Library Walk

I had some books due and some I was keen to take a look at, so I headed to the city Friday after lunch.. A librarian at the SF Main branch had recommended I check out the Richmond Branch up near 9th & Geary..

Since my last walk was a success I decided the day was nice enough to walk there.. Oh! but the grade was such that it took me some time!

Exiting the Montgomery BART station, the Hobart Building comes into view:



Daytime Neon.. passing "High Tide Lounge"


Drive-In..


this hill kicked my butt..


First Unitarian Universalist at Gough & Geary.. I totally got confused by this intersection at Gough.. but managed..

It was a straight shot from here to the library.. just a really long uphill walk. I've decided next time I'll take the bus there and then walk home!

The light wasn't ideal for many of the images I wanted to take, so there's very few.. When you see this next one, you'll see what the issue was:


Richmond Branch SF Public Library.. an amazing selection (considering the availability) of Russian Language reading materials.. Including children's book selections.

Once I got to the library I turned around and found I could see our friend Sutro Tower from the steps of the Richmond District Library.. So of course I couldn't end my post here without including it..


..and yes, I did check some books out. I ran into a super nice, helpful young gentleman librarian who helped me find a couple useful books and pointed me in the direction of some other books I could take a look through. I plan to read and work through over the Spring Break. When I return the books hopefully the sun will be at a different angle (time of day at least) so I can try to shoot some photos again..

I managed to run "Map My Walk" during the Geary from Downtown to 9th portion, so I know I walked well over the 4mi. here (for example: to & from home to the BART station back in Berkeley is a half mile each way, and then after the Richmond library I walked to 20th & Geary and back to 16th & Geary for tea before taking the bus back to Market from 17th..)


MAP MY WALK: Geary St. (link to route and elevation w/splits, etc..)

Sutro Walk Adventure

I have an assignment for my Geography class that has me thinking, (unrelated to the assignment) about how our waste gets reclaimed by nature and the land.. You think about sunken ships that become habitat for marine life.. So, I was wondering if someplace like Sutro Baths would be considered a good example of nature overtaking a wreck of architecture, far out near Ocean Beach. I headed out to the city to see if there was anything there I could also use for my project; I got some good shots (and a LOT of walking in) but am unsure if I got the proof I was looking for.

First, the bus dropped me off by the VA (I haven't taken this particular route since 2002 maybe when I tried temping out here.. the commute was always frustratingly long and exhausting, so I didn't stick with it.) Even now I consider it the 'ends of the earth,' so it's hard for me to convince myself to come out here often. However, Ocean Beach is nearby, among other things, that makes it satisfying.

There was a side trip to the Legion of Honor to check out the Pierre Bonnard exhibit and "The World in a Book"..(Oh Nürnberg! They had some Albrecht Dürer woodcuts which was nice to see..)Oh, but the key reason to come out was to walk the trails and visit the ruins and the beach..


here some lichen grows on steps..


many signs posted warning people to not venture beyond these fenced off areas due to erosion..


Sutro Ruins..

The only swimming pool action here is by ducks and seabirds.



A bit of red algae blooming in reclaimed pools of Sutro Baths.


Ocean Beach was mostly deserted because of the rain.. but some people and their dogs took the time for a wet game of fetch..


Finally here you can see Sutro TV Tower almost completely cloaked in the fog.. the legs of the tower just peeking out. While the rain wasn't overly heavy, it was constant.

I mapped the walk (via Geary for the most part) from near the Great Highway to Market (about 6.5 miles) but didn't take many pictures after leaving Ocean Beach.. My cel was practically dead.. (I took too many photos, so I couldn't run "map my walk" at the same time,) You can see the entire set from Friday's walk HERE.

Sunny Summer In Berkeley

On my walk back from a meeting early afternoon in North Berkeley.. I spotted this lovely sight:


Vine Street, West towards the Bay.. Beautiful Berkeley.

nothing

I have nothing to blog about lately.. I don't go anywhere, and when I do, it's not that amazing or interesting.. or not anything that I can post pix of.. hmmm. That makes it sound much more fascinating than it is. *evil grin* Ah,well..

If I ever get around to getting out there on my bike I may find something postable but I'm up to my knees in Math homework and history.. and I got a horrible headache from hitting my head on the windowsill in the house yesterday.. I'm keeping track, as if I suddenly black out we'll know why, right? The point is, I feel awful & not in the mood.

I've been volunteering when I can.. I purposely have been trying to cut back because I'm torn between being a pest, a permanent fixture, or running out of happiness credit. No, I don't know what that means either. But I do know I don't want people to be sick of seeing my ugly mug every morning. I keep thinking I'll do a post about the stuff I come across in my project(s) but then I think.. I don't work there, so it wouldn't be anything legitimate. Best to leave it alone for now. ;)

I find lately I miss my long walks more and more.. I miss the annual "Great LA Walk" our friend Mike puts on every year. I was thinking when the Spring session is over I'll have more time to go 'hiking' and maybe head up into the hills, or bus to Tilden Park or west to the Berkeley Marina and walk back.

