Oakland Running Festival

Sometime last summer I read that Oakland was having a marathon on March 28 of 2010. Fun I thought, I'd like to volunteer. Then I read that the event was in fact going to be the Oakland Running Festival which included a half marathon. Thirteen miles, that sounded like something I could do, so I registered for my first race ever the Inaugural Oakland Half Marathon 2010. Then I started running. Just around Lake Merritt at first, 3.2 miles and a short walk from my house. Occasionally I tried a longer run of five or six miles with a friend. None of it felt very good, running was hard and I got a lot of stomach cramps. Winter came and it rained, I went to New York over the holidays and it snowed. When 2010 came around I saw I only had three months to train for running twice as far as I ever had before so I started to take the whole thing more seriously.

In January I started running twice during the week my regular three miles and a slightly longer run on the weekend. I concentrated on breathing and the stomach cramps stopped. I wrote down my runs in a notebook which helped solidify my commitment. My regular runs turned into five miles from three and the long runs on the weekends reached ten miles. In the middle of March along with two friends I ran a test route of the half marathon, a full thirteen miles. Two hours and twenty five minutes, not very fast but I did it. I re-evaluated my goal of running in two hours fifteen minutes and decided I would be happy with eleven minute miles which would put me at two hours twenty four minutes. A half marathon is a lot harder than I thought.

Saturday March 27 the running festival kicked off with a fitness expo where runners had to pick up their bibs, T-shirts and race packets. I arrived with a friend at 9:30 and stood in a long line waiting to get it, the line to register for the race was even longer. We finally got our bibs, I was number 4060 what a great number! The t-shirts were nice too but the most amazing thing was the crowd. This was definitely a big event for Oakland. That evening I went to watch the twilight 5K and cheer on the runners at Lake Merritt. A small glimpse into what the race would be like on Sunday it was very exciting. Back at home I set out my running clothes, put the timing tag on my shoe, packed a bag of warm after race clothes and attached my bib to my shirt. At that point I realized I had forgotten to pick up safety pins, and after scouring my house only found three so one corner of my bib was attached by staple.

Sunday morning the alarm clock blared at 7:15am. I got up, put on my race gear, had a banana, a few Gu Chomps and some tea. A friend and I headed up to the start area around 8:00am. People were milling about near the Start Line at Frank Ogawa plaza. We dropped off our bags at bag check, got some powerade and Clif Bar samples, had our picture taken at the start line, met another friend then it was time to line up. My two running friends and I lined up at the front of the eleven minute mile pack as we decided that was the pace we were going to try to beat. Mayor Ron Dellums gave a little speech, the national anthem was sung, a horn blew and we were off.

The Raiderettes cheered the runners out of the start gate along with a small crowd along Broadway. We passed through downtown where people leaned out of their windows cheering and banging pots and pans. Then through Chinatown, more cheering. It was pretty amazing that all through the city people came out to watch and encourage the runners, clapping, yelling, ringing cowbells etc. At Jack London Square my awesome neighbor had a sign with my name on it, at a lonely corner near the port the A's fan club set up to holler at the runners, the Crucible set up a n arch of fire to run through, along Mandela Parkway a local restaurant gave out sample pastries and juice, in West Oakland someone passed out oranges, under a highway overpass the Raider pirates and gorillas high fived everyone. People lined the course along Lake Merritt and all the way to the finish.

All the positive energy transferred to my feet and I ran a bit faster than expected. One of my friends had a watch which could give us split times on the miles so I knew I was doing well. I found it much easier to run with big mile posts marking the way. After mile four it was only nine more miles, I'd run nine miles enough times that I knew I would finish and I felt stronger than any of my previous runs. By mile seven I could feel my legs starting to get sore but I was over halfway. Around mile ten we came to Lake Merritt, I had run around the lake so many times in the last few months I could have done it in my sleep. Knowing I was nearing the end I put all my energy into increasing my pace. After the lake the course went up a small hill which felt like a mountain, my other two friends had pulled away from me by then but I knew I was still ahead of my goal. One last turn and the finish line was in sight, it seemed so close and yet so far. I finally saw the clock which said two hours nineteen minutes. I ran as fast as I could to get cross the line before it turned to two hours twenty minutes and I did.

