Over 9.5 million people flew in and out of Oakland International Airport in 2009, but few of them targeted Oakland as their vacation destination. Most folks fly in and drive out as soon as possible, headed toward San Francisco, Napa, or Sonoma.

When friends recently flew from Seattle to Oakland, a TSA agent gently chided them. "Oakland," he said. "You need to go somewhere nice."

Later, when they were seated in our Oakland home overlooking the San Francisco Bay and a forest of cypress trees, my friend said, "Oakland is so underrated."

Blame Gertrude Stein, who famously wrote "There is no there there" in her book Everybody's Autobiography. No one remembers she was on a return visit looking for her childhood house. Instead it's become Oakland's unofficial slogan.

Or blame the earthquake, the fire, and crime typical of a large city. But no large city is all of one thing. Oakland is large, vibrant, full of historical, natural, and culinary wonders.

So let's pretend the formerly unthinkable happens. You are stuck in Oakland for a layover. Your plane arrives here at 5 pm on a Tuesday and due to airline bungling, you don't have another flight until 7 am Thursday morning. You spring to action and follow these steps.