At the very end of summer, right before school started, I ran away to California for another K-pop concert! I’m a “multi-stan” of at least a dozen groups. My top two favorites are Ateez and Seventeen (SVT). Having had an amazing time seeing Ateez, I knew I had to see SVT when they came to North America. After a long wait, being tempted by several other groups touring the US this summer as well, they finally announced the world tour and I immediately invited Miranda to come with me. She said she knows nothing about K-pop, but loves to have adventures and to learn about other people’s passions. We booked a quick trip to Oakland for the third tour stop, squeezing it in between other summer events and work/school commitments.

I love Miranda so much. Seeing her again and spending so much time catching up was just as great as the concert. Even though we haven’t talked in months (years?) it always feels natural and easy to be with her.

I love this woman

I flew in Friday night and secured our hotel room, where she joined me early Saturday morning. We excitedly talked, rested from travel, then went out in search of food and scenery. We got vegan burgers and shakes at Malibu Burgers (not as good as Monty’s in K-town) and got caffeinated at a cute cafe on Piedmont Avenue. Then we took a car to Berkeley to admire the foliage and get some more treats. There was a beautiful shady park with eucalyptus and redwood trees. We took a quick gander at the Berkeley public library for restrooms and architecture. Cinnaholic was gooey delicious for supper, and we got Thai food to eat back at the hotel.

No outdoor seating, but almost empty an well ventilated inside.
Amazing dessert at Cinnaholic
Thai food for later

Sunday was concert day! We took it easy by sleeping in – or I tried anyway. I was on East coast time in Florida the weekend before, on Pacific time now, with sleepless nights in Colorado with Nimbus’ emergency in between. By this point my body had no idea what time it should be sleeping or feel hungry! I enjoyed my leftover mango sticky rice and spring rolls without knowing if it was breakfast or lunch.

I waffled about trying to figure out where to go for the day. I learned that Oakland is spread out and sort of suburban, so getting Uber or Lyft took longer than in LA NYC, or Orlando. Miranda advised me to just pick what I was most excited to eat and go there, which is how we ended up at Urban Kare House near Alameda Beach. I got to try their Katsu Sando on shokupan and it was sooo good. We also got bubble tea at Yi Fang next door, where I finally got to try a wintermelon drink (with lemonade and mochi cake jellies).

We strolled through the shops, including Daiso and an artist collective store with lots of cute craft items. Then we walked to the beach to dip our toes. It was so warm and pleasant! There were lots of families having a joyous Sunday afternoon.

After a very long wait for a Lyft back to the hotel, it was time to get ready for the show! Earlier in the day we ran into some other concert fans at the hotel who were dressed to the nines, already going to the VIP soundcheck. We didn’t get nearly so fancy, but I did pack some temporary tattoos for fun.

How do you do, fellow kids?

We got a VERY fast car to the arena and then I spent a magical night with Seventeen. I’ll tell you all about it in part 2.