My official time according to the timing chip was two hours sixteen minutes twenty six seconds. A pace of ten minutes twenty five seconds per mile, much better than my goal. I can't wait to do this race again next year. Everyone who organized the event, everyone who ran, everyone who came out to watch should be very proud to have been a part of the Oakland Running Festival. I can't imagine any race ever being as great as my first!

A Gem of a Day

At 8:45am on Monday I headed out for a day of hiking near Mount Tamalpais. You never know what adventures the day holds when you step out of your door in the morning. At the trailhead for Cataract Falls six of us started out on a hike and journeyed through a day of wonder.

We hiked along a stream with many waterfalls.




















And even more waterfalls.




















We consulted a map on which way to go.














We hiked through woods, marsh and meadow. We hiked in rain. We hiked in sun. It was hard to believe we were just minutes from San Francisco.














After the hike we drove to Stinson Beach. The Air National Guard was airlifting parts for a new crane to the Farallon Islands.




















A man from the Department of the Interior talked with us about the Farallons. He wondered why everyone was taking pictures of his truck.














On the way back to Oakland we drove through rainbows.















For dinner the six of us went to Sura Korean in Oakland. A Korean woman in our group ordered family dinner for us. We had lots of little dishes with tasty food in them, and a few big dishes too.














Our last stop was for frozen yogurt. We all agreed Monday was a very special day filled with twelve hours of natural beauty, great company and unexpected adventure.

Kayaking San Francisco Bay

There are various ways to get to San Francisco from Oakland, one can drive, take Bart, take the ferry or other boat and I suppose one could walk or bike but it's an awful long way around. Last weekend the Kayak Guy and I paddled kayaks from Jack London Square Oakland to Crissy Field San Francisco. Then we drove back to Oakland which is why the planning and prep for the annual paddle across the bay takes more effort than the actual paddling.

The planning began months before the trip, the Kayak Guy consulted the 2010 Tide Log back in November to pick a day. The ideal time for paddling to San Francisco is when a strong tide will carry the boat most of the way. This year the full moon and strongest tide was the afternoon of January 30, but due to other commitments we had to paddle on Sunday January 31.

The week before the paddle, the Kayak Guy and I talked about it a lot, made mental lists of gear needed, and chose a time schedule for the trip. Maximum ebb would be just after 2:00 at the Golden Gate so we should try to be on the water around 1:30.

The night before the paddle I started packing up gear into various bags. One bag of kayaking gear, one bag of dry clothes to change into after the paddle, and a pile of biking gear for dropping off the car.

The day of the paddle we made a wonderful, hearty breakfast of pancakes with a pineapple sauce. After breakfast we began carefully loading the car. Both of our bikes went into the car along with bags of dry clothes. Any gear kayaking gear needed to be not in the car but in my apartment. We left Oakland around 10am and drove to Crissy Field where we luckily found a great parking space right next to the beach. We unloaded the bikes and very carefully made sure our wallets, the key to my apartment and the car key got into my biking backpack. The Kayak Guy then discovered his marine radio and water bottle were in the car and so they were also put in the back pack.

Once we determined nothing else we needed was left in the car we bicycled along the Embarcadero in San Francisco to the Embarcadero Bart Station. As we approached Justin Herman Plaza one of the parrots that lives in a nearby park was squawking at the people below. The bird's bright green and red feathers were a very pleasant site on a gray day. We bought Bart tickets and hopped on the first train to the East Bay. At the West Oakland station we disembarked the train and biked to Jack London Square.

Back at my apartment I changed into kayaking gear while the Kayak Guy made lunch. Yummy chicken, guacamole wraps fueled us for the upcoming paddle. Everything needed for the paddle was packed into dry bags, most importantly the car key and apartment key but also cell phones etc. Shortly before one o'clock we gathered our paddles and dry bags and walked over to California Canoe and Kayak. At the kayak shop I donned a wetsuit, and the Kayak Guy his drysuit, picked up PFD's, spray skirts, tow rope, pump and rescue float.

