Garage Door Excellence

It's a race to the finish line at the International Dragon Boat Festival. Come watch spectacular boats adorned with colorful dragon heads and tails manned with 20 or more paddlers as they reenact a Chinese tradition to appease the river dragons. Today it's one of the fastest growing watersports in the world.

Don't waiver on the USS Potomac, affectionately dubbed the "Floating White House." Welcome aboard Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential yacht, one of the few floating museum attractions in the nation. More than one million people have visited and sailed aboard the restored 165-foot vessel. This unique attraction is a national historic landmark and a memorial to FDR and his accomplishments.

Spend some time hanging out at Café Van Kleef. Gather with politicians, artists, entrepreneurs and a host of other very interesting people at a café bar. This nightlife destination is fast becoming the hippest spot to mingle with intellectuals, enjoy elegant drinks, and hear the best from local blues, jazz and contemporary musicians.

Welcome to Camron-Stanford House, Oakland's last 19th century mansion on the shores of Lake Merritt. See the private residence and lifestyle of five prominent families who were instrumental in the development of Oakland and the statehood of California. The home has been authentically recreated through descriptions found in personal letters, newspaper articles, historical photographs, and architectural research.