Lazy about blogging

I know, it’s been three weeks. I am sorry. Don’t have much of an excuse, other than that I haven’t done quite so many “blog-worthy” activities of late. Work is extremely dull at the moment (hope no one from work reads this!), Jon’s been busy at the weekends with work or maths and we’ve had a lot of fog. However, there have been some fun activities too. Like going to Dolores Park in the Mission for a barbecue. Whatever the weather in the rest of the city, it’s nearly always nice down there and there was a large contingent out sunbathing, grilling and even strapping on “sumo” suits to have a hilarious go at wrestling. Every time I go to that area, I tell myself that I should visit it more often, but you get lazy and stick to your neighbourhood all too often. After the barbecue, I came back to North Beach and met up with a couple of friends from my old Italian class, Gami and Candida, plus Candida’s super cute pug, Kathmandu. We sat on the terrace of Café Greco, sipping coffee and munching on biscotti, and could have been in Rome.

Last weekend, I decided the fog was just too much for me, and made Jon take us out on the Sunday. We drove up to Sonoma Valley (wine country) and did a little hike near Santa Rosa. The scenery is not as dramatic up there as it is just across the bridge, but at least it doesn’t get any fog, and it’s a pleasant enough mélange of rolling hills, redwood forest and dry grassland. We came across several wild turkeys over the course of our hike and also spotted a bright blue snake, which we haven’t, as yet, identified! Afterwards, we went to a winery with grounds and indulged in a nice glass in the sunshine. In addition, I got my first pedicure last weekend, which was an amazing experience! People at work had raved about them, so I decided that it was time to try it for myself, and went to a nail salon just around the corner from where I live. I got to pick my colour, then sit in a massage chair while they tended to my feet. It was so relaxing and the massage was incredible. $25 well spent, in my opinion.

I’ve started up a new Italian class, which is going pretty well, except that I’m never that motivated to do the homework. We’re reading a book, which I think is a legal thriller, and it’s pretty good. I go on Wednesday nights and it lasts from 6 pm – 9 pm.

On Friday, we went to see a film at the cinema with a couple of friends, “the Visitor”. It was well done, but didn’t live up to all the hype, in my opinion. However, we had a nice evening and got some dinner afterwards.

Yesterday was a lovely day weather-wise, so we went for a walk in the west of the city, by the ocean, parking the car in the posh Seacliff area, then wandering along the coastal path down to a rocky beach strewn with the remnants of an old shipwreck. It was beautiful. We watched scores of pelicans passing overhead and also saw a hawk doing the rounds. We then clambered back up and went to a sandy beach in Seacliff that I hadn’t visited before, China Beach, where we sunbathed and read our books. I really liked the beach – it’s tiny and lower-key than nearby Baker Beach, but still has the same crashing waves and views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Finally, today we indulged in one of the great pleasures of life – going out for breakfast/brunch. We headed to our usual spot up the road – Curlys – and enjoyed the delights of a hearty American breakfast. Just what you need to warm the cockles when the fog is back.

Seattle and Alaska

A week and a half ago, we took an evening flight to Seattle, Washington. I wished I’d had my camera out as we descended past Mount Rainier, the base of which was shrouded in haze, giving the impression that its white mass was floating above the ground. Against the backdrop of the twilight sky, which lent rose and lilac tints to the snow, it was even more impressive.

We didn’t see any of the stereotypical Seattle weather (rain), but enjoyed two days of glorious sunshine with temperatures in the eighties and above. On the first day, we did the Underground Tour, sited at historic Pioneer Square. Seattle was originally built by pioneers on silty ground, which meant that the streets were constantly filled with mud and flooded easily. After the attempt of several harebrained schemes, the city was ultimately “raised up” by building on top of the original edifices and filling in the sidewalks (the roads had already been raised). We also did a cruise on the Puget Sound, visited the lively Pike Place market and had a delicious dinner at a seafood restaurant on a pier by Lake Union.