For the voyage across the bay I chose to paddle the Willow, a light well handling boat, one of my favorites. We set off from the dock around 2:00. Very quickly we passed by the large container ships docked at the port and made it out to Middle Harbor Park in about 45 minutes. The sun had come out and there was just a slight wind. Enough wind that a local kite aerial photographer was flying his enormous red kite high above the park and the kayaks appear as a small speck in one of his pictures!

Middle Harbor Park is at the end of the protected waters of the estuary. So finally, we were out on the bay. The water wasn't too rough, a few swells from passing motorboats but one of the nice things about kayaking in winter is fewer other boats are on the water. We chose to paddle along the east side of Treasure Island. This is a longer route than going by the west side but affords a magnificent view of the building of the new Bay Bridge. It's quite a sight to hear and see the traffic of the cars going over the Bay Bridge way above you.

After passing Treasure Island the current started pulling the kayak out toward the North Bay so I had to paddle hard to head toward San Francisco. The water was a little rougher than I like out in the large expanse of the bay, which isn't to say it was very rough, just that I like very calm water. Being out in the middle of the bay makes me feel very small in that vastness of water. But then clearly seeing the skyline of San Francisco makes the distance seem not that far afterall.

The next milestone is Alcatraz, and the paddle between the two islands was relatively easy though we had to fight some current to stay headed to San Francisco. The Kayak Guy suggested this summer we do a paddle to touch all three islands Treasure, Angel and Alcatraz in one day. A seal would occasionally pop his head up near the kayak and seemingly surprised at seeing a boat would dive back under water with a big splash. We paddled around the north side of Alcatraz where flocks of cormorants fish and perch. After rounding Alcatraz we headed for the San Francisco shore.

The current was still going out the Golden Gate but wasn't terribly strong at this point. Still we had to choose a proper angle to be sure we weren't swept past Crissy Field. The domed top of the Palace of Fine Arts is an easily identifiable landmark from the water. Though we knew the car was somewhere in that vicinity we weren't sure exactly where we parked. As we approached shore however, we saw the orange windsock that flies over the bathrooms by the parking lot and knew we were in the right place.

It was nearing 5:00pm as we landed the kayaks. About twelve miles in three hours. The clouds had come in making for a dark evening, and no golden sunset. We quickly loaded the kayaks onto the car, changed into dry clothes, and headed for home. Back in Oakland we put away the kayaks and all the gear, finishing the day with a drink at Kincaid's. It was a long exhausting, exhilarating journey which I look forward to doing again - but not until next year!


*Please note kayaking across San Francisco Bay is not for novice paddlers. The Kayak Guy is an ACA certified kayaking instructor, we wear wetsuits, dress appropriately and take along safety equipment.

Fall!

Fall blew into the Bay Area with a vengeance on Tuesday. The wild winds and torrential rains only lasted a day, still it marked a significant change in the weather. And so the Fall Header for the 880Blog again makes its annual appearance. Many thanks to creator bucci for simply wonderful design!

Eating Real

Oakland's Eat Real Festival took over Jack London Square this weekend. The event was well promoted but I'd hazard a guess the organizers had no idea how wildly successful it would be. The festival opened on a hot Friday evening with beer and ice cream. What more could you ask for on an eighty degree evening in Jack London Square? Well food for one thing, but that was to come on Saturday and Sunday.

On Friday the beer shed sold glasses (actually a mason jar) with tickets for eight 4 oz. tastings, which a kind friend kind bought for me. With dozens of Northern California's tastiest beers this was a not to miss event from the start. I met up with a few friends and we sat around the Jack London Square fountain chatting, enjoying the evening and watching the crowd. Yes, a huge and wonderful crowd in Oakland. The lines were long everywhere - beer shed, ice cream vendors, local eateries. Luckily, we managed to get a table at the Mexican restaurant without too much waiting. After a delicious dinner we came back for some more wandering around and a cone from the icecream pedaler. The festival was shutting down around 9:00, and plenty of people were still out milling about the square until the very end.

The Eat Real festival was "created to inspire eaters to choose tasty, healthy, good food". To that end Saturday was all about the food. Scores of local food vendors came out with their tents or trucks selling their specialties - tacos, flatbreads, pulled pork, chicken adobo, creme brulee, horchata, soup, lots of stuff I didn't know quite what it was etc. etc. The various stages had music, cooking demonstrations, gardening discussions and other food centric activities. The new Jack London Market was open with vendors inside selling local produce, jams, jellies, snacks and sharing information on local farms, gardens and healthy eating programs. The focus is on local foods, even the BBQ truck which came from Alabama was serving up Northern California bought meat.

