Well this visit to Oakland was a whole new experience. We contacted Christina on HelpX (where you work for room and board) and she invited us for a visit for us both to check we were the right fit. Walking down 18th Street was an experience in itself with a clear indication that we were not in Kansas anymore. There were lots of run down houses and gangs on the street. However, turning on to 19th was a completely different story and the houses were well maintained and it looked like a nice area. As we approached Christina's we noticed the door bell and it read 'The Haunted Mansion'. And it did not disappoint. Once we stepped in we were greeted with an array of different animals all having been lovingly kept through taxidermy, plus a few little dogs running around (none of which had been stuffed). The pictures are really the only way to describe it so I'll say no more.

Christina is a fashion designer and she also runs large scale parties where her and Michael (another resident) design and build the sets. They needed help with re-organising all their props in the basement and general cleaning etc. We hit it off and spent the next week there helping out. We had a great time and met some fantastic people. On our last day we helped out Jay and Marcy. Marcy had hurt her back and they were due to move out to a new apartment. They gave us $100 and a burrito lunch plus loads of Kiehl's products (Marcy works there) in exchange for helping them move. We had a really fun day with them and really enjoyed getting to know them and they even bought us 40's (40oz bottle of 9% malt liquor/beer). Having grown up watchin "Menace II Society and hearing the Beastie Boys rapping about "Olde E" Brett has always wanted to drink on the porch in the 'hood. So thank you Jay & Marcy for making a dream come true!

Christina and Michael still had the last set set up in their back yard and they had created a drive in movie theme. They set up a movie for us with loads of cushions and blankets and we had our first taste of Smores (basically 2 sweet crackers with a melted marshmallow and chocolate between them made over a campfire). Mmmmm, some more smores please!!

Staying at Christina's gave us a whole new look at Oakland and meant that we saw how it is to live in the area and everyone was so kind and welcoming. We had a fantastic time, thanks for being so hospitable guys.

The time came for us to move on from the Haunted Mansion however and San Diego was next on our hit list.