Each fall, the San Francisco Bay Area gets a great visit from the military, including the legendary Navy flight demonstration squad, the Blue Angels. Starting in 1981, when the event first took place, Fleet Week has been marked on my calendar. Not only because supporting our troops is essential, but also because this event is a tradition not to be missed.
For those of you who haven’t been able to enjoy Fleet Week before, this event is a must do for people of all ages. I’ve enjoyed taking my sons over to San Francisco to enjoy the event from Fisherman’s Wharf. The great thing about this weekend is that the planes and ships are available for viewing from more or less any of the waterfront areas. Here is the air show schedule:
2009 Fleet Week & Air Show Schedule:
| 10/8 (Thu) | Noon – 5pm | Blue Angel Survey Flights & Practice |
| 10/9 (Fri) | 1 – 4pm | Air Show Practice & Blue Angels |
| 10/10 (Sat) | 1 – 4pm | Fleet Week Parade, Air Show & Blue Angels |
| 10/11 (Sun) | 11AM – 5pm | Air Show & Blue Angels, Italian Heritage Parade, Ship Tours |
| 10/13 (Tues) | 11AM – 4PM | Ship Tours |
The biggest day for all of this is Saturday October 10th. The air show is absolutely stunning, and the Bay Area’s warm “Indian Summer” usually provides for great weather to enjoy this event.
To get a little preview of what you might see at Fleet Week, I found this really cool video from YouTube from Fleet Week 2007:
This year’s Fleet Week Celebration is going to be no exception to the tradition, and the great part is that it’s easily accessible from OakWalk. I know that many OakWalk residents are going to be trekking over there, and I’d like to hear input from our readers on what their favorite event of Fleet Week is.
For more information on the Fleet Week San Francisco event, visit the official site here.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
If you consider yourself a Vodka snob, or just like Vodka in general, then a visit to the St George Spirits Distillery, and more specifically the Hangar 1 distillery is in short order. If you’ve never heard or tasted this Vodka, then you are in for a treat. But make sure you: bring a designated driver.
Just a short trip under the Webster Tube onto Alameda Island, St George Spirits distillery is located on the former Naval Air Station. Once you get there, head over to the Hangar 1, which is just as it sounds, and old aircraft hangar.
For just $10 you get a cool tasting glass, and the opportunity to taste some of the best Vodka around. You get to try a full 12 part flight, and believe me, you won’t be disappointed. They have some really interesting flavors like Spiced Pear Vodka, and their Green Tea infused Vodka, but my favorite by far is the “Buddha’s Hand” Citron infused Vodka. They really know how to make the best Vodka on earth. One thing that you’ll find out if you visit is that their vodka’s aren’t just flavored like some others, they are infused with actual fruit, which goes a long way in terms of taste. Their regular unflavored vodka, is actually made from viognier grapes (yes, that’s a wine grape), unlike other vodka’s made from potatoes or rice. This is probably why its much pricier than some other brands, but it’s worth the money.
Another really great part about the trip to St George Distillery, is sitting the bar and admiring the beautiful copper stills. There’s just something unbeatable about the experience of tasting their vodka right at the place where it was distilled. Don’t take my word for it, or even all of those people on Yelp, assuming you are of legal age to drink, grab a few friends and make your way over there yourself. You won’t regret it.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco
By · CommentsFor those of you who don’t know about Outside Lands Music Festival, it’s a huge concert that takes place over 3 days in Golden Gate Park (August 28-30). There are a ton of bands that play all day and night, and there’s also a wine garden featuring many great Northern California Wineries. It’s called Winehaven, and this is a video that talks a little bit about it:
SF Outside Lands – Winehaven from Outside Lands on Vimeo.
Another fun thing about Outside Lands is the great choices that are available when it comes to food. With restaurants like Pica Pica, a Venezuelan restaurant from Napa that has these unbelievable tostones (fried plantains), and many other great Bay Area restaurants, you will definitely be able to find something that will satisfy your appetite. I’m just excited since the Bay Area favorite dessert will be there…the It’s It of course!
Although most of the bands appeal to the younger crowd in our office (especially Marilyn, my director of operations), There are still a few bands I’m still interested in seeing like Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews Band.
Marilyn and some of the other staff and residents from OakWalk will probably be more excited to see groups like Incubus, Jason Mraz, and the Black Eyed Peas. Those are just a few of the headliners playing throughout the weekend. There are supposedly more than 70 bands playing over the course of the weekend, which will provide more than ample entertainment for those attending.
One thing that I think is pretty cool is that they just announced that Jack Black’s band Tenacious D is going to be playing. I’m not a huge fan of their music, but Jack Black is pretty entertaining, so I’d say it’s worth the trip to see that set.
The concert is coming up pretty quick here, so it’s time to get yourself tickets. Visit the Outside Lands Website for more information. See you there.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
Football season is upon us! Thank goodness.
