Labor Day Weekend '07 Oakland and San Francisco

We decided to check out Oakland's Art and Soul festival on Saturday and enjoyed the company of two new friends but weren't impressed at all with the festival itself. The Zydeco Flames were delightful but were scheduled to play for only 30 minutes and this was how most of the bands were slotted. The food was poor and mostly junk food i.e. meat. This was no "Taste of Oakland" and to top it off the charge for entrance to the venue was 10 clams. This was our first visit into the famed Oakland, heartland of east bay's most violent crime. The downtown area looked similar to San Francisco's downtown and did not cause us alarm. Attendees were mostly families (lots of kids ) and community members.

On Monday we took our bikes into San Francisco on the BART and rode to the Golden Gate Park. Mr. D almost gave up on the hills but prevailed in the end. We had tea at the Tea Garden and rode through the park to the beach, (which seemed a little sketchy to me). We had a late lunch at The Cliff House and walked to the "Sea Cave" next door. Cycling back to the station was all downhill, riding the brakes with not a few prayers.