[afraidfortherepublic]

Oakland used to be a beautiful city. And very friendly. But, that was yesteryear.

Newark, OTOH, greets travelers with a view of the razor wire surrounding the adjacent prison. And then there is the mad trip through narrow streets, muttering unspoken prayers under your breath, that you get out before anyone stops your car.

Victoria, BC is a delightful city where the merchants have gone out of their way to help us on several occasions.

[wbill]

Given the choice between the two, I'll stay home! :-)

Oakland used to be a beautiful city

I spent a fair bit of time in the area 10-12 years ago. I arrived in Oakland at night, to a hotel that was surrounded by a 8-foot wall topped with spools of concertina wire. I said, "I gotta find me a different place to stay!", and did so the next day. :-)

Jack London square was nice, but *literally* just crossing the street put me into an area that I really didn't want to be.

[max americana]

“Victoria, BC is a delightful city where the merchants have gone out of their way to help us on several occasions.”

Being from Vancouver, I will agree. Victoria is best known as a tourist trap during the summer and cruise line seasons and the locals have been “trained” to be nice to tourists.

[showme_the_Glory]

Oakland used to be a beautiful city. And very friendly. But, that was yesteryear.

Years ago I used to go down E. 14th occasionally with my hot rod looking for street races. I didn't know it was against the law then :-)