The East Bay

Bryan and I are in Berkeley visiting both our boys. We are staying next to the Berkeley Marina.

Brett had to work all day today so we picked up Matt and his girlfriend, Kairee, and headed for breakfast at a restaurant I read about on Yelp. After a delicious breakfast we decided to head up the hill to the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens. We didn't know anything about it but we found it on my phone and decided, "Why not?"

It was unlike other botanical gardens I have visited. After enlightening tours through the succulent and the carnivorous plants greenhouses we ventured out into the larger garden. It was divided by areas of the world and the trees and plants in each region were the ones found in that part of the world. It was neat for Matt and Kairee to see plants they had experienced in Korea and Japan.

As we got further up the hill we found an amazing view of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Across the road, the botanical gardens has a redwood grove. We spent some time enjoying it.

Then we decided to find out what was further up the hill. More beautiful views. Matt and Kairee took the binoculars and found their neighborhood.

Tonight we went to Oakland for the First Friday Art Walk. I am speechless to describe the sheer numbers of people jammed into a few blocks who had come to enjoy art. As we arrived I saw a young man that Matt when to Jr. High with in N. Manchester, IN. Is that amazing or what? Here are a couple pieces of art I thoroughly enjoyed.

For a couple hours we tried to find dinner in a place where we could find a parking spot. We finally ate dinner after 10 p.m. To bed so we can enjoy another day with our family.