The next day, we took on Seattle’s iconic Space Tower. This looks like a spaceship on legs - it was built for the World’s Fair in the sixties, and is now a key feature of the city’s skyline. You can take an elevator to the top, which we did, in order to get great views of the city and various distant snowy mountains, including Mount Rainier. That day, we also went to the modern music museum (EMP), because Jon is a big fan of the “grunge” bands that came out of Seattle in the early nineties. Bizarrely, though, the whole thing seemed to be about Jimi Hendrix, with little attention paid to rock legends like Nirvana – could it be because much of their music had a pretty negative message and the lead singer ended up killing himself with an overdose? Who knows?

That night, we flew on to Anchorage, Alaska, where it was still light in spite of our late arrival, and spent a night in a featureless motel near the airport. We were picked up on Sunday to do our week-long group camping trip. Apart from ourselves, there were a pair of sisters from Australia (Lisa and Nicole), a girl from Washington D.C. (Alexandra), an older couple from Texas (Mike and Cheryl), and our guide, Waldo, who turned out to be a kind of superman who’d spent six years in the military and was now filling his summer guiding tours before going on to stuntman school in the “Lower 48” (how Alaskans refer to the contiguous U.S.). We made a stop at a supermarket in Anchorage to pick up last-minute supplies (it was immense – you could buy everything under the sun there, including guns!), before driving down to the Kenai Peninsula. We drove along a beautiful sound flanked by snowy mountains, stopping every now and then to take pictures, and also swung by a visitor center near a glacier on the way. Unfortunately, we couldn’t walk right up to the glacier, because there had been an avalanche, making the going pretty tough. We arrived at our campsite late afternoon – it was a lovely, peaceful spot by an isolated stretch of water called Hidden Lake. A sign outside the toilets warned that a brown (also known as grizzly) bear had been sighted at the camp a few days previously – yikes!

We did a little hiking in the area, but were plagued by some very persistent mosquitoes, several of which employed a new tactic with me, namely getting in my hair and feasting on my scalp – lovely. Jon and I also went kayaking on the gorgeous lake, which was such a wonderful experience that I rank it as one of the highlights of the trip. Another highlight was seeing a black bear at the back of the campsite. She had two cubs with her, which were up a tree, but didn’t seem too perturbed by us. We spent a few minutes staring at each other in mutual curiosity, before we thought we’d better leave her to take care of her business with the cubs. Unfortunately, an hour or so later she managed to get into another camper’s cool box and steal some crisps. This is bad news, because once they’ve learned that humans = food, bears become aggressive towards humans and property. She had to be scared off by the rangers.

After two nights camping there, we continued on to Seward, a pleasant seafront town, where we embarked on a cruise through the Kenai Fjords. It was a beautiful day (the previous two had been cloudy) and we were excited at the prospect of seeing all the wildlife. We were relatively lucky, in that we saw pods of orcas (killer whales), sealions, harbour seals, sea otters, bald eagles and the odd humpback whale. However, the whales stayed well underwater, so they were difficult to see and certainly didn’t pose for any pictures, but it was still thrilling. We also sailed to a tidewater glacier and waited a while to see the chunks of ice fall off into the ocean (a process called “carving”). The scenery was stunning. I’ve never been to Norway, but I imagine it must be similar. That evening we stayed at a motel (how wonderful it was to have a bed and shower!) and also ate out at a nice restaurant by the port.

From Seward, it was a long drive north to our next campsite, just south of Healy, near Denali National Park. After closely inspecting the map, it turns out that we were only about 25 – 30 miles or so from the abandoned Fairbanks bus out in the wilderness where Chris McCandless of “Into the Wild” fame met his end. There was also a lake at this new campsite, but we camped on a ridge looking out over mountains. At this point, we were a good way north of Seward and Anchorage, so it never got dark at all. The sun dipped down below the horizon for a couple of hours, but not enough to bring on anything more than an attractive sunset and a light dusk. The good weather continued, and because we were inland, it was surprisingly warm. Along the way, we’d been lucky enough to get good views of Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet. The peak is often obscured by cloud even on sunny days, as the mountain is so large that it creates its own weather system.

