Bay Area Miss-Me-Nots: Oakland

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Tilden Regional Park

Running along the Berkeley Hills, Tilden Regional Park is a Bay Area gem that spans parts of Berkeley, Oakland, and unincorporated Contra Costa County. The park offers visitors not only an escape from the city but any and every summer activity they could hope for. So many activities, in fact, that you can't do them all in a day or even two days.

Our visit started at Little Farm, located on the west end of the park not far from Jewel Lake. Free parking is available a short walk from the farm, or you can take AC Transit #67 from Berkeley BART on the weekends. Little Farm is open every day of the year, 8:30 to 4, and is free. You can bring celery and lettuce to feed to the Shorthorn cows, French Alpine goats, Black Welsh mountain sheep, pig, and ducks and chickens (who prefer lettuce). You can also visit but not feed Dutch rabbits. Turkeys roam the farm as well, though we didn't see any this time. We took one bag of celery, which was soon gone, and the animals' attention quickly turned to new arrivals, hands full of fresh produce.

After Little Farm, we decided to take advantage of Tilden Nature Area's 10+ miles of hiking trails. We chose the Jewel Lake Nature Trail to Jewel Lake, traveling much of the way on a magical boardwalk. Trees and brush enclosed us, forming a green roof over our heads. When we arrived at the lake, a tree that had fallen into the water was covered with turtles sunning themselves. As we were walking away from the turtles, my sister noticed a crawfish in the brush at the side of the trail. This remains the coolest creature I've seen in the wild in California. If you enjoy hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding, there are nearly 40 miles of trails in Tilden Park proper. Nimitz Way is wheelchair accessible and paved.

Our next stop was the Botanic Garden, open year round, 8:30 to 5:30 during the summer. The garden is 10 acres and is divided into 10 geographic regions, and the paths wind down into Wildcat Canyon. It felt like wandering into a secret world, and as the gate disappeared from site, my sister and I joked that we might possibly get lost, which didn't bother either of us much. According to the East Bay Park's website, the garden "contains the world's most complete collection of California native plants," including a large collection of manzanitas. We walked along a creek, and as my sister crossed a bridge, I noticed a tiny creature zip under her. It stopped on the side of one of the bridge's boards, and I noticed it was a lizard. We blinked at each other as I leaned close for a better look. As we made our way through the garden, we could hear other creatures zipping off among the plants, and I assume they were more gorgeous lizards.

We called it a day after the Botanic Garden, but there is so much more to explore. At Lake Anza, you can swim for a small fee, and there are lifeguards on duty during the summer. There's also a carousel (small fee), steam trains (small fee), camping, horse camping, picnicking areas with barbecues, and even a golf course.

Tilden Regional Park is hands down one of the most enjoyable, affordable places in the Bay Area. Perfect for families, for individuals wanting to get away from the crowd, for birdwatchers, plant enthusiasts, animal lovers, photographers...there's something for everyone. This park is definitely at the top of my Bay Area Miss-Me-Nots.

Jewel Lake Natural Trail

The Crawfish

Sunday, March 5, 2017

White Elephant Sale

Every year, for just two days, a mythical sale appears in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, a sale that offers mountains of clothes, kitchen equipment, furniture, books, shoes, sports equipment, holiday supplies, stationary and more on the cheap. No, this mythical sale isn't a unicorn. It's the White Elephant Sale, and for you bargain shoppers out there, it's most definitely a Bay Area Miss-Me-Not.

Sale items come from donations that are accepted year round, so each WES has new stuff. A preview sale takes place in January, with shoppers getting first access to the goods for $15 (ticket bought early) or $20 (at the door). Then in March, everyone else gets a chance to treasure hunt, admission free, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. All proceeds go to the Oakland Museum of California, and an army of volunteers helps rake in those proceeds, which surpassed $2 million last year.

Though the selection is better the earlier you go, my sister and I always go on Sunday because almost everything is half off. One year, we found a large skillet with lid for just $4. Another, a vintage dark-wood chair for just $15. My sister always finds a huge bag full of yarn and buttons (most of them, high-end or unique) for her small business for 1/3 of the cost she'd pay in store or online. This year, we found like-new jeans for $2 a pair.

But just the looking itself can be more fun than the buying. Where else can one find a large leather lounger with ottoman for just $150? I mean, that would complete the den, we apartment-dwellers joke. Or a high-end jacket for $4? Perfect for that meeting with the board. My sister and I like to peruse the antique furniture, the fine china, the old typewriters, and the oddball knick-knacks. We like to imitate the art, imagine using a pristine $10 kite surfing board on the Bay, take a trip back to childhood hunting through toys we had as kids, and look through shelves and shelves of books we don't have room for.

Watching people find treasures is almost as fun as defending those treasures from others, and as the crowds start to thicken as the day goes on, one may have a tense tussle or two. Mine came in the craft section when a woman reached over the basket of yarn I was entrusted with to grab a skein before my sister could scoop it up. I held my ground and put the section on lock down in no time, yarn be saved.

As with all things in the Bay Area, getting to the WES can be a headache, but with proper planning, that headache can be minimized. There's a free shuttle that goes to the WES from the Fruitvale BART. And free parking can be found in the area around 333 Lancaster Street provided one gets there early; people even park under the freeway by the Fruitvale Station shopping center. We usually get there around 9 am to find a spot, and the line to get into the sale is usually pretty long by 9:30 (the doors open at 10 am). Whichever way you choose to get there, just remember you may be hauling quite a bit home.

Below are photos from this year's event, but they don't do justice to the size and grandeur. If you want to adorn your home with unique, affordable things that have a history, mark your calendar and start putting together that shopping list because the next sale is only a year away.