So the following is an announcement I put together for one in a series of concerts I am helping encourage at our little church. If you are nearby, come see us and hear some fine musicians next Saturday.
Life in the mountains, travel, retirement, music, journalism, family, politics, parks, sailing and a few brain drippings.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
More music is always a good thing
Murphys, Ca -- Most of my friends know I like many different kinds of music. If I play, I keep it simple (folk and bluegrass and gospel). But I love listening to almost everything (except obscene rap and acid rock).
So the following is an announcement I put together for one in a series of concerts I am helping encourage at our little church. If you are nearby, come see us and hear some fine musicians next Saturday.
So the following is an announcement I put together for one in a series of concerts I am helping encourage at our little church. If you are nearby, come see us and hear some fine musicians next Saturday.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
A little vacation by the Bay
Me and my Modesto Bee souvenir shirt |
Pat getting ready for a cool day of sanding and oiling teak |
Alameda, Ca -- Pat and I are staying aboard s/v Good News for a few days, mostly filled with the work any owner of a 32-year-old boat will know well (sand, clean, varnish, paint) but also a few happy breaks.
The weather deserves kudos after baking in the summer heat at home. Temperatures have ranged from the low 70s to the high 50s, with good fresh breezes every day.
We actually went sailing yesterday, Saturday, though we started late and stayed in the estuary. We did explore some new areas for us, moving south past Coast Guard Island to the bridge and back.
The photos are during a work break on board the boat. Pat says the shirt looks like I bled on it, but that is merely old deck stain. It IS my painting shirt.
Looking across Marina Village en route to breakfast |
Today being Sunday, we declared it a NO WORK DAY and went to San Francisco for a full day. We started a bit late but with good intentions to attend Sunday worship at Noe Valley Presbyterian Church. Our friend Dianna Cheifetz is pastor and we wanted to hear her as she is a super preacher and person. We found the hospital parking garage (services were being held in the chapel) but discovered we were locked out of access and had to give up and drive out into downtown traffic and find something else to do.
We found the Buena Vista Cafe, overlooking the Aquatic Park and the cable car stop, and had bacon and eggs and good company (a young couple who communicated through sign language and their three-month old baby).
We bought Pat a cheap fleece (they are still a bargain) to hold off the cold wind and walked out onto the dock at the Maritime Museum to watch the preliminary race for the America's Cup. Our timing was perfect, though the "race" was not a race as only one boat was running the course due to an accident a few weeks ago which wrecked one boat and killed a crew member. The race was supposed to be an elimination heat, a warm-up for the real deal in September.
America's Cup challenger running the course off Aquatic Park |
We met an interesting couple from Tampa Florida, that have traveled the world to see every America's Cup race in recent memory, only to get here and find that due to the accident and the extreme expense of putting teams together they won't see any real competition during their stay.
There are a lot of ticked off businesses and people in San Francisco because of the problems with the races. Simply put, even before the tragic accident a few weeks ago, about half the normal number of teams were competing. To compete used to cost sponsors about $150 million. This year's teams, because of the boat design chosen, are paying in the neighborhood of $500 million. Yep, that's a half BILLION dollars. Larry Ellison of Oracle is the host team, and while he can afford it, not everyone can or thinks it is worth that.
We had our brief look at the big time race, and then went back to spend a great hour at the San Francisco Maritime Visitor Center. It is a National Park Historical Site, and tells the fascinating story of how San Francisco developed along the bay.
Rev. Jeff Cheifetz and son's self portrait |
The gallery was crowded for his first San Francisco reception |
We walked down from Russian Hill to the parking lot ($33 for five hours) and drove along the waterfront in bumper-to-bumper traffic to come back across the Bay Bridge. We stopped off at the Oakland waterfront for dinner at Quinn's Lighthouse (yep, you can find it on the Internet). Crabcakes, fried chicken, salad and fries and a Sangria and a Guinness and the home to the boat.
All in all, a very full day. I may sleep in tomorrow.
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