We headed into Denali National Park the next day. The Park is closed to private vehicles, so everyone is forced to go on one of the shuttle buses that venture 66 miles into the tundra. We didn’t make it to the very end, as we didn’t have enough time, given that we wanted to do some hiking, in spite of the fact that there are no trails in Denali – you just have to use the paths created by wild Dall sheep. Along the way, we saw several caribou (which are like reindeer) and a couple of grizzly bears gambolling up and down a hill, although they were at some distance from the road. On the return journey, we saw a golden eagle pretty close and a female moose a long way off. Sadly, though, there were some utter morons sitting behind me on the bus who didn’t shut up the whole way, which spoiled the experience somewhat!

That night, we took advantage of the lack of darkness by playing midnight golf. Neither of us had ever played. I wasn’t much good, but it was a lot of fun, especially as we got to chase each other around in the golf carts! Jon turned out to be not bad at all and played again with Waldo the next day. We also had 4th July fireworks – Waldo and friends had made a floating dock from which to launch them in the middle of the lake. It was a lot of fun, but fireworks aren’t quite the same when it’s broad daylight!

We got another hike in – up Mount Healy, at the gateway to Denali National Park. I was hoping to see some more wildlife, especially since there were signs everywhere warning of “bear danger”. I’d now got quite used to the potential threat of bears and was well armed with my bear bell (which lets them know you’re coming), as well as a can of bear repellent (pepper spray) that I’d borrowed from Waldo. However, we didn’t see anything other than a few cheeky ground squirrels.

I was so sad to say farewell to everyone in Anchorage and finish what had been a wonderful trip. We were able to take showers and hang around for a bit in Lisa and Nicole’s room, which was nice, as our flight was at an absurd hour the next morning (2 a.m.!). Alaska is so beautiful and its proportions are so huge, that a week really isn’t enough. The trip served only to whet rather than satisfy my appetite.

Photos are available here: http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick/seattle-and-alaska/ (password: moocow).

Paul and Kate's visit

I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks, so there’s a lot to catch up on! Last weekend was a bit of a partying one – we went to an interesting cocktail gathering at a colleague’s apartment in the Mission district on Friday night, then attended the North Beach Festival in our neighbourhood on Sunday. The festival’s most amusing feature was the pet blessings ceremony at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. Imagine a church full of dogs – with their people – and you have the idea. There was also someone who had brought his hamster in a little cage. The dogs seemed to behave pretty well as the priests passed down the aisle throwing holy water. After the festival, some friends came back to our apartment and we put away a couple of good bottles of wine!

I’ve also seen a couple of very different San Francisco films recently: the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and The Bridge. I’d read the book that arose out of the former – it’s the story of a hobo who befriends the local wild parrot population, which is ultimately his salvation. It included lots of lovely scenes of North Beach and Telegraph Hill. The other was a less happy tale – it was a documentary about the fact that the Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular suicide spot in the world, with someone throwing him or herself off on average every two weeks.

Last Monday, our friends from Hoddesdon, Paul and Kate, arrived on the last leg of their round-the-world tour. Kate’s parents were also in town on part of their holiday. We enjoyed a few evenings of meals out and also took them up to Top of the Mark for cocktails one evening. The weather was incredible – baking hot almost every day, which is unusual for San Francisco. On Friday evening, we began the weekend with a lovely dip in the pool and a few beers.

Next day, we set off for Russian River, about 70 miles north across the Golden Gate. We hired canoes for the day and set off down the river from Forestville. Much of it was very gentle with barely any paddling required. However, there were a few tricky bits with easy “rapids”, then the river widened and the paddling got rather harder! However, we had plenty of breaks for picnicking and swimming in the river. There were lots of other people out and about in various contraptions – it was a real holiday atmosphere. At the end of it all, we rode back to our car in a converted yellow school bus, then headed to Guerneville, where we stayed in a motel very handy for the restaurants and cafés. We didn’t stay out too late, though, as we were all exhausted from a string of late nights and a few miles of canoeing.

