Somehow the holidays passed by with no R&R in sight. So I decided to indulge with an afternoon off near Lake Merritt on a Friday afternoon. The streets bustled, I guess with likeminded folks enjoying this mid-week New Years. Here’s how I spent a 6-hour leisurely afternoon in the corridor that bustles between Mandana at Lakeshore horse shoeing over to Mandana at Grand Avenue. First take my “pro parking tip” and see if you can get an all-day parking spot by Walgreens and Trader Joe’s just where 580 dumps off at the Lakeshore exit. I kind of feel bad letting the secret out as it’s probably good employee parking, but…