Saturday dawned hot and sunny. When I went over to Eat Real early afternoon for some lunch it was close to 90 degrees. The beer shed was now giving out 4 eight ounce tastings with your glass to shorten the lines, luckily I still had six tickets from the previous night, which had doubled in value overnight! People were everywhere, on the lawns, in and around the fountain, seated on hay bales set up by the stage but mostly in line. The lines for food stretched for miles. I ended up getting a couple of tacos, because it's where I could find the shortest line. Somehow the sizzling heat draws out a tremendous positive energy from everyone and the hum of the crowd was a wonderful kind of crazy. It's the sort of event I really like to wander around by myself, not having to worry about what anyone else wants to see or eat. So I had a very enjoyable afternoon knowing I would be back later in the evening with a friend.

I have lived in the neighborhood for five years and never saw nearly this amount of people at Jack London Square, a friend who had lived in Oakland said the same thing about his twenty years living here. In the evening I returned to Eat Real to watch the butchery contest. It's quite something to see a team of butchers practice their art. Half an hour of carving and they had taken a quarter steer and created piles of retail cut meat. The meat was then sold, mostly to people who had pre-ordered it. Grabbing dinner before the butchery contest would have been a wise move but alas it didn't happen. So along with thousands of other people my friend and I wandered about in search of food late in the evening. Many of the vendors had completely sold out their wares but we eventually obtained a very tasty veggie burger. People, people everywhere until everything closed down around 9pm.

I have to compliment the organizers of Eat Real. It was generally very well thought out. The vendors selling street food, were selling their wares for $5 or less. Much more reasonably priced than typical festival food. And the food was first rate. It's a chance for the festival attendees to try various local foods, and a great opportunity for the local food vendors to interface directly with their customers. Someone had the forethought to open the brand new parking garage for the event, which somewhat prevented the neighborhood from being flooded by people driving in circles looking for parking. Eat Real is the first event I have followed via Twitter. I enjoyed the ease of keeping up on what was happening, who was out of food, when the atm's ran out of cash, what people's favorite eats were and other observations.

Today the cooler weather arrived. And though it looked as if Eat Real had just as many people, maybe more due to it's being conjoined with the regular Farmer's Market It seemed a more laid back crowd than Saturday, but still long lines abounded. As a final treat to myself I had a delectable handmade s'more from Kika's Treats and enjoyed it's gooeyness on the lawn listening to some smooth jazz. The Eat Real festival showed off the best of Oakland and Jack London Square. There have been several fantastic events in Oakland this year, I hope the fun continues! One more note the eatreal tag gave my flickr photos a big boost for the day!

The Wildflowers of California

This seems to be a banner year for California wildflowers. Everywhere I go there are govs of poppies, popcorn flowers, fiddlenecks, lupines etc. etc. The poppies seem to be popping up in every nook and cranny and highway median. Over the past few years I've managed to learn the names of many of the most common flowers. Most of this comes from hiking with a Sierra Club leader who is quite knowledgeable. When I'm just walking with friends I usually have to look stuff up. Unfortunately most of the wildflower books I've seen come up short in the usefulness department. Northern California and the SF Bay region in particular has a lot of unique species and variations of species. Most California wildflower books are too broad, and not specific enough to the area. Usually I take a picture of the flower then look it up on the web when I get home. I do have on my shelf an old copy of Spring Wildflowers of the SF Bay Region, which my dad gave me to me. It doesn't have many color pictures, though the pen and ink drawings are good. Once I know a flower I can usually look it up here for more information but I generally have a hard time using it to identify an unknown.

In a similar vein, another old book from my dad The Wild Flowers of California has no color photos but fantastic line drawings of most but not all the flowers. The edition I have was published in 1966. The book was originally written in 1897, the original plates were destroyed along with most of San Francisco in 1906. The 1966 version is a full reprint of the 1907 edition. With no color pictures and no species introduced or discovered in the last 100 years the book is not one I use primarily for identification. Instead its description of the flower is lyrical in a way that a field guide is not. For example of the baby blue eyes, one of my favorites it is said

When skies are smiling and the earth is already clothed with a luxuriant and tender herbage, we find upon some balmy morning that the baby-eyes have opened in gentle surprise upon the lovely world. The spring breezes blow over no more beautiful and ethereal flower than these.

