Travel   

Join us for the Eastern Alameda and Contra Costa County Raptor Run held at the Altamont Pass and the Clifford Forebay area. This area is well known to birders and Ornithologist globally as an important raptor migratory sink. The wind turbine engineering / business community covet this area for its southern winds to generate energy from the massive turbine installation. We will explore the area in search of Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Red-tail Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk and possible Rough-legged Hawk and Burrowing Owls. 

What to Bring: binoculars, hat, layered clothing, comfortable shoes, insect repellant, sunscreen, and water.

Age Range: This class is designed for adults 18+ and seniors.  

Location: This class is held in-person, offsite. We will meet on Greenville Road. The exact meeting location will be sent out via email to attendees beforehand. Carpooling will be required; be prepared to offer the driver gratuity for fuel. Rain will cancel the trip. No pets allowed. Please note that there will be no restroom facilities available on this trip.

About your guide: Your field guide Rich Cimino served on the California State Energy commission stake holder committee during 1990’s while the APWRA was being vetted for operation and high rate of Golden Eagle death were being recorded. Rich is a veteran of twelve years of the Golden Gate Raptor (GGRO) Hawk Watch in the Marin Headlands, Marin County, CA. Raptor I.D. tutorial will be a featured part of this field trip.

We are back to our travels! However, many people will not travel unless they book a tour, take a cruise, or travel with a friend who knows the destination. Travel & tourism is the world’s fastest growing industry. Learn how to earn income as a tour director. Work part-time or full-time leading tours for major companies. Plus, learn how to get a FREE tour by promoting trips for tour companies or putting together trips on your own for friends, family or groups. Work for a company or learn how to start your own business. Instructor Gina Henry leads tours worldwide for major tour companies as well as her own tour business of 30 years. Tuition includes a digital book "Get Paid To Be a Tour Guide & Travel Free."

Age range: 18+

Learn how Gina has taught her way around the world & paid for vacations and travel to 100 countries. Teaching English can be a high paying career or simply a great way to travel free. English is the world’s business & travel language. Being able to speak English helps people get better paying jobs & life changing choices. If you speak English, you can teach conversational English! You don’t have to be certified or speak the local language. However, getting certified can help you make more money & get a job faster and easier. There are now many excellent affordable online certification programs. Plus, make money teaching English online, earn a free vacation, a 2-month paid summer job, or full-time work that earns up to $90K a year. Learn about the best paying jobs, how to promote your teaching qualifications, the best certification programs (online & in person) and specific hiring organizations. Gina teaches this online class while she is traveling around the worldwide. Tuition includes her digital book "Get Paid To Teach English" (valued at $39.95). 

Age range: 18+

We’re back to our travels, but everything is getting more expensive. So how do we make our travel free and even make money while we are traveling? Learn how to find the deep travel discounts motivating us to see the world. If you are retired, changing careers, a student, or someone who likes the idea of making additional income to support your travel dream, this class is for you. World traveler Gina Henry shows you how she has traveled for free to 104 countries and all 50 states. Plus learn important tips on travel safety, trip insurance, affordable retirement opportunities & other inspirational life enhancing strategies. Earn free airline tickets, hotel nights, tours, cruises & more! Volunteer, fun work-vacations, paid travel, teach English, mystery shopping, importing, drop shipping & remote employment opportunities.

Gina teaches this online class while she is traveling all over the USA & worldwide. Tuition includes her 100-page digital book "How to Travel Free & Make Money Traveling," which provides names, phone numbers, and websites of all of the contacts you need to put this practical information to use (valued at $39.95). 

Age range: 18+

Imagine living abroad! Many people now opt for this adventure and enjoy a higher standard of living while living their dream. Join us and learn how to stretch a fixed retirement income or find work overseas that pays room and board.

Discover the top ten countries where Americans can live better than they can here and how to do it! Get tips about evaluating your finances, figuring out how far your dollar will go, housing, transportation, food, government discount programs, access to healthcare, and job opportunities. It is all here!

Are you ready to begin an exciting new life?

Age range: 18+

Join us for the exciting early arrival of the neo-tropic species during the Spring Equinox! We will search this diverse habitat for and observe Western Tanager, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin Vireo, Yellow-billed Magpies, Black-Throated Grey Warbler, Wilson and Yellow Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, and all swallow species.

What to Bring: binoculars, hat, layered clothing, comfortable shoes, insect repellant, sunscreen, a water.

Age Range: These classes are designed for all ages, 11+, adults, and seniors. Parents can accompany their children. 

Location: This course is held in-person, offsite at Del Valle Park. The exact meeting location will be sent to attendees via email beforehand. Please note that restrooms may not be available as we walk through various habitats. Rain cancels the trip. No pets allowed.

