Emily and Linda’s Travel Blog

After our outing with the Oakland Women's Rowing Club and lunch on the Lake, we wandered Downtown Oakland a bit. The pictures near the fountain are in Preservation Square. The other group shots were taken in Kaiser Memorial Park which has a huge sculpture dedicated to Humanitarians  and also some other art installations. We also made a stop at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe a quirky diner-inspired place. Linda indulged in her annual root beer float whole Jim did a quality check on the blueberry pie.

Downtown Oakland has a lot of fabulous old Art Deco buildings which are now being restored. Wish I had taken a few more pictures, but this is one I did get:

Wednesday we got together with Jim and Toni. We started the day with the Oakland Womens' Rowing Club. You might picture tall young, buff women in sculling shells, but this was something very different. The average age was probably 70 and some members are in their eighties. They gather every Wednesday to row on Lake Merrit (except for Christmas, New Years or significant rain). It's a very organized affair - we arrived after the line up in boat teams had occurred and I got a little flack for breaking ranks to kiss Jim hello ( but once I told them he was my brother and I hadn't seen him in more than a year, they agreed that was alright then). 

The coxswain on our boat was very business like  and thankfully Linda and I each had a translator assigned to make sure we knew what the commands meant so we could row in the correct direction, hold oars steady in the water or out of it, put the oar straight up in the boat or slide it across to a neighbor (they put us in the middle and on opposite sides of the boat so we couldn't screw things up too badly).  We learned that there is a three year waiting list to join and it requires quite a commitment.  If you don't keep your attendance up, you don't get a star on your scarf for that year. Some members had been rowing for more than 20 years. 

The weather was again perfect - warm and breezy, clear enought to see the lovely lake and appreciate the birds and buildings of interest. The group made us feel very welcome and we got in a fair amount of exercise before noon. Afterwards one of the ladies adopted us and negotiated a motor boat ride from the park staff (”It never hurts to ask"). He took us right to our next stop - the Lake Chalet restaurant (I've always wanted to arrive at a restaurant by boat) where we had lunch out on the dock that juts out into the lake.  A lovely aquatic morning spent with an inspiring bunch of women.  And thanks to Jim for bidding on it in his company's charity auction. 

Woke up to another spectacular weather day. Clear, pleasantly warm with a light breeze and clear skies. Couldn't have ordered better weather. We ventured out to Solano Ave., one of my favorite streets in my high school days here. We started at the top of the street in Berkeley and made our way down to the Albany end. Our breakfast stop was at Talavera  where Linda had a breakfast burrito and I had chicken machaca tacos. Wished we had a fridge in our room. So sad to leave the uneaten part, but there was just too much on the plate. 

Along the walk, we saw some spectacular succulents and flowers. One of the things I like best about this area is the blend of exuberant colors and chapparal plants. Not manicured like at home. Just bursting forth in the glory of the sun.

Later we came back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool, jacuzzi, and sauna. Chris, I thought of you, both because you would have loved it and also because I thought you'd approve of us getting our full money's worth out of the facilities.

This evening we went out for Vietnamese food and then tried out Uber, the new app-driven taxi service (well new to us anyway). It finds you via GPS and matches you with a cab nearby, bills your credit card automatically, with tip included. And at least here, it's no more expensive than a regular cab ( I think in NYC that might not be true).  Worked well. We'll give it another whirl tomorrow.

We actually arrived Sunday night, but were still pretty blurry yesterday so just sitting down to write a little something this morning. The usual morning fog is starting to burn off (and now I'm talking about the literal fog) and the Marina is brightening. Off in the distance San Francisco is lit up in a way it wasn't yesterday. But this trip we're going to leave San Francisco as the backdrop and spend our time in the East Bay.

Yesterday we had a layabout morning at the hotel and then ventured out to the Fourth Street neighborhood of Berkeley which is a formerly industrial area that then became studio space and is now a trendy shopping and eating area -a trajectory familiar to Brooklynites. Even since our last visit a few years ago, the increased affluence is apparent. Will have to ask Jim where the artists have relocated to.  Dinner last night at Skates On the Bay - which really is right on the bay, built on pilings in the water. Arrived just in time for sunset over the Golden Gate. Not a lot to report because we're not doing much. Focusing on the R&R aspect of vacation.

Last day. We had breakfast at a local pub. No black pudding for me though - they said they were all out. The only childhood food I disn't get to have this trip. Then off to Heathrow in the late morning via a car service I found on line - good thing because we were still a little stymied by how to use the telephone codes. Smooth flight back to Newark where trusty (if not clear) Arecibo Car service took us home to Brooklyn. Good trip. 

We celebrated Chris' birthday a little belatedly at the Blueprint Cafe in the Design Museum only a couple of blocks from our flat. The location was lovely, looking out on the Thames and Tower Bridge as the sun went down and the lights came on. The food was quite elegant and the service was excellent. A perfect ending to a great week.

I think it has something to do with beer, but I have no idea what:

Spent another lovely day with my childhood friend, Peggy Stone, in Brockley. Here's a photo from our VERY early days and a couple from today (the fellow in the later photos is Peggy's husband Ted):

t's our last night in London.   We had a very nice dinner at the Blue Print Cafe -- part of the Design Museum -- which is right on the Thames.   We were celebrating Chris' birthday as well as a wonderful trip together.   Here are a few last photos from London.

Today Linda and I had a more relaxed morning and then met Chris and Marg at th eBritish Museum for lunch (BTW the Gallery Cafe has great food at reasonable prices). Then we piled in a cab to go to a Good Friday Performance of the Messiah in the Royal Albert Hall. The space was opulent and had surprisingly good acoustics

. We decided to splurge on a private box - lots of fun and made me feel like I was in a Victorian novel.The singing was uneven and the directing not up to Mragaret's, but we enjoyed ourselves and Marg and I actually spent some time discussing scripture - my Dad would have fallen off his chair.

Here are a few pictures: