If you look for beauty, you’ll find it.
It wasn’t part of our itinerary, but we ended up in Oakland when we couldn’t find a hotel that we liked in San Francisco, either too expensive or reasonably priced but not to our liking, the downside of “unpackaged” tour or road trip where we just looked for hotels in the area we visited. But that’s part of the excitement. Our experience in Oakland the first time we set foot on it wasn’t pleasant. We stopped to have dinner at a fastfood restaurant before heading to the hotel . A man near the entrance waved at us and we wondered what it was all about. I told my brother he must be a “greeter” or “welcomer” But when we got near, he asked for a few dollars, he had some friends nearby. We were not familiar with the place and it was late, so we were scared. We just left and went to a bigger restaurant.
The next morning, we opted to have breakfast at the hotel. Then we searched for nearby parks to see in Oakland. We were lucky Lake Merritt is near. As described :
Lake Merritt, considered the “jewel” of Oakland, California, is a large 155 acre lake located east of Downtown Oakland. Technically a tidal lagoon, it connects to the bay via a channel and the estuary. It is the nation’s largest body of salt water within city limits. Lake Merritt is named for Samuel B. Merritt, who was influential in its creation.
From Oakland Local wiki
Lake Merritt also holds the distinction of being designated, in 1870, as America’s very first National Wildlife Refuge, and it still provides important habitat, particularly for migratory birds in fall
From Visit California
We did see Lake Merritt which left us with beautiful memories of Oakland.
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