On Sunday, we went to nearby Korbel Champagne Cellars to do a champagne tasting. Not a bad way to start the day. It was another gorgeous, warm morning, but by the time we reached the coast, 12 miles west of Guerneville, we’d hit the fog! We drove down the coast, but didn’t tarry long on the northern stretch because of the fog. However, by the time we reached Tomales Bay, it was beginning to clear, so we enjoyed a nice picnic at Bear Valley and a sunny wander along the earthquake trail, which runs along the San Andreas fault and gives info about the plate tectonics at work underneath! After that, we headed to the southern part of Point Reyes and strolled along the coastal path. Down at one of the beaches, we had the good fortune to see an osprey up close as it rode the wind and thought about diving for fish (but ultimately didn’t bother!). Then it was over to Coast Café in Bolinas for a great dinner, before heading down the coast along Highway 1, taking in the vista from the viewpoint above the Golden Gate (by which time it was freezing!) and finally back to San Francisco.

Kate and Paul have now gone off to Yosemite for a couple of days. Mind you, I’m not sure anything can beat their trip to Alcatraz, where they bumped into Posh and Becks, of all people!

Yosemite waterfalls weekend

Last week was really busy at work, but I had a couple of nice evenings out: firstly with friends from volunteering days on Tuesday at an Indian restaurant in the Tenderloin, which turned out to be rather good! The second meal out was with someone we know from university days, who was en route back to the UK with his wife after living in New Zealand for two years. Then on Friday, I went into school to volunteer, but found they were having a party in honour of me and another volunteer who helps them! There was a huge chocolate cake with our names written on it and a lovely bunch of roses was presented.

Having made it to the end of the week, Jon and I set off for the long drive to Yosemite for a weekend getaway. We stayed overnight at Groveland, the last real community before the park entrance, which is still an hour outside the valley. Next day we headed into the park and went up to Glacier Point. A road takes you all the way to the point, some 3,500 feet above the valley floor. In all the times we’ve visited Yosemite, we’d never been up on this road. Well, the views were stupendous, second only to those from Cloud’s Rest, I’d say (which involves a 14 mile hike from the Tioga Road). There were loads of people, of course, but you can’t take away the gorgeousness of those vistas. We did a short hike (5 miles) from a spot a few miles down from Glacier Point to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. There were still patches of snow here and there, so it felt very odd wandering around in T-shirts and vests, crunching over the white stuff. We were lucky enough to see a marmot posing in the sunshine along the way.

We spent Saturday night in Curry Village, the budget accommodation option in the valley. I’d booked us a canvas tent cabin. It had its own bear box outside, but we didn’t see any bears, alas (just a few chipmunks scurrying around). We had a relaxing pre-dinner drink, watching a deer graze its way across a patch of grass in front of us, then a mediocre meal before settling down to listen to the ranger talk on search and rescue missions. We both had some trouble sleeping that night, as the temperature dropped down very low – probably to about 5 degrees.

The next day, we decided to tackle a big hike, so climbed to the top of Yosemite Falls. The Falls shoot down in two hugely impressive cascades, with a less vertical middle section, from a height of some 2,425 feet, making it the highest waterfall in North America and the sixth highest in the world. It was a fairly strenuous hike. We still hadn’t had enough when we reached the top, though, so meandered through the high country for another mile to Yosemite Point. It was not a hike for anyone suffering from vertigo! We managed to catch a bit of sunshine (we both have a few pink patches, but nothing too serious) and returned – not without first getting a huge feed at a diner in Oakdale – to a decidedly summery San Francisco.