Here at OakWalk, we can look over to the Cal campus, so it’s cool to know they have a chance of taking the Pac 10 this year. But there is just one small problem. Guess who is ranked #1? Yes indeed, my loyal alma mater, USC, which will most likely be dominating the league again this year.
But nevertheless, Cal has an exciting year of football lined up, and I look forward to heading over to the stadium. I’ll be happy to root for them on every game except for one, on October 3rd, which sadly is Cal’s homecoming against USC. So who planned that one? Aren’t the home teams supposed to win on their homecoming?
Here are the entire Pac-10 rankings from the 2009 Media Poll:
1) USC
2) California
3) Oregon
4) Oregon State
5) Arizona State
6) Stanford
7) UCLA
8) Arizona
9) Washington
10) Washington State
Cal opens its 2009 season against Maryland at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept.5 (7 p.m. PT). For 2009 Cal football tickets, visit the ticket page at CalBears.com or call (800) GO BEARS.
Here is the complete 2009 Cal Football schedule. Be sure to catch that game on October 3rd.
Would anyone like to comment on Media Poll? It seems accurate to me of course. Stanford fans may disagree because of that one minor incident two years ago. So feel free to comment, but remember that we’ll put it to the test on Nov 14th with USC vs. Stanford, so don’t go printing millions of t-shirts again. Interestingly from a planning perspective, that’s USC’s homecoming game too.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native (but USC alumni).
Clif Bar Headquarters Coming to Emeryville
By · Comments
The hip Emeryville employer scene just keeps growing! Clif Bar & Co. just announced this past week that they are moving their headquarters from Berkeley to Emeryville in the coming year. Clif Bar is known well for their popular energy and nutrition bars, even my kids seem to know all of the varieties.
I’m especially excited since I’ve known Gary Erickson, the Owner and Founder of Clif Bar, and his wife Kit for many years now. They are big on the environment and have been stakeholders in the area for over 20 years. This is a big homecoming of sorts for them. They started Clif Bar in Emeryville and are now returning!
I think having the headquarters back here in Emeryville will be a nice addition to the already impressive list of employers in the area.
The EmeryTech building (not too far from Oakwalk) is where Clif Bar has rented out over 115,000 square feet, and signed a contract saying they will be there until at least 2024. This building actually just went through a renovation adding some fresh architecture to the city. The property owners are also pursuing a LEED Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council, which is part of the reason Clif Bar & Co decided to move.
With all this new space, Clif Bar is adding everything from a brand new gym, daycare, kitchen, theater, bike garage, and even a hair salon. If they are hiring, it would make for a pretty 
cool place to work.
And by the way, if any of my readers happen to work at Clif Bar, I really love the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut (just in case you see a few lying around or something).
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
More to the Townhouse Bar & Grill Than You Might Think
By · CommentsAs I mentioned in one of my previous articles, one of my favorite restaurants in Emeryville is the Townhouse Bar & Grill. Since that article was posted, I’ve learned a whole lot more about the long and colorful history of the restaurant. I think it’s worth sharing for a whole new perspective when you go.
The building has actually been around since 1926 when the first owner, Frank Mesnickow, built the western themed hangout. He managed to make it through the prohibition era (not 
sure how he did that), but then rented it out to a guy named Joe Vernetti in 1936. Vernetti kept the place for about forty years and maintained its reputation as a popular neighborhood hangout.
At that point it was sold to Tom Wenaas and Jim Carnitato, who started hiring live musicians to come entertain at The Townhouse. I hear there was even a CD made of some of the performances called “Townhouse Live”. The building just got better with time.
Then in 1989, the current owner of the restaurant, Chef Ellen Hope Rosenberg, bought the Townhouse and decided to change things up a bit, all in the name of keeping with the times. She decided to get rid of the dark hangout vibe and added some elegance and warmth to the place. The Townhouse now has a new bar, lots of light and lots of flowers. The menu also went through a change (for the better I think), and it gets rave reviews across the board from both new visitors and the “regulars”.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Townhouse is a great choice for a party venue. There’s a dining area that seats over 100 people (a few less if you want to add a band and dancing), and the party can move outside too with the new patio.
On top of all that, if you enjoy jazz, they even have live Jazz on Wednesdays and Thursdays. All this, and it’s just a stone’s throw away from Oakwalk.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
OakWalk is “Clean and Green”
By · CommentsHave you ever seen this?
I know it might look like a few rocks and bamboo in a planter box, but looks can be deceiving. This is actually a “save the bay” water cleansing system in disguise. At OakWalk, which is a hop, skip and a two mile jump to San Francisco Bay, we felt the need to do our part to keep the Bay clean. So we incorporated cutting edge water cleansing systems throughout the OakWalk housing community. These disguised water filters catch the rainwater from the drain pipes and cleanse it before it gets to the storm drains and heads to the Bay.
It’s our own state of the art storm water cleansing, storage and run off system. Now if we can only get every city around the Bay to do the same!
We’ve also incorporated lots of other “green” features at OakWalk, all in an effort to help lead the way for environmental change with home building. We carefully preserved the beautiful heritage trees in the area, used recycled old building materials, and low VOC paint. For water conservation, we installed low-flow toilets, satellite weather stations, and tankless water heaters.
