Oaktown

Oakland gets the short end of the stick.

Just because a few neighborhoods are errant doesn't necessarily mean the whole town is dangerous and gang ridden.

Gramps took us to a beach in Alameda.

Not only were we able to check off something from our bucket list, but also take pictures.

(By the way, if anyone has some lenses they'd like to donate, holla atcha girl)

This bucket is soooo heavy!

Collecting rocks.

Don't drop them.

Oops! Almost tripped, but was saved due to the cross body arm maneuver.

Putting all those rocks to good use.

Gramps always knows how to make a day fun. Especially when it ends with french fries.

Piedmont is lovely too. Its streets are lined with small businesses offering flowers, eyewear, Thai food, baby clothes, yoga studios, anything your little heart could want.

The fact that my gorgeous grandmother lives there just adds to its charm.

A short walk through her building and up the street led us to an ice cream mecca.

I don't know which is sweeter, that chocolate milkshake or my grandma.

We definitely share DNA.

Grandma was so sweet with the girls. Attentive, interested in what they had to say, eager to include them in her world and learn about theirs.

This place is so magical. The weather likes to show off, perfect sunny days with slight breezes, cotton candy clouds, and sunshine showering vitamin D down on its worshipers. It kind of gets annoying. 

Ok, no it doesn't. 

The scenery is astounding, the food fresh and clean, people are interesting and diverse, there is always something to do. As I get older and am raising my kids in the midwest, I am deeply grateful to be able to call this place home.

Sure all those superficial things make leaving the Bay Area difficult, but it's the family here that makes it heartbreaking.

So, while we're here we'll be soaking up the sunshine and wine, but also the hugs, conversation, and familiar faces so that we're filled to the brim with home and can last until the next visit.