bassinhopeful

I'm a beginner, trying for largemouths for a while now, but no luck. Been to a lot of bass sites, read a lot of magazines--Bassmaster, Bass Angler, FLW--and also watched some videos (like Bigmouth), but still haven't hooked into one yet. I'm not trying to land trophies at this point, just hoping to have some fun. Do you know any really easy spots from the shore/bank? I'm pretty much land-bound. Looking for anywhere up to a two-hour drive from Oakland--anything around the Greater Bay Area or Delta, etc. I was on another forum (which will remain nameless ), but all the members could give me were general bodies of water (like "I heard Discovery Bay, Shadow Cliffs, etc. was good"...). I appreciate the advice, but I don't have the skills yet to identify potential spots by sight (though I've tried really hard). And, so, I've decided I should try to ask on other forums as well. If you don't mind, I'd be truly grateful to hear about some of the productive places you fished. If you have specific locations with descriptive landmarks to make them easier to find that would be great! God bless!