Why Oakland?

Alright. Now, for all of you skeptics out there who went bananas when we told you we were moving to, dear lord, Oakland, CA!?!?!?!?, just settle down. The neighborhoods of Oakland vary widely, as is the case in any big city, and we have chosen carefully. Yes, there are some parts of Oakland where we would choose not to spend our time, but we love our neighborhood. We are neatly situated at the foothills of Oakland, right where Oakland and Berkeley merge. We're a 10 minute walk from the bart and our neighborhood is filled with Craftsman houses, children, friendly neighbors, friendly dogs, and kitties sunning themselves on nearly every front stoop. We are also a 10 minute bike ride from downtown, Lake Merritt and perhaps the most fabulous beer shop on the face of the earth (more on that later). Since husboyf broke his arm before our move, we haven't been biking yet, but we have our virgin tour planned for tomorrow.

I was offered a job a week after we moved out here and start work next Monday. We are INCREDIBLY thankful for that income but did not expect our funemployment to be so brief. So, we are trying to take advantage of our few days off together by being tourists in our new city. We've had amazing weather since we arrived with higher than average temperatures (70-80 most days!), beautiful sun, and no fog. While errybody knows that Oakland has better weather than San Francisco, this week SF gave Oakland a run for its money! Yesterday, since neither of us had ever done so, we walked the Golden Gate Bridge. It is 1.7 miles each way and is truly spectacular. On a clear day, you can see the entire city, Alcatraz, Angel Island, Sausalito, the Oakland and Berkeley Hills, and the Pacific Ocean. It is indescribably beautiful. Especially if you go on a day without fog. Now, I do have to warn you that if you are afraid of heights, this is NOT the outing for you. Boats look like toys below you and the vibrations from the traffic are extremely noticeable. It is pretty fantastic when you look up at this bridge, built nearly 80 years ago, that connects a city built on some of the craziest terrain EVER, to a county that offers anything a nature lover could desire.

After this little tourist outing, and a bus route that took us somewhere VERY unexpected, we made our way back into the city, namely, the Mission district. It's one of the most colorful parts of the city and one must make note of 2 wonderful items.

1. TARTINE BAKERY. This bakery may, quite literally, be the best bakery I have EVER been too. And that includes (sorry, France) many of the bakeries I've visited in Europe. Their bread is sold out every day and is a wet dough that takes 7 days to make. Many have called it the best bread in the country, if not the world. Now, besides the bread, they also have fantastic pastries, pressed sandwiches, and other items that make you want to bathe in a sea of their goodies. It is really that good. If you are in the San Francisco area, please go there. You will NOT be sorry.

2. MONK'S KETTLE. We discovered this place when we were visiting in October, looking for an apartment in Oakland. They have 24 taps and over 150 offerings in bottle and these offerings are something to write home about. Local microbrews, Belgians, English ales...you name it, they have something similar - or better! The employees know their stuff and can find you exactly what you want - even if you can't put your finger on it! It is a mecca of beer. And perhaps the most important aspect of our latest visit was our server hipping us to the best beer joints in Oakland. Um, also, by the way, he lives in Oakland, because that's where all the cool kids live.

So, as we were leaving the Monk's Kettle to go back across the bay to our humble little town :) we were musing on how much we loved Oakland. Ironic, right? But it is our kind of town. Urban, gritty, cosmopolitan (in its own way) yet still quiet, full of people who want to tell you what's up and encourage you to explore whatever it is that they know about Oakland. We've met so many people who are from somewhere else, have friends/relatives in Minneapolis, or simply know where Minneapolis is (sorry, New Yorkers!). Now, there are still a lot of crazies here but people generally give you the time of day, are friendly, and are interested in conversation. It's great.

Our server at the Monk's Kettle revealed the great Beer Revolution to us yesterday. It's a mom-and-pop joint down in Jack London Square (sitting on the dock of the bay, anyone?) and it is fabulous! Unlike Minnesota, California has very progressive liquor laws. Namely, they don't really care when it is sold or how. At Beer Revolution, you can drink while you shop or buy a bottle and pay a $1 corkage fee to drink it at their counter or on their lovely patio. They have any type of beer you could imagine from an extensive stock of Belgians, domestic IPAs, stouts, ales, etc.... We were served by one of the owners of the joint who intimately knew everything they had to offer and was eager to spend the time explaining their products to us. It. was. awesome. So awesome, in fact, that we decided we would spend every Friday night there and began making a list of all of our friends/family who would enjoy it so we would have another excuse to go back. The best part of our trip was the fact that 2 patrons purchased a bottle of Belgian sour ale for anyone to share. Just because they wanted to try it. The beer itself was fantastic but the fact that these gentlemen simply left the beer for anyone else to try was even better.

So, in case you were still wondering? We like Oakland better. (No disrespect, San Francisco.)