Photos available here: http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick/yosemite-waterfalls-etc/

My perfect day

Today I did all my favourite things. Woke up to a beautiful, clear sunny day and the sound of the wild parrots chattering in their morning flight. Eager to get out in the sunshine after a spate of rather dull days, I went for a run along the waterfront with its fabulous views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Bay Bridge, the financial district – you name it – and returned to a delicious breakfast of hot oatmeal and fruit. We then set out to do a hike at Point Reyes. We’d done most of the hike before (and seen a bobcat on that occasion), but this time our destination was Alamere Falls, a succession of waterfalls with the largest spilling out directly onto the beach from a sheer sandstone cliff. The weather held clear, although it was by no means warm – a stiff wind was blowing cold air straight off the Pacific for most of the time. The trail to the falls was a real scramble, but we made it, and felt risking life and limb was worth it in the end, as they were pretty impressive. It was also a delight to see so many wild flowers still in bloom along the trail. This time, there were no big cats in sight, but I did almost step on a snake!

After our hike, we went to our favourite restaurant, Coast Café in Bolinas. I love this little village – it’s so quaint, laid-back, full of interesting types and charmingly located at the mouth of a gorgeous tidal lagoon. We enjoyed cocktails (an aptly named Epicenter and a Bolinas Sunrise), then put away huge quantities of food (fish and chips for me, I’m afraid, and yes, I DO feel guilty!). All the while we had the drive back to look forward to, which is an experience in itself – a windy road hugging the coast, dipping down through eucalyptus forest and emerging from a tunnel to the view of the great bridge, glowing an even brighter orange in the golden rays of the setting sun. All in all, great therapy to cure the frustrations of a hard week at work for me and an exhausting time training customers in Texas for Jon.

Running, parading and weird weather

A week and a half ago we were baking in 34 degree heat and I was trying to work as best I could with an ice-pack tucked down my front or balanced on my head, getting everything finished as fast as possible so that I could head home and jump in the pool to cool off. Then, just a few days later, the daytime high barely topped 12 degrees – that’s only just above fridge temperature! The weather forecasters seem to change their mind on an hourly basis and we’ve had everything from blazing sunshine to thick fog and even rain in the last ten days.

So, what have we been up to? Well, there have been a couple of ascents to skyscraper bars – firstly to the Starlight Room with my friend from work, Molly. It was fabulous after a hot Friday in the office. Secondly, we went up to the Top of the Mark with Jon and his brother and sister, who have just been to visit. I managed to get us a fabulous table, from which we could watch the sun set over the Golden Gate, whilst sipping cocktails from the “101 martinis” menu.

May is also a good month for events. A week ago we had the 12km Bay to Breakers run. This year, I didn’t bother entering officially, but still ran the distance, while Jon and siblings walked it. My time was similar to last year’s, which is good, as I was under the impression that I wasn’t as fit this year. I’m not sure the costumes were as fun as last year, but I saw more naked people (!). When we got to the end, on the shore of the Pacific, it was really foggy and cold. However, back in North Beach, we enjoyed some lovely sunshine – a textbook example of the Bay area’s microclimates.

The Sunday just gone was the day of another event: the Mission Carnaval (that’s how they spell it, it’s not me), a vibrant Latino parade in the city’s Hispanic district. We got there after the start, so I think we may have missed some of the best sights, but there was still plenty to see, and I simply love the music (must have been a samba player in a former life). We then took a stroll a few blocks back to Dolores Park, one of the warmest parts of the city, which offers views of downtown SF above tall, feathery palm trees.

We’ve also done plenty of eating. Tried a new restaurant on Russian Hill during the week. It offered upscale American cuisine, and even had Coca Cola braised pork on the menu. Well, I had to try it, and it was, in fact, delicious! Jon, James and Jessica also made it to Mama’s, the most famous breakfast place in the city, on Washington Square. We’ve never been able to get in on the weekend because there’s always a huge line outside. Saturday night was a burger night – at Mo’s, which arguably cooks the best in San Francisco. Then, with yesterday being a holiday, Jon and I went out for breakfast to Curly’s, a great old stalwart all-American greasy spoon up the road, and I also ended up having a rather healthier Thai meal with a friend after work in the edgy Tenderloin district.