But for one of our most prized “green” features, I have a quiz for you. Who can tell me what this is?
I’ll give you a hint. You’ll find it in our parking garage.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
So You Think You Can (or Can’t) Dance?
By · CommentsYou might be surprised to hear about how many different kinds of dance lessons are offered in the Emeryville area, everything from ballroom to funk to Irish dancing. I’ve come across many opportunities for FREE dance classes, so I wanted to make sure I pass this great info along to you all.
Here are some of the best dance studios and classes I’ve heard about in the area (although it hasn’t really helped my two left feet much). Feel free to add to this list in the comments below the article if you know of other good dance spots to share.
The Allegro Ballroom on 5855 Christie Avenue is a non-profit dance studio that offers a variety of classes daily, for most ages and abilities. You can reach them at510-655-2888, and here are some of the classes they offer: FREE Dance Lessons for Children: Children ages 10-18 are eligible, and they focus on a different dance style each month (July is the Rumba, August is the Salsa), parents can participate too. The emphasis is usually on Latin steps, particularly the salsa. Saturdays, 2-3 p.m., ages 10-18. Walk-in’s are okay, but they recommend starting at the beginning of the month so you can learn the dance from start to finish. Salsa Thursdays at 7:00pm for just $7 bucks.
Spice Up Your Children’s Lives with Dance — Pee-Wee Group: The Youth Dance Program introduces kids to the ballroom dancing. Saturdays, 3-4pm, for $5 bucks.
Spice Up Your Children’s Lives with Dance — Teen Group: The Youth Dance Program introduces teens to ballroom dancing. Saturdays, 3-4pm, for $5 bucks.
Just down the street from OakWalk (on San Pablo) is the Hand to Hand Kajukenbo Self Defense Center that usually offers traditional martial arts training and self defense classes. Saturday mornings the Dream Dance Company teaches the “Dream Weekly Urban Dance Class”. It’s an all-levels dance class in hip-hop, funk, house, breaking, salsa, samba, and more, for only $5-$7 per class. You can call them at 510-428-0502 to get more details, or visit HandtoHandKajukenbo.com.
And to top it off, how about adding some Irish dancing to the mix? The Starry Plough is an Irish Pub over in Berkeley, and you can stop by on Monday nights for a traditional Irish Dance and Music session. Lessons start at 7:00pm and the dancing starts at 9:00pm. Best part is it’s free (the dancing, not the beer). For more information, give them a call at 510-841-2082, or visit The Starry Plough Pub.
Hope you have fun!
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
Don’t miss the Berkeley Kite Festival!
By · CommentsIf you have kids, or just want to be a kid, you should head over to the annual Berkeley Kite Festival next weekend at the Berkeley Marina. It’s on July 25th & 26th 2009, from 11:00AM – 5:00PM, it’s free, and the Berkeley Marina is only 5 miles away.
You should definitely pick up a schedule so you can stay for certain events. They usually have rokkaku kite battles (where people try to cut other kites by rubbing their strings against each other’s) and a candy drop where they drop candy from a big kite in the air. You can imagine the kid scene with that one! They also have competitions with the Bay Area Sport Kite League, traditional kites from Japan, giant creature kites, and the awesome Team Kite Ballet event.
There are tons of food booths, free kite making for kids, and a designated area along the ridge for families and their kites. Each area of the festival will give you a different taste of what kiting is all about.
I would bring a blanket to sit on, a picnic lunch, a kite or two, and a sweater. One little warning, the parking can be tough. If you don’t mind walking, you could go over the pedestrian/bike bridge from the other side of the freeway (enter from Addison Street, just a couple of blocks off University on the opposite side of Spengers). Otherwise, I would go well before the official opening to save a lot of frustration with parking. If it’s a sunny and slightly windy day, then it’s perfect weather for a trip to the Kite Festival at Berkeley Marina. Everyone should go at least once.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
*Pictures Courtesy of www.highlinekites.com
With the state of our economy these days, I think just about everyone is curious about predictions for the future. The 6th Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon should be very interesting with guest speaker Dr. Tom Campbell delivering the keynote address titled “The National and State Economy, and the Budget Process at Each Level.”
Dr. Campbell has served on the Joint Economic Committee in Congress, the State Senate Budget Committee in Sacramento, and was Finance Director of the State of California. Usually these luncheons are interactive, with opportunities to share thoughts and discuss the issues directly with the speaker.
Everyone is invited to attend, and it is a pretty unique opportunity to gain direct access to one of the most knowledgeable economic minds in the United States.
The luncheon takes place on Thursday, July 23rd at Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto in Berkeley from 11:30 a.m. Price is $35 for Chamber members, $45 for non-members. Hope to see you there.
You can visit the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce website to get more information and to register for the event, or call 510-652-5223.
Article by Stuart Gruendl. Stuart is the developer of OakWalk, and an Oakland native.
