A hotel update

We've negotiated some group-rate discounts at some Oakland hotels...

Many of us are staying at the Inn at Jack London Square. Call Rachel at 1-800-633-5973 and request the "Blue Seal" wedding rate, and your two queen beds or single king will be $79/night.

If you want to go a bit fancier, the Courtyard by Marriott at 988 Broadway is $89 per night. Amanda has the Blue Seal rates there, and her direct line is 510-466-6423.

For something a bit less pricey, the Jack London Inn is good too. It's $69 per night with the confirmation code RK0000, and Chamise at the front desk can be reached at 1-800-549-8780.

(All things being equal, the Inn at Jack London Square is our top recommendation.)

The wedding itself is 4:30pm on Sunday, and the reception at the Metro starts at 7pm, so you will want to sleep over on Sunday night.

While in Oakland... these places are all walking distance from the 19th Street BART station.

- Lynn & Lu's Escapade
3353 Grand Ave., 94610
This ridiculously efficient breakfast place makes the state's best spinach omelet. The patio seating is bright and warm, so don't forget your sunglasses.

- The Alley
3325 Grand Ave., 94610
Pianist Rod Dibble has been playing at the Alley five nights a week since 1963. The grand piano has a wooden bar as its lid, and patrons pass the microphone to sing WWII-era standards. Not to be missed.

- The Jean Street Rose Garden
700 Jean St., 94610
It's actually called the Morcom Rose Garden, but Morcom sounds like some insidious multinational conglomerate... certainly not befitting these lovely flowerbeds.

- Coach Sushi
532 Grand Ave., 94610
The Raiders Roll is ace, and the maguro is always fresh. Coach himself, the proud proprietor, strolls from table to table filling wooden boxes and making conversation.

- Extra Action Marching Band
appearing Friday June 26 at the Uptown
1928 Telegraph Ave., 94612
I saw these guys perform with David Byrne at Davies Symphony Hall earlier this year, and to be able to catch them at the small Uptown nightclub is a treat. Crazy, half-naked, firebreathing marching band. Not for the timid. Buy your tickets in advance.

- Children's Fairyland
699 Bellevue Ave., 94610
Molly and her band -- the Clarences -- took their press photos at this brightly-colored mecca, which features a petting zoo and gangs of toddlers. Our great friends the Baca Brothers worked there for ten years, so their voices are still featured in several of the exhibits.

- Los Cantaros Taqueria
336 Grand Ave., 94610
Los Cantaros (translation: "the large pitchers") has a giant cucumber-water dispenser, and not only is that cucumber-water free of charge, but it complements the pollo asado burrito perfectly.

- Flavor of India
3276 Lakeshore Drive, 94610
Our cat, Tikka (aka Tikka Masala), is named after a dish at this restaurant... if that gives you any indication of how into this place we are.

- Lake Merritt
You can't miss it, 94610
June is the ideal time of year to walk the 3.5-mile perimeter of this downtown lake. You will see the gazebos, the thousands of geese, and the Bellevue-Staten Building, which is just a few blocks down from our apartment.