There’s been drinking aplenty too – we headed for the winelands on Saturday, specifically Sonoma Valley. However, it wasn’t how I’d imagined it (lazy picnic in the sunshine on the lawns of a fabulous winery, glugging from a cool bottle), because – very oddly – it rained! Usually, the rain is long over by this time of year, and we don’t see it again until September, but it threw it down for a large part of the day, and we ended up picnicking British-style in the car! However, we still made it around three wineries, including a tour.

We took James and Jessica back to the airport on Sunday. Unfortunately – for reasons I won’t go into here – the visit wasn’t a resounding success, but I hope that they got some enjoyment out of it. I love my State-side home and get lots of pleasure from sharing it.

Monterey Peninsula

Jon was busy this weekend, working on his maths, so I went on a little trip with my friend Cassie, down to the Monterey Peninsula. This is home to a special ecosystem, that results in rich marine life, plus several species of plant unique to the area, including the Monterey cypress and Monterey pine. It’s situated about 125 miles, or just over two hours from San Francisco.

We headed over there on Saturday, and began with a visit to the Monterey Aquarium, which is pretty special and is dedicated almost exclusively to documenting the marine life within the local area. We watched transfixed as sea otters rolled and dived, bright jelly fish drifted gracefully, huge tuna and weird sunfish swam around their huge tank and an octopus fixed his suckers to the glass. We were able to touch rays and starfish, then wander out onto the deck and look over the real home to all these wonderful creatures, as the aquarium is sited right by the ocean. After a stroll around the touristy area of Cannery Row, and the consumption of a huge toffee apple, we headed off on a drive along the coast of the peninsula. Part of this took in the 17-mile Drive, a scenic but rather pricey toll road. It certainly offered some lovely views of the rugged coastline, including sights of the Lone Cypress, a 250-year-old Monterey cypress clinging to a narrow rocky outcrop, inspiration to many an artist and even poet, I believe. Several swanky homes and the famous Pebble Beach golf course are also sited along the drive.

That evening, we found downtown Monterey, a very pleasant main street with several tasteful cafés, restaurants and shops, and ate at an elegant but not especially expensive Martini bar/eatery. Many of the buildings are in Spanish style, even more so than around San Francisco.

Today we awoke to a rather murky, fog-shrouded morning. The motel’s offering of coffee and a nasty processed “pastry” was certainly not enough to tempt us to take on the day, so we drove back to the downtown area and had breakfast at a very popular café there (thanks, Lonely Planet guidebook!). We certainly felt safe, with several members of the Monterey police on the next table, complete with their guns and other assorted weaponry! It was a great place – I had a very tasty omelette, but made the mistake of ordering “grits” on the side. I confess that I didn’t really know what these were, but knew that it was some kind of American speciality. Don’t recommend them – basically semolina slop.

We drove down to Point Lobos, a short distance further down the coast. This is a small State park, with a remarkably varied, rocky coastline, and home to a huge amount of wildlife. We walked around a good chunk of the area and spotted turkey vultures, cormorants, little red-headed sandpipers (not sure if that’s the proper name), harbour seals, sealions, lots of gorgeous flowers and even sea otters! It was beautiful, even though the sky was dull. When we were looking around the little museum at Whalers’ Cove, a ranger told us that the vultures were probably waiting for baby seals to perish, which wasn’t so nice. The seals are birthing at the moment, and sadly, some don’t make it. Finally, by the end of the walk, we were just starting to warm up – the Monterey Peninsula suffers even worse than San Francisco from brisk ocean breezes and fog from the Pacific. It was just as chilly at Carmel, the town where Clint Eastwood was mayor for a while, where we stopped to take a look at the lovely white sand beach. Afterwards, we pottered around the downtown, with its many posh jewellery shops and art galleries, making friends with a pack of seven (seven!) husky dogs in the back of a big SUV. On our way back home, we cruised past the Carmel Mission, one of the oldest and loveliest mission churches in California.

Photos available (password: moocow):
http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick/trip-to-the-montere/