Oakland and San Jose?

On Jul 24, 11:00 pm, "Calif Bill" wrote:
"void" wrote in message

...

Next month I am going to the SF Bay Area for 5 days, mainly to attend a
wedding. I already went out to San Francisco a couple of years ago, and
did most of the touristy stuff. So I wonder what I should do when I'm out
there next month. I might spend a day around Mt. Tam, and another day in
SF. But what else? Are San Jose and Oakland worth visiting?

Not so much Oakland. There are a lot of street monuments to gang killings.

That's more a bad rap than a deserved reputation. There truly are
neighborhoods in Oakland that I wouldn't recommend any tourist visit.
I'd say the same thing about a tourist accidentally wandering into
Hunters Point/Bayview in San Francisco, for that matter.

It's true that about half of Oakland is tough, run-down neighborhoods
like on E 14th, East Oakland, or West Oakland. The other half is
upscale, low-crime neighborhoods like Rockridge, Claremont, Montclair,
Lake Merritt, or Piedmont Ave. The homes there can be in the million
dollar range. There are also several excellent restaurants in Oakland
such as Oliveto, Bay Wolf, or Citron. The upscale neighborhoods I
mention aren't exactly touristy (except maybe around Lake Merritt) but
they're perfectly fine places if you want to find fine dining.

This is my personal favorite:

Fentons Creamery
4226 Piedmont Avenue

"y_p_w" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 24, 11:00 pm, "Calif Bill" wrote:
"void" wrote in message

...

Next month I am going to the SF Bay Area for 5 days, mainly to attend a
wedding. I already went out to San Francisco a couple of years ago,
and
did most of the touristy stuff. So I wonder what I should do when I'm
out
there next month. I might spend a day around Mt. Tam, and another day
in
SF. But what else? Are San Jose and Oakland worth visiting?

Not so much Oakland. There are a lot of street monuments to gang
killings.

That's more a bad rap than a deserved reputation. There truly are
neighborhoods in Oakland that I wouldn't recommend any tourist visit.
I'd say the same thing about a tourist accidentally wandering into
Hunters Point/Bayview in San Francisco, for that matter.

It's true that about half of Oakland is tough, run-down neighborhoods
like on E 14th, East Oakland, or West Oakland. The other half is
upscale, low-crime neighborhoods like Rockridge, Claremont, Montclair,
Lake Merritt, or Piedmont Ave. The homes there can be in the million
dollar range. There are also several excellent restaurants in Oakland
such as Oliveto, Bay Wolf, or Citron. The upscale neighborhoods I
mention aren't exactly touristy (except maybe around Lake Merritt) but
they're perfectly fine places if you want to find fine dining.

This is my personal favorite:

Fentons Creamery
4226 Piedmont Avenue


Actually I know that. But most of the places are not touristy. My elderly
mother lives in the Oakland hills and I go there a lot. Used to work in
Oakland about 40 years ago, and most touristy thing anymore is the street
monuments. Oakland Museum is also nice. Downtown and Chinatown are very
safe. Delicious Food Company on Webster for great, very cheap Chinese to
go. Try the Beef Curry rolls.

In the Bay Area, why not mention a trip to Muir Woods in Marin County
to see the redwoods! And stop in Sausalito on the way.

Chuck

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:41:10 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:


"y_p_w" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jul 24, 11:00 pm, "Calif Bill" wrote:
"void" wrote in message

...

Next month I am going to the SF Bay Area for 5 days, mainly to attend a
wedding. I already went out to San Francisco a couple of years ago,
and
did most of the touristy stuff.

"chuck schroeder" wrote in message
news
In the Bay Area, why not mention a trip to Muir Woods in Marin
County
to see the redwoods! And stop in Sausalito on the way.

In summer, go early (very early at weekends) to avoid having to
park near the Golden Gate and take a shuttle. In summer, the
shuttle lots are often full quite early. It might be better to
see Sausalito *after* the woods!


--
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland


Next month I am going to the SF Bay Area for 5 days,
mainly to attend a
wedding. I already went out to San Francisco a couple of
years ago,
and
did most of the touristy stuff.

"James Silverton" wrote in news:SYnqi.6$8u1.0
@trnddc07:
In summer, go early (very early at weekends) to avoid having to
park near the Golden Gate and take a shuttle. In summer, the
shuttle lots are often full quite early. It might be better to
see Sausalito *after* the woods!

The redwoods in Big Basin State Park (near Santa Cruz) are just as nice as
Muir Woods, but much less crowded. The biggest trees are near the park HQ.
The 12-mile loop hike out to the waterfalls and back is fantastic.

[Sent around 04:30 of July 25 apparently lost in cyberspace.]

void wrote:
Are San Jose and Oakland worth visiting?

Not really.

Oakland has the excellent Museum of California (or similarly named).
It's also worth the trouble to drive around Lake Merritt. The
spectacular new construction near Grand is a cathedral.

San José has two things: The Winchester Mystery House and the
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. I think each is well worth the trouble.

--
__________________________________________________ _________________
A San Franciscan in (where else?) San Francisco.
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ --- http://geocities.com/iconoc/
TouringSFO: http://geocities.com/touringsfo/ - IClast @ Gmail.com

In article . com,
wrote:

If you want to go further south, a nice state park just south of
Carmel is Point Lobos which has nice walking trails with dramatic
ocean views, and further south still is Big Sur. You could spend the
night in the Carmel area, explore Point Lobos and Big Sur on day 2,
and return to S. F. that evening.

As a resident of the Central Coast for the past 30 years, I definitely
recommend the Point Lobos/Big Sur suggestion.

Pt. Lobos was the model for RL Stevenson's Treasure Island. You can walk
the trails along the coast and fantasize you are Long John Silver. Aaarg
Matey!

Big Sur is 72 miles of hills and curves. The road is paved, but
occasionally a rock slide will close it down. Usually happens in the winter
when we are in our rainy season. The scenery is spectacular. Many pullouts
so you can get out and have a scenic view from almost anywhere.

Here's my favorite roadside view in Big Sur. Click the thumbnails to see a
larger view.
http://www.pbase.com/the_bobert/the_view


Oakland and Berkley are cities. Need I say more?

Whatever you choose to do, I hope your adventure is memorable.
--
*Do witches run spell checkers?

Bob in Central California

nice pics


"The Bobert" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
wrote:

If you want to go further south, a nice state park just south of
Carmel is Point Lobos which has nice walking trails with dramatic
ocean views, and further south still is Big Sur. You could spend the
night in the Carmel area, explore Point Lobos and Big Sur on day 2,
and return to S. F. that evening.

As a resident of the Central Coast for the past 30 years, I definitely
recommend the Point Lobos/Big Sur suggestion.

Pt. Lobos was the model for RL Stevenson's Treasure Island. You can walk
the trails along the coast and fantasize you are Long John Silver. Aaarg
Matey!

Big Sur is 72 miles of hills and curves. The road is paved, but
occasionally a rock slide will close it down. Usually happens in the
winter
when we are in our rainy season. The scenery is spectacular. Many pullouts
so you can get out and have a scenic view from almost anywhere.

Here's my favorite roadside view in Big Sur. Click the thumbnails to see a
larger view.
http://www.pbase.com/the_bobert/the_view


Oakland and Berkley are cities. Need I say more?

Whatever you choose to do, I hope your adventure is memorable.
--
*Do witches run spell checkers?

Bob in Central California