Oakland renewed

There’s nothing like a Sunday morning farmer’s market in California.

In the early days of November, it’s still sunny and warm, bringing a crossover of summer and fall produce. I have a craving for winter squash – roasted butternut, chunked then drizzled with butter and brown sugar; spaghetti squash, forked into strings and piled with homemade sauce; acorn squash, halved and roasted.

Here at the Oakland farmer’s market, I’m on the waterfront at Jack London Square. The walkway is lined with booths, filled with kale, apples, basil and cauliflower. I pick up broccoli, bok choy and a giant butternut.

After tasting some hummus – cilantro/avocado and garbanzo/garlic – that goes into the bag too along with pita chips to scoop it up with.

Surprisingly, there’s a booth with strawberries. That seems so wrong for November so I pass it by.

My husband and I talk about why food is entertainment. Why indeed. I’m ogling the guys making crepes. Correction, I’m ogling the crepes.

They are piled with ham and eggs, tomatoes and peppers.

I check my watch. Close enough to lunchtime. We order up a spinach crepe that comes with caramelized onions and cheese.

Armed with two forks and two knives, we head to a bench with a view of the marina.

This is why we’re here. The waterfront. The marina. The Bay. We watch elegant yachts come and go. There’s a group lesson for kayaking about learning the basics of holding a paddle.

In the distance is the City, looking so pretty and clean from here.

The Bay Area ferry loads up a crowd and heads across the water. From here, you can travel by water to San Francisco, Sausalito, Angel Island and more. Behind us, trains rumble by.

Oakland has had a mean reputation for decades but the Sunday market here is refreshing. I’ve heard of the renewal happening here and seeing it is uplifting.

It’s a relaxing place to spend a Sunday morning.