Exploring the Bay Area

Cesar Chavez Park Cesar Chavez Park is a wonderful place to walk or hang out in Berkeley! Built on a former landfill, this park provides a rare view of the Berkeley Marina.  There are many great places to hang out with friends. The park has many picnic tables and barbecue grills that anyone can use. It's a wonderful place to gather. The grassy meadows are a great place to fly a kite or let your dog run free. (Visitors are asked to clean up after their dogs.) There are several hiking and walking trails throughout the park, including a paved, wheelchair-accessible trail that weaves through the park along the edge of the land. This trail provides, by turns, beautiful views of the city of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin County, and the East Bay as you progress along the loop that traces the water. It is frequented by walkers, joggers, bikers, nature enthusiasts, and those who love to admire cityscapes along the water. I love to walk on this trail because I really enjoy bei...

The Curiosity Shop The Curiosity Shop, in many ways, embodies the personality of Berkeley. It is unique, accepting, vintage,  eccentric, proud to be different, and full of options. Berkeley natives come here often and embrace it for all of the reasons that make it unique.  It is a small building on Martin Luther King that is filled to the brim with an eclectic selection of things for sale. There are so many knick-knacks that the building feels very cramped, and visitors are likely to feel a bit overwhelmed, at least at first.  Honestly, despite being only a few rooms deep, there is too much to see in just one visit. You can come back again as often as you like to check on the selection of goodies.  The store, whose door reads, "100,000 THINGS YOU DON'T NEED," is a great place to look for cheap fashion jewelry. Some of it is vintage; some of it appears more modern. They have rings, necklaces, earrings, key chains, and even plastic tiaras if you are interested.  ...