This Saturday, I was lucky enough to take a mini-cruise out on the bay for 4th of July. As we moved away from the Berkeley harbor and across the bay, I remembered one of the reasons Oakland is so great, and that’s because it’s part of the larger Bay Area. Sure, there’s plenty to do in Oakland. But if it’s not in Oakland, chances are it’s in one of the cities nearby, and looked at holistically, the Bay Area is easily one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Here’s some of what I saw.
Downtown Oakland from afar.
The Oakland container cranes.
It was really bizarre to see the new and old East spans of the bridge together, especially with the large gap in the new one.
The West span looked like its usual self though.
I used to think the best way to see San Francisco was from Oakland, but now I know the best view is from the bay.
People on the boat got really excited when we passed under the Golden Gate, and I must admit it was a stunning view.
The sky was filled with clouds, sunlight, and the moon.
At night, it became a bit difficult to take photos. You can see the movement of the boat reflected in the lights.
We waited for a long time in the freezing cold for the fireworks to start. It reminded me a lot of waiting for the man to burn at Burning Man, boats gathered around like art cars, blasting music.
But they were worth the wait.
Living in the O 
That huge-ass red white and blue crane is helping to put together the new bridge: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/03/pssst_buddy_you_wanna_buy_a_gi.php