- There are literal hundreds of miles of beautiful trails in East Bay and beyond. Some favorites aside from our group hike on Saturday are: all hikes originating at Canyon Meadows Staging Area, Claremont Canyon (VERY steep but amazing views), and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park.

- Nature but curated - visit the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley where you are likely to encounter much blooming

- Go for a stroll by the water and see all the found-object sculpture art and graffiti at Albany Bulb

- The Oakland Museum of California always has excellent exhibitions. Currently on view: Angela Davis - Seize the Time

- Rosie's favorite itinerary for a classic SF, North Beach excursion. Take the ferry from Jack London in Oakland to the Ferry Building in SF to enjoy a 25 minute ride on the beautiful bay, then ride a historic trolly to Pier 39 in North beach. Once you're there, you can go to the sea lion viewing area, the Musée Mécanique (an arcade with VERY old arcade games - definitely a step back in history, and a ton of fun for a handful of quarters), Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze - and grab a lobster roll.

- Tours on Alcatraz are actually very good! They book pretty far in advance, so get tickets ahead of time

- In SF, grab some pastries at world famous bakery Tartine and go on a self-guided tour of The Mission's many murals - including the neighborhood's rich history. This is where you can get good tacos as well! We love El Metate. Visit Dandelion chocolate factory for some of the best single-origin treats :)

- Due to unique climate conditions this spring (several years of drought, followed by heavy rains) there are many superblooms expected this season! Wildflowers will be on view everywhere; typically you might have to go further afield - the desert and Central Valley around LA - to find the larger poppy blooms. There are a lot of wild mustard plants blooming in wine country as well. Remind us to post an update here with what's actively in bloom.

- Wine country is ~1 hour from Oakland, depending on where you'd like to go and traffic! We went on a family trip to Davero and Dry Creek in Healdsburg last summer. Davero is particularly special: a biodynamic vineyard carrying varieties of Italian grapes/wines that are not mass produced in the US.

OK so wow, we are excited to share our favorite foods around town. There are Michelin restaurants to be found, but we haven't tried them (yet). Here is the deliciousness in East Bay we know and love:

- Boichik Bagels: rated by the NY Times as the best bagels in the country (sorry New York!). THICK lox sammies for the win. Walk down the street and get a cup of Philz coffee for the perfect breakfast.

- Dumpling Time: welcome to flavor town. Put your name on the list and then window shop around 4th St. in Berkeley (But don't miss your name being called! It's cut-throat.) We love the spiced lamb dumplings, steamed bao, seafood gyoza, and wood-ear mushroom salad.

- Zachary's Pizza: Deep dish (we love the BBQ chicken) and thin crust (Blanco)

- Café Colucci: Ethiopian. Get the lamb sambusas and the veggie sampler. The GF injera (entirely teff flour) is bomb.com

- The Ramen Shop: (Ramen, duh) They play vinyl and the food is A++

- Gordo Taqueria for all your taco/burrito needs on the go, Cholita Linda for a slightly more upscale sit-down taco spot. Great for vegans as well as meat eaters, their fish tacos and plantains are 💯

- Shandong, located in Oakland's chinatown, for piping hot hand-pulled noodles. It is very greasy and very good. If you save room for dessert you'll be GREATLY reward by UC Dessert around the corner - like stepping into another country you can get items like mango pomelo sago with tofu pudding, hot and cold traditional asian desserts with tapiocas and fruits, and of course, boba tea.

- Square Pie Guys for crispy-edged square "grandma" style pizza. It's insanely good.

- Haven't been to DAYTRIP yet but hearing great things!

- Homeroom is a Mac and Cheese restaurant. Need we say more?

- Burma Superstar if you're in the mood for Burmese - and good for beginners if you've never tried it! Do not leave without getting the tea leaf salad.

- Current favorite Indian is Marigold Indian Eats

- Favorite thai is Neecha or Chao, they're right around the corner from each other.

- Thai/Laotian at Champa Garden - get the eggrolls / sausage / broken rice salad appetizer sampler for your meal. It's SO GOOD.