Fleet week + hiking east bay + new favorite Chinatown

Somehow we are already into October. Last weekend was another weekend in the sun. The highlight was attending San Francisco’s Fleet Week, a unique local event where once a year military airplanes put on an air show. The planes fly along the coast and throughout the city, so all week we could hear the airplanes zooming overhead, and the weekend air show was the highlight.

I’ve watched Fleet Week almost every year since living in SF, but this year was by far my favorite of all. A big reason was because I was with Joe who is a huge airplane nerd. We got to Fort Mason early to secure a good view, and every time a new plane came by, Joe acted like a giddy little kid…I must say, it was contagious. 🙂

There were parachuters who kicked off the show by doing tricks in the air.

Our favorite was this single plane who did many neat aerial tricks. After riding in a Cessna with Joe, I have a lot more appreciation for the pilots who fly these small planes!

Because last year’s Fleet Week was cancelled due to COVID, there was extra attendance and energy from the crowd this year. It felt like the whole city came out to watch the show. Luckily we found a patch of grass away from the main crowd.

The highlight of Fleet Week was seeing a few friends from work. Christen, my good friend on my team, organized a picnic with a bunch of our colleagues, some whom I haven’t seen since last year before the office shut down. It was so nice to see everyone again and catch up in person.

On Sunday, we met up with Joe’s best friend from work, Luis, and his girlfriend, Christine. The two live out in Berkeley, so we ventured to Easy Bay and found a hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. I loved this park because it felt like this hidden redwood oasis just a few miles from downtown Oakland. There was also a good amount of greenery especially for fire season. We got our steps in while soaking up the forestry and chatting away. It was so nice to catch up with Luis and Christine who we hadn’t seen since Joe’s birthday party.

After our hike, we found lunch in Chinatown in downtown Oakland. There was a spot that made hand-pulled noodles that was just AMAZING. My mom is from the region in China that specializes in hand pulled noodles, so this was a nostalgic homey meal. It was my first time at Oakland’s Chinatown, and I must say, it’s now my favorite Chinatown of any city. The neighborhood was spacious, authentic, and had little tourists.