My friend and I decided that we wanted a low key New Years eve. We both didn't want to go into SF because it would be too crazy there and a bit difficult to get back. So, we decided to walk into the downtown part of Oakland to celebrate the New Year. First we walked to the waterfront because I thought they might have fireworks there. I was wrong. Then we walked to a couple places that didn't have a cover charge. It was nice to have a relaxed New Years eve. On New Years day we walked to Lake Merritt and then took a bus to get to Grizzly Peak for a view of the city. We got to see a nice view, but unfortunately the clouds were coming in, so I couldn't get the best view of the city. Then we walked back down into Berkley and tried out a Kava Bar. I had never been to one before and I actually had never heard of it, so I wanted to check it out. I first had one pure and in one go and then the next one was a chai cocktail which was quite nice. I only felt my tongue go a bit numb, but that was all. It was nice to try, but I don't know if I would do it again. On Jan 2nd it was time to fly back to LA. During my stay my friend introduced me to a really good honey roasted peanut butter. I liked it so much, that I wanted to take it home with me. However, there would be no way I could put it in my carry on bag because peanut butter in a tub is considered a liquid. Then I came up with the idea to put it all in a baguette. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I couldn't see why it wouldn't. I fit almost 1 pound of peanut butter in the baguette. There was a small bit left over so I decided to just leave it in the tub. I knew if I were to put the lid on the tub I would have to throw it away, so I put the lid in a zip lock bag and had the tub open, but wrapped in a reusable bag. When I went through TSA the lady opened my bag quickly to check out was in the tub. Since there was very little in it and the lid wasn't anywhere to be found, she put the container back in my bag and I wasn't questioned at all about it. I successfully got 1 pound of peanut butter in my carry on bag, success!!!!
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| walking towards the water |
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| nice Christmas tree |
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| nice street art in front of a hotel |
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| cool lights on the street |
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| Happy New Year! friends since South Africa '06 |
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| thats for sure! |
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| Lake Meritt |
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| Grizzly Peak View Point |
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| darn Karl (the clouds) going into the city |
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| taken a different day, but on campus at UC Berkley |
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| magnolia in bloom |
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| bloom in December??!! WHAT?! |
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| nice art on the campus |
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| that's true! |
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| lots of variety for food |
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| 1st sunset of the year |
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| tried kava for the first time |
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| how to bring a tub of peanut butter in a carry on |
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| basically a pound of peanut butter in a hollowed out baguette |
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| got the "empty" tub with the left over peanut butter through TSA because the lid was far away from the container |
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| emptied out the baguette at home....success!! |