The weather has gotten so lovely, the bike is desperate to be utilized. One of the things Berkeley is fortunate to have is the Bike Station- sort of a bike valet.. I was advised by a clerk there that BART pays for the space, probably to encourage commuting.. Since my U-Lock got busted last Fall I haven't bothered replacing it. If you leave your bike parked in the Bike Station, you don't need your U-Lock. Pretty neat huh?

I find I also miss the LA bike meander.. A friend of mine would have downtown LA neighbor/friends gather outside his loft in the Arts District on Sundays and the half dozen or so of us (whoever showed up) would ride around, meandering through the streets of LA/Boyle Heights and beyond. I was always at the back of the pack but I always had fun. It was definitely not one of those intense rides you see around the city. Just mellow.. If you can't pay attention to traffic & chat at the same time, you're going too fast.. "It's not a race.. it's a meander.." I'm so freaking out of shape at this point I don't know if I could handle a meander.. but it'd be worth it to find out. =)

Berkeley doesn't have an art walk.. Oakland has something called "First Fridays" but I've not gone. I remember when we first moved back to the Bay Area there were some issues with it, and I stayed away. I'm honestly not crazy about crowds anymore.

If I can get my act together (caught up with life) I'd like to start attending the Poetry Unbound events at Art House again. It's the first Sunday of the month I want to say.. The first 15 minutes is like an open mic and then they have some scheduled poets reading their works. It's pretty laid-back, comfortable and there's a good mix of funny, moving, romantic, emotional stuff being read. I never read my own bad poetry.. (because it's BAD poetry!) ;)

Then there's the whole history thing. I'm taking an online class right now, which makes me think it'll be the last online class I take for a while. As cranky as other people's bad habits make me (showing up late, eating, wandering in & out to use the bathroom) I miss the lecture aspect.

So here was a post about nothing. I guess it doesn't matter as I have no idea how many people actually show up & read this stuff anymore; probably not anyone I know these days! ;). (I realize I'm not writing about the Historic Core of LA. Oh, do I knew that!) I wish I had something to say, to share.. to enlighten, but I don't.. It's not a good time for me right now.. Maybe I should call this "Overwhelmed Pt 2" ..things aren't hard or difficult, just busy: I don't get out much and I miss friendly, familiar faces. Oh, and my head hurts.

Ohlone Greenway Walk!

One of the walks I've been wanting to do is the entire length of the Ohlone Greenway which runs along the BART tracks from north of El Cerrito/ Richmond south to Berkeley.. a few pocket and city parks lie along the way..

Along with the 'challenge' of doing it.. (it's entire length is less than 6miles despite traveling through 4 cities.. it's northern most point located in Richmond) I wanted to see what was to be seen along the way. I started my adventure Thursday morning by BART-ing to El Cerrito Del Norte, where the Safeway provided a clean pitstop & supply pick up (since moving I've not located my Brita water bottle.)

For some of the path the North & South-bound trails are seperate.. but eventually it all becomes one big paved pathway with a small side trail for dogs to run along:


Opened in 2010, Bruce King Memorial Dog Park is named after an El Cerrito maintenance/engineer Manager who passed the year before the park opened.



El Cerrito Community Garden is just one of the gardens I passed on my walk:



Codornices Creek "overpass" near the Albany border:





Nice to know you can get "free air" in Berkeley:



I *heart* the West Berkeley cows that cross along the Greenway near the North Berkeley BART:


Something to be aware of before deciding to do a walk like this:

my timing was very good!

The Ohlone Greenway stops and starts on the opposite side of the North Berkeley BART:


near Delaware Street:


The walk brings you to Ohlone Park on Haste:


Here you'll find places to throw a frisbee, have a picnic, sit in a big sun patch, or have some fun with your dog:


I ended my walk after taking several pix of the Ohlone Park Mural.. which are in this set ..as well as my Mural set..


My route & stats:

about 5.5 miles..

Henry Street

As seen on Monday.. the view walking South on Henry Street..

Blue Sky

contrail piercing through the Berkeley blue sky..

Fenced Poppies

walking up University.. (this is in the former Christmas tree lot)

Berkeley Rose Garden

Thursday early afternoon, I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather to explore the hidden places I never bothered with when we lived in Berkeley before.. I had come across "Live Oak Park" when walking off brunch a month or so back, and of course I missed a turn somewhere and never found it. Instead, I hike up to the Berkeley Rose Garden, which I hadn't visited in forever... not since we lived here before.