About your guide: Rich Cimino was on the conservation chair for Ohlone Audubon and a past member of the California State stakeholder committee on permitting the Altamont Pass Wind Turbine Resource area. He also volunteered for the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory for twelve years. Moreover, Rich is the creator of the Eastern Alameda County Christmas Bird Count and the owner and field trip leader of Yellowbilledtours.com

We will venture to Oakland Harbor Shoreline Park, a 38-acre park with a bay side tidal mudflat, to study and observe the spring shorebirds as they transition into breeding plumage prior to commencing spring migration to northern breeding grounds. This study is ideal for all levels of birding. Beginning birders: come and build your birding skills!

Age Range: These classes are designed for those 11+ (parents can accompany their children) and seniors.

Location: This course is held in-person, offsite at Middle Harbor Shoreline, Oakland CA. Specific meeting location information will be distributed to attendees prior to the start of class. Rain cancels the trip. No pets allowed.

About your guide: Rich Cimino was on the conservation chair for Ohlone Audubon and a past member of the California State stakeholder committee on permitting the Altamont Pass Wind Turbine Resource area. He also volunteered for the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory for twelve years. Moreover, Rich is the creator of the Eastern Alameda County Christmas Bird Count and the owner and field trip leader of Yellowbilledtours.com

You can earn hundreds of thousands of airline frequent flyer miles and hotel reward points without ever stepping foot on a plane or paying for a hotel. Reward programs and their reward credit cards can earn you the miles & points you need to fly free & stay free. Redeem them for high-value trips. Flights and hotels are typically the most expensive part of your vacation budget. Plus earn cash-back to pay for all your other travel expenses. Gina will show you her easy "Beginner Strategy" then graduate you to more advanced strategies that earn you ONE MILLION+ reward points a year. All the major reward programs will be detailed: airlines, hotels, banks, etc. Also learn tips for flying business and first class. Gina Henry, founder of Go Global, Inc, has been a professional traveler for over 30 years and earns 15 free airline tickets each year, plus dozens of free hotel nights, and hundreds of dollars cash-back each year. Tuition includes her digital book "The Secrets of Traveling Hacking - Free Air, Hotels & Cash Back" (valued at $39.95).

Age range: 18+

Discover the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Mount Diablo Range and East Bay Hills in this California Naturalist course. Through a blend of online classes with guest lectures, and in-person field trips, participants explore the region’s diverse habitats—from oak woodlands and chaparral to serpentine grasslands—while learning about its geology, ecology, and deep cultural significance to Indigenous peoples. Participants who complete the course are certified as UC California Naturalists and are eligible for 4 undergraduate units through UC Davis.   

Within the framework of the UC Environmental Stewards, this course combines science, service and place-based learning.

You will engage in:

• Science curriculum exploring the geology, soils, hydrology, vegetation communities and wildlife of the Mount Diablo Range;

• Field trips and hands-on investigation at local natural areas in the East Bay hills to directly observe and document ecological patterns;

• Guest lectures and community science projects that link you to ongoing conservation, restoration and citizen-science efforts in the region;

• Project-based learning that empowers you to design or participate in stewardship activities—whether monitoring a sensitive species, mapping habitat change, or assisting a local land-trust initiative.
   

By the end of the course, you will not only have gained a strong foundation in the natural history and ecology of this unique California landscape, but you will also be prepared to take an active role in natural resource conservation, education, and restoration.

Age range: 14+

Working remotely is now the thing. Why not add travel into the mix? Join thousands of individuals taking their work with them and hitting the road. Be "location independent". Learn the “how to” of living on the road, remote jobs that can pay your way, where to stay, how to handle your finances, downsizing & more. Instructor Gina Henry has been a digital nomad for the last seven years and highly recommends the digital nomad lifestyle as remote work has become even more popular during and after COVID. Tuition includes a digital book "Work Remotely and Become a Digital Nomad" (valued at $39.95). 

Age range: 18+

The World Migratory Bird Day is held on the second Saturday in May of every year and inspires the community to celebrate and help protect our amazing birds. Celebrate this day with Rich at Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton; he will do a real-time, on-site tutorial of the eBird App by Cornell Lab; it is an easy and free way to record your field findings and allows the community to contribute to Cornell University’s annual species population survey. Also, Rich will help enter you observations in real-time into your eBird account so that you can contribute your findings on this important day.

What to Bring: Download the free eBird App in advance, binoculars, hat, layered clothing, comfortable shoes, insect repellant, sunscreen, and water.

• Apple eBird App Download Information
• Android eBird App Download Information

Age Range: These classes are designed for young adults 11 and over (parents can accompany their children) and seniors.    

Location: Shadow Cliffs East Bay Regional Park, Pleasanton CA. Parking lot directly behind the entry pay booth. Entry Fee for Shadow Cliffs is $6.00. Students are responsible for this fee. Specific meeting location to the field site will be distributed to attendees.