Beautiful Sunset viewed from Woodminster Amphitheater

Address: Woodminster Amphitheater, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland, CA

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Morcom Rose Garden

Address: 700 Jean Street, Oakland, CA

This beautiful rose garden is located near Grand Ave and quite close to Lake Merritt in Oakland. The park is lined with fragrant roses and a waterfall fountain in the center. A great place for wedding pictures. We caught a big squirrel dining in the middle of the park. Free admission.

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Temple, Space Center and Resort

Address:

Mormon Temple: 4770 Lincoln Ave, Oakland, CA

Chabot Space & Science Center: 10000 Skyline Blvd. - Oakland, CA

Claremont Spa & Resort: 41 Tunnel Rd, Berkeley, CA

Visited Oakland Mormon Temple today. We've seen it shines at night in the middle of the Oakland Hill for years and have always been curious about it. The temple is quite a big structure with an impressive garden as well as view of Oakland. It's quite smoggy today so didn't take any pic of Oakland from there. Saw a sign for Chabot Space Center on the way to the Temple so we went further up the hill to see the space center as well. We didn't go inside but figure it would be a great place for kids. The observatory is free for public access on Fridays and Saturdays from 7:30pm - 10:30pm. We will come back again to view the stars some day. Ended our day touring Claremont Spa and Resort -- the big white building on Berkeley Hill which you can easily spot from afar. Could be a good place for wedding reception.

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Oakland Mormon Temple

Chabot Space and Science Center

Sundail at the entrace of Chabot Space and Science Center

Observatory at Chabot Space and Science Center

Claremont Spa and Resort

Bay Bridge

Grand opening of my blog . . .

I love the weather and cultural diversity in San Francisco. I don't live in the city but work there. I get to see the beautiful city skyline almost everyday as I cross the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. I do casual carpool to get a free ride to the city. It's quite interesting. Just wait in line at a designated spot and someone will pick you up. So far it seems to be quite safe and people are really friendly. We usually don't talk inside the car. The benefit for carpooling is to save money and time. It could get very congested during rush hour and the fare to cross the bridge is $4.00. With carpool (3 people minimum in a car), you get to take the HOV lane and no need to pay $4.00. So far, the passengers don't need to pay a single dime. But with gas prices skyrocketing, I've heard that drivers may start asking passengers to chip in gas money......

Eastern span of the Bay Bridge - will be replaced by a new one in 2013 - connects Oakland to Yerba Buena Island.

Western span of the Bay Bridge - Part of it fell down during the 1989 earthquake - connects San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island.

View from the bridge: Ferry Buiding at Pier 1 (Port of San Francisco) with Coit Tower as the backdrop.

Another veiw from the bridge: The "Cupid's Span" sculpture and Rincon park.