I didn't know Jack

It's right across the bay. So close, and yet somehow in the ten plus years I've lived in the Bay Area, I haven't spent much time in Oakland. Until recently, that is.

Jacob and I decided to enjoy a mini-vacation with the kids this past weekend, so we booked rooms at the Waterfront Hotel on Jack London Square in Oakland. Our main prerequisite in choosing a hotel was that it have a swimming pool, and the Waterfront has that and more. Other perks include a fun nautical theme, a cozy fireplace in the lounge, and a much better than average hotel restaurant, Miss Pearl's Jam House.

We swam in the heated pool, enjoying our harbor-side location. It almost felt as if we were swimming with all the docked boats. We shared the pool deck with a bunch of tattooed hipsters from San Francisco who were celebrating a friend's birthday. I guess some people might not have enjoyed that, but we did. It made us feel like we were part of the party.

Dinner at Miss Pearl's was solid: cheese grits and shrimp, a catfish po-boy (which the waitress unfortunately called a "poor boy"), and jumbalaya. And we enjoyed the live music from a distance, since it was in the bar area and we ate in the dining room.

But my favorite food experience of the weekend had to be The Fat Lady. Just a block from the hotel, this classy, dark restaurant/bar has a definite New Orleans vibe. The decor alone sucked me in - carved architectural details, nooks and crannies galore, gorgeous bathroom tiles. But the food was also great, especially the crispy spicy potatoes served with lemon and sour cream. I'm sure the kids would say that Ben and Jerry's, which was practically next door to the hotel, was their favorite food experience of the weekend, but to each her own.

We spent the morning at Fairyland, the children's theme park that will celebrate it's 60th anniversary this year. It was just a hop, skip and a jump down the road, on the shores of Lake Merritt, and it provides a refreshingly old fashioned entertainment experience, with classic story tales brought to life in little play areas.

For lunch we headed up to the village area of Montclair, getting a feel for the Oakland hills. Although we had hoped to try Amba, a Mediterranean restaurant, we discovered it was closed on Saturdays. So we wound up at Flippers for burgers at the kids' request. Lunch wasn't a highlight, but we did enjoy strolling the neighborhood, a jumble of mom and pop shops nestled into the heavily wooded hilly terrain.

All told, we had a charming weekend in Oakland, and especially at Jack London Square. The square itself provided lots of play opportunities for kids and adults, even if there were a disturbing number of empty storefronts. They set up a dance floor and host dance lessons every Friday night in the summer. The DJs aren't stellar, but it's free and if you don't take it too seriously, it's also fun.

The kids scrambled all over a giant anchor from a real ship, which they thought was super cool. And Emil educated me on the log cabin with the grass roof: "Mommy, mommy! That house belongs to a man who's been dead for a real long time!" He was so serious as he said this I could hardly keep from laughing. Apparently, this was the take-away he had from Jacob's attempt to describe the replica of Jack London's Alaskan cabin.

Sunday morning, just before loading the car and heading home, we strolled the weekly farmer's market and picked up some fresh produce. It was a pretty near perfect stay-cation. And now I can say I know Jack, or at least Jack London Square.