The entry goes on with the author's personal encounter with baby-blue eyes folding the description of the flower into her story. What a beautiful way to write about flowers. The best way to learn is to enjoy what you're studying and Mary Elizabeth's Parsons book is a joy to read. I'm glad I opened the book rather than just letting it collect dust on my shelf, it's a wonderful discovery of a world of black and white.

The Most Beautiful Place

I have not yet been to heaven and assume most of you have not either but when I get there I sure hope it is as beautiful Antelope Valley. The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is situated in the western part of the Mojave Desert, at an elevation of around 2600 feet. The 1800 acre preserve is thick with California Poppies and many other wildflowers every spring. The description from the website hardly touches on the wonder of the place. Carpets of wildflowers fill the hills in every direction. When I was there last weekend, the poppies were not yet out in full force, so many of the hills were golden with Goldfields, or purple with Lacey Phacelia instead. Still the beauty of it all took my breath away. Literally as far as I could see from the high point on Antelope Butte fields of yellow stretched out in every direction. Walking along the trails the fragrance complements the scenery to make one feel completely transported to another world. I only wish the rest of this world did not know about the place. The mix of orange, white, purple, yellow, green springing out of the desert sunshine overfilled my heart with joy. If only everyone could see such a place, the world would be so happy, wars would stop and peace would reign. How could you ever be angry or unhappy in such a spot? I could easily have spent days just gazing out over the fields and taking pictures. Lots of pictures. If I never go anywhere else in this world, never see any other sights I will be content because I have been to the most beautiful place on earth.

A Day For Ducks

More rain poured down over the bay area this weekend. Fourteen inches so far this season, which is almost up to normal, though not enough to erase the drought conditions. I ventured out in my new rain boots on Sunday for little walk around the neighborhood. The grassy area near the estuary was somewhat flooded and the geese, gulls and ducks congregated there. The wigeons hang out with the mallards, I wonder if they're becoming more common I don't remember seeing so many around the shore other years. There's also a few hybrid ducks of some sort that look really freaky. I think they're some sort of farm duck crossed with mallard. They are a large, upright bird with some white parts combined with dark splotches and one has a green head. It's sort of an ugly combination, and really looks like no duck should. I've seen one of them before but yesterday there were several in a group with the mallards. The mallards seem to accept them so I guess I must too.

On another note there have been less surf scoters around this year, one article I read speculated this may be due to the Cosco Busan incident spilling oil into the bay over a year ago.

Just What I'm Looking For

The New York Times today had an article about the Eye-Fi Explore SD Card. Just like any SD card it goes into your camera and stores 2-4GB worth of pictures. Unlike a regular SD card it can geo-tag your photos and upload them via a wireless network to photo sharing sites such as Flickr or your home computer. That's one of the best melding of technologies I've seen. I hate all the wires connecting everything, life really doesn't have to be this way. Imagine being on vacation, taking a picture and having it upload to Flickr before you even get home. I haven't really wanted a cell phone with a camera because the cameras aren't any good. With the Eye-Fi I can use my own awesome camera. Of course you have to be near a Wi-Fi network to upload, and the geo-tagging isn't perfect. Still I think it's pretty cool, and the Eye-Fi is on sale now for $109, just in time for my birthday! Does this mean a new version is coming out soon?

2008 Favorite Photo

In 2008 I took 539 photos deemed worthy of putting on Flickr. Most are actually good photos, a few are just because I was documenting something. I went a lot of new places in 2008 so it was a good year for taking pictures. I got a lot of shots I really like.

The photo with the most views and comments is this one of a projection of Obama on election night. It is indeed a good photo. I was able to sit the camera on a truck bed and set the time to eliminate any shaking. I like the car headlights and taillights add an in the moment sort of feel to it. I also like the memory of that night in Oakland when people were out dancing in the streets on a warm November evening. That may be my best photo of 2008 but it's not my favorite photo of the year.

