, here is a video recapping the different places that I went to this summer.