Ideally I wanted to get some practice in with the camera.. The Spouse got a new Nikon sometime last year, and I've not used it all that much, since the iPhone seems to be a bit more flexible when it comes to carrying in my pocket, and as you can see, I was able to take a photo of the lovely Bay View:



I didn't pack the larger lens, so the Nikon was pretty much useless for anything like that. I deleted many of my images because I was trying to take a view from the road or the flash was just too much for the macro I was trying to get of the flowers. I'm still not happy with the flower images... and I can't say I'm pleased with how I did on much of anything. The moss covered steps were the most amazing green.. and the fact that not many flowers were in bloom didn't matter.. there were so many layers of green!






this last one is my favorite..

I did attempt to shoot a few roses and you can see the rest of the images HERE

I probably will go back at some point to give it another go, but I've still got other footpaths and green spaces I want to explore. I'm still trying to decide if I have time to take a photography class this summer session or I should just hold out til the Fall for the classes I actually need. I like using the old Nikon but that one isn't working anymore so I'm stuck learning all these new features on the new camera, or my iPhone. Not a big deal, just may take a little time.

The End is Here

stencil graffiti seen on Adeline near Essex (a block from Shattuck)

Had a long walk to our Vet to pick up cat food, on our way I made sure to stop & snap this..

Around the Historic Core

Walking around the neighborhood..

cleaning up the Rosslyn Hotel sign..


This side all done!

7-11 7-11!

opposite Rite-Aid..

future location of a new 7-11 at 5th & Broadway.

and lastly, (but NOT least!) in the Old Bank District..


Old Bank DVD will be headed around the corner..


sometime soon** ("AUGUST") Old Bank DVD will be relocated.. They will be in the same building (San Fernando Bldg @ 4th & Main) but taking over the currently empty former home of MJ Higgins Gallery.

**update: 22 August 2009 After talking to Old Bank DVD it may be late August or early September for the relocation of the store.

YES WE DID!

18.3 miles to the sea?


OK!

It was time for the Great Los Angeles Walk, (technically the 3rd annual Great LA Walk) organized by Franklin Ave's MIke & Maria. The first time it was Wilshire, which we had company so I left them beyond Good Samaritan, then last year, was Pico.. which I managed to get about 12.5 miles of the 16 before giving up and taking the bus to the sea. This year would be different. I've been walking, and despite the recent weight gain, I had started getting in better shape. I figured if nothing else, I could at least beat my old record.. and know when to quit. I would pay attention & listen. I would have fun (I had fun with Pico but towards the end I just didn't have the right mindset).





So what happened?





I got the shoes..

I ordered these for my upcoming trip to WDW, but yeah, the Great LA Walk was perfect timing to test them out. =P


I got on the RedLine..



I got to Union Station & some 150 people were all there!

so many folks they don't all fit in my lens! =)



Eric Lynxweiler of MoNA & neon cruise fame (or "ShainLa's friend" as I like to say) was there to give us some tips & wish us well.



We all headed out.. walking from Union Station, through Olvera Street's El Pueblo, to Cesar Chavez,





passed Chinatown and on toward Sunset,




around Sunset Junction





onto Santa Monica Blvd.


We reached Mile 9 & Barney's Beanery around 1230pm & we all found lunch.


I ended up going along with Will Campbell & folks to Champagne Bakery for sandwiches & salads.




not to mention the yummy pumpkin cookie!






and then met up around 2pm at mile 10, which was the "Beverly Hills" sign where we waited in the park to regroup.



and then onward to the Sea..



er, to Brittania.. =)



there were toasts all around.. (and someone ordered fish & chips).


Then it was time for me to sit, so I wished everyone well, said my thanks & goodbyes and headed to the 704..




Here I had to wait a bit more for the sitting and then finally when I got back home to Main Street.. I treated myself. 18.3 miles??



I can haz cookie now! Thanks everyone for the good time!!! It was great seeing all the friendly faces both familiar & new.. I love meeting new people & a big shout out to everyone on twitter who kept me going, especially "MelanieO" and Will Campbell who was encouraging me all the way! =)


Sometime late Saturday, my legs finally cramped up and I spent most of Sunday trying to rest and recover. Late afternoon had me hobbling around Hawthorne doing some pre-Thanksgiving shopping and treated myself to some L&L (now that's my kind of food!) I'm doing better now.. so.. We ready for the next Great LA Walk?? =) Thanks again Maria & Mike!

HERE is the rest of my flickr photos, as well:

Great LA WALK photo pool

Atwater Village Newbie's set

Will Campbell's set

Scott Lowe's set

ShaInLA's set

Walterrrrr's massive flickr set!


**this post dedicated to BIG CITY ("Eureka") POZ .. =) I know you would have joined me for the walk if you were still here. RIGHT?? *grin*