My favorite is this one from Mexico. I love sunsets and silhouettes. In this picture I like that there is the action of the person on the front of the boat getting ready to drop anchor. I like the blackness of the rock in the water, and the hint of the birds flying. The best of the sunset was past at this point, and other pictures capture the orange hues better. Sitting on the beach of Isla Espiritu Santo made getting a good sunset picture easy even with my little Canon Powershot. This picture also brings back a good memory. That evening most of the group went off to try their luck at catching fish. A few of us stayed behind and took pictures of the sunset. It was a wonderful quiet time during the trip where I could just sit and enjoy the view. The view from the boat must have also been splendid but I've never felt I missed out by not being on it. Instead I was able to capture one of my favorite moments of 2008.

CA Academy of Sciences

AFter nearly a decade of planning the CA Academy of Sciences opened their new facility in Golden Gate Park at the end of September. An aquarium, a rain forest, a planetarium, penguins, an albino alligator, a big blue whale skeleton, all under a living roof! Need I say more? This place is incredible. So incredible that the crowds on the weekends are larger than the place was designed for. I recommend waiting a few months. or go very early. My friend and I got there at 10:30 am on a Saturday and the lines to get in were just as long when we were leaving at 2pm. The exhibit spaces are nicely laid out, look easy to change, well lit and a lot of interaction. The dioramas of African animals are exquisite and really make you feel like you are there. One feature I especially liked was the interspersion of live animals/bugs/fish in with the textual exhibits and taxidermed animals. The CA Academy of Sciences has been around since 1853. They actually put some very old specimens collected at the turn of the century on display. Another room I enjoyed was the "Naturalist Center" which seems to be a dumping ground for stuff they didn't put in the exhibit halls. Drawers full of bugs, fossils, shells, bones it's all so cool. I wish there was a bit more educational material about a lot of the live animals on exhibit. But the place is new, they made add more signage in coming months. My other suggestion would be to reconfigure some of the space to accommodate the large crowds, but that may change in the coming months. The living roof is fantastic, it's like 2 acres of park was lifted and the museum put in underneath. The whole place was so extraordinary I'm not just a visitor - I'm a member!

Portsmouth, NH

After a day spent discovering the charms of small towns along the Maine coast how would Portsmouth compare? There's a large Naval shipyard there, it's name sounds rather industrious I was prepared for a town of brick and grit. The locals say Portsmouth used to be something of a red light district for the naval shipyard, the thirtysomethings I met said they wouldn't go anywhere near Portsmouth while they were growing up. But over the last several years Portsmouth has undergone a renaissance of sorts. Quaint, colonial, cobbled, inviting those words don't even begin to describe what an interesting and beautiful town Portsmouth is. There is a long list of historical houses to see in Portsmouth but I spent most of the day meandering the streets entranced by the great many old houses. As I wandered admiring the brightly painted doorways, and noting that the restoring of antique houses must employ a good number of the locals the thing that struck me the most about Portsmouth was the lack of noise. No trains, no trucks hurtling down the freeway which isn't far away. A town so peaceful I could hear the crunch of a leaf under my foot. Of all the interesting experiences I had during my few days in New England the the one thing that stays with me is the blissful quiet of walking around Portsmouth.

Photo Mapping

There's a lot of photo sharing websites out there Kodak's picture gallery (great for ordering prints), Google's Picasa, Photobucket, Snapfish etc. etc. Me, I'm a Flickr gal through and through. I love the sets, the tags, the groups, the easy ways to share and comment, the fact the Flickr team keeps trying to make things better. Over the past few years, I've gotten a few nice comments, requests to add photos to a group, an e-mail asking about a trip I took, a link to my photo on a blog, and even an authorized publication in a magazine. Sure all that stuff's fun, the groups are full of interesting photos, the contacts feature lets me keep up with what my friends are into, the stats give me an idea of what photos people are looking at every day. I've learned a lot too, by looking at other people's photos. But nothing, nothing compares to the barrel of fun that is Flickr maps!

