Left Redding around 8:30 yesterday and rode down I-5 to I-505 (skirting Sacramento) to I-80 (what a madhouse even at 11:00 on a Tuesday morning). I arrived at Patrick's apartment around 12:15 or so and we got the bike parked on his patio off the street and out of sight. Patrick left to attend a friend's wedding this morning and so I'll be here by myself until Sunday when he comes back. Pat'll be arriving around mid-day on Monday for a week's stay, and I'll be heading back towards home on August 17th.
I didn't take any pictures on the trip from Redding yesterday (hard to dodge trucks, texting drivers, and other traffic while holding a camera in one hand), so I thought I'd post some pictures of the area of Oakland where Patrick lives:
This is Patrick's apartment building on Staten Avenue in Oakland, CA.
This is a view of Staten Avenue about a block from Patrick's apartment. The immediate neighborhood is composed of 3-4 story apartment buildings for the most part, and judging from the age of Patrick's building, I would say most were built in the 1950's or 1960's, although some are considerably older.
Patrick lives in the "Merritt Lake" section of Oakland, and here are a couple pictures of the lake and surrounding areas:
This is looking in a Westward direction.
And this is looking in an Eastward direction.
There is a mixture of commercial (office space, banks, etc.) and apartments in the area. The Street on the south side of the lake is Lakeshore Avenue and it appears to have been developed in the 1940's-1960's or so.
The street on the north side of the lake is Grand Avenue:
As you can see, the buildings on Grand Avenue for the most part appear to date from the 1910's to 1930's. This shot was looking east toward the I-580 overpasses.
This shot is looking west on Grand Avenue and you can see the buildings are a little newer.
At the end of Lakeshore Avenue and Grand Avenue, on the other side of I-580, there are a couple pretty nice commercial areas with coffee shops, book stores, restaurants, and the like.
All in all, despite what you always hear about Oakland, CA, this is a pretty nice area.
I will only be posting intermittently between now and the 17th when I head back toward home, but as I see things that are interesting, I'll post them. Stay safe! Miles yesterday: 211. Total to date: 9,230.
