A trip to DeLauers News Stand

The front of DeLauer's

One of my favorite places to go is DeLauers News Stand in heart of Downtown Oakland. It is actually located right when you get off the 12th BART station. As you can see DeLauers has been around for over a 100 years. I started going to it in the mid 80's and would make a twice-monthly trip there every month. It was the place to go to get out of town newspapers and magazines that could not be found anywhere else. Sadly, times have change and more and more things are going on-line only and printed material is going bye-bye. I only make it out to DeLauers every so often which sometimes saddens me. The good thing is that DeLauers some how hangs on by selling more and more books, sodas, greeting cards, coffee, snacks and stuff and being right near BART really helps:

The inside of DeLauers

Another view of the inside of DeLauers

Stuff on DeLauers walls

You can still get Alternative newspapers at DeLauers

And foreign language magazines

They still have a good selection of comics

And other highbrow publications (above and below)

DeLauers is changing with the world, sometimes I wish the world was like it used to be in some ways.

Not Ready for Prime Time

I take a lot of pics walking around. And some of them don't make into blogs. Just wanted to share some with you. Also, I need to do this more often as some of these pics are six months old. I think I will starting doing this once a month or once every two months. Making a blog of pics that I just take on a random basis or don't make it into blogs that I think are cool:

Saw this dog outside City Hall in San Francisco

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Ca) giving a speech in Oakland

The A's mascot Stomper pointing the way to a Division Title

The happiest vendor at the Oakland Coliseum-This guy was super nice

People getting on a Cable Car on a beautiful day in San Francisco

I saw this on a wall in a shopping area  in Vegas

Same place as above

This was taken right after Xmas. They had an outdoor ice rink at Union Square in San Francisco

My homemade meatballs and garlic bread appetizer

This is the biggest portable chair I have ever seen. It like six feet tall.

Now, I feel caught up-lol. I think I will be doing this random thing more often.

A Nice Surprise-The Toy Boat Dessert Cafe

Like a lot of my adventures, they are not planned and this one was not. When I was at Green Apple Books, I needed to use the restroom and they did not have one. The guy at the counter pointed me to the Toy Boat Dessert Cafe and said use theirs. I went and told them that the Green Apple sent me and they pointed me that way. After I got done at Green Apple I went there for lunch and had a great time. It is like a sandwich/dessert shop and a vintage toy store. Super Cool:

Inside the door of the bathroom.

Got to love Pez

The inside of The Toy Boat

Got to love it

A vintage play nurse set from the 50's

Cookies

Homemade goodies

Their menu

Lunch-A grilled cheese with chips. It was good

Love the giant vintage 7up bottle

This place is so cool. It will be must for me.

Green Apple Books

The front of Green Apple Books

For a long time I have wanted to go to Green Apple Books in San Francisco. I just could not find the time to  head over there. Someone gave me a gift card for my birthday and I found the time to head over there and it was worth it. The place was too cool and it will become a regular on my book shopping trips;

Love this guy outside

Inside

Another view from inside

They have cool names for their rooms (above) and below

And the knowledge is also

Love these masks on the wall

A great place to sit and read

Books

Green Apple Books is a great place to find what you need. I will be back.

The Beat Museum Bookstore

The other day I was up in the North Beach section of San Francisco and headed over to the The Beat Museum. The Beat Museum is dedicated to the Beats which was a collection of artists, writers and thinkers that hung out in San Francisco in the late 50's. Some of the Beats were the poet Allen Ginsburg and writer Jack Kerouac. The Beat Museum has two parts: The Museum and the Book Store. I just went to the Book Store and have to go back to the Museum. The Book Store is really cool, they have a lot of cool stuff:

Inside the Beat Museum Book Store

A first edition copy of "Visions of Cody" by Jack Kerouac

The Evergreen Review-San Francisco Scene from 1957 includes Allen Ginsburg's "Howl"

From 1986-The Last of the Moccasins by Charles Plymell

From 1989-Sin for Breakfast by Mason Hoffenberg

From 1959-Protest-The Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men

Anybody who sells Grateful Dead books is tops is my book

And this is going to sound goofy-but they have a large collection of old Playboy mags for sale which I thought was a little cool. The Beats were about freedom of speech and Playboy is certainly that:

An old Playboy-Sorry I did not get the date of it

Part of the Playboy section

Loved this painting they had on the wall

The actual car used in "On the Road" which came out in Dec. 2012

If you have any counterculture in you and are in the North Beach section of San Francisco-Head over to the Beat Museum. You do not have pay for the museum as the bookstore part is super cool.