Combining two of my favorite things digital photography and maps, the Flickr Map application is easy use and probably my favorite way yet of organizing photos. It's as simple as looking at your photo, clicking on map, putting in an approximate address then zooming the map to where you want and dragging your photo to wherever you want it. You can put it out in the wilderness, a precise intersection, the middle of San Francisco Bay, wherever you think it belongs. The map will also show other people's photos in that area. It's always interesting to me where people put there photos. I try to be pretty precise for the most part but I realize the utility of sometimes just grouping a bunch of nearby photos all in one spot. For example for my kayak trip to Mexico last spring I put all the kayaking photos in one bay of the island though we kayaked along the shore for four days. A friend of mine split his into two spots on the island.

It's taken me not long at all to put a large number of my pictures onto the map. I'm still working on my England trip since I have to do some serious thinking about exactly where some of them were taken. In general most of my pictures are taken in California, New York or the couple of places I've been on vacation recently so it's no too hard. Then it's easy for me to look at all the pictures of New York over the last couple of years, or look at the map of California and remember all the nice places I've been lately. But more than the utility of Flickr maps it's just darn fun!

Neighbors

I've lived across the hall from the same couple for several years now. I don't see them very often, but when I do we exchange a friendly word or two. It's always comforting to know they're there. And every holiday out comes a special piece of decor. Right on cue the first day of fall brought this cute scarecrow. I think he's a new addition, usually the fall brings a couple pieces of corn on the door. In an apartment building where everyone lives behind an anonymous brown door, seeing a bit of frivolity always makes me smile.

Accessorize!

A couple of must have camera accessories for the digital camera enthusiast:

Gorillapod: My brother got me this a couple of Christmases ago. I don't use it as often as I should. There's no excuse really it's lightweight and small enough to fit in my pocket. Usually I forget that I have it. Putting the camera on a tripod would greatly improve the pictures I take in low light or those that are zoomed way in. Not to mention all the great pictures I could be taking of myself! I probably need to leave the Gorillapod out where I can see it instead of putting it away in a drawer so I remember to use it more often.

Aquapac: this is a new one for me. I just got the Aquapac yesterday for an upcoming kayak trip but I sure could have used this when I was in England last summer! The patented Aquaclip system seals the camera in the bag with two easy twist of the levers. And from my test in the kitchen sink - it works perfectly. Aquapac has also been tested by the British Standards Institute and is guaranteed waterproof down to 15 feet. But maybe the best feature for a kayaker is that when sealed with all that air in the Aquapac the camera floats! You can take pictures through the clear plastic window and the rest of the bag is flexible enough that with some effort you can push the tiny buttons on the back of the camera. My only criticism of the Aquapac is it's a little big for my camera but the smaller size would inhibit the lens zoom. It's great protection from sand and dirt as well. Look for underwater photos appearing on this site soon!

A Slice of Heaven

Wow! In what can only be deemed a stroke of brilliance cbs.com has made every episode of all three seasons of Star Trek available online!

The Trappist

As downtown Oakland yuppifies there is maybe no where more hip than the Trappist. The small new bar specializes in fine European and a few American beers on tap (15) and in bottles (120). The beverage book is quite a tome, far too much to peruse at one sitting, luckily it can be found online. The staff is knowledgeable and happy to talk about the beers, give out a taste and make good recommendations. Of the few I've had my favorite beer so far is Van Eecke Poperings Hommel. As much attention is paid to the decor as to the beer selection. The brick walls and dark wood accents create a cozy atmosphere where you never really want to leave especially if you're lucky enough to get a seat. There are several tables in the back made out of plywood on top of beer kegs which only adds to the charm. The trick is to keep an eye out for someone leaving unnoticed by the throngs by the bar, then casually saunter back to the vacated table. During the week it's populated largely by the work crowd which thins out after 6:30. The Trappist is definitely the latest Oakland hot spot for a reason, it's actually that good.

Sometimes...

Happiness is knowing you can always count on Bavarian Autosport to supply just the right part when the Ultimate Driving Machine needs a new handcrafted burlwood anatomic shift knob.

Happiness is ...

A new carpet!! Which leads me to obsessively oil the furniture, dust the books, label everything, tie all the cords, clean every last corner and wonder when I got to being such a neat freak! Why didn't I also ask for paint?

How to make my day

Describe the ultimate driving machine as a silver sports car to your three year old while waiting at the car wash.