Travel and hikes

October 1, 2014

Old coot blues: fat lip and foul hiss

A taciturn cypher like Lee Marvin or Jean Gabin, ‘Scu romps through the apartment like an early 70’s Pontiac with a big inch motor and skinny tires, with lots of noise and little traction. Skid-skid-skid-BAM!
And no brakes to speak of. Even the other two are just spectators, turning to us just to make sure we saw it too. Entertaining? You bet.
Yeah, but he’s dangerous all right. Tito’s found out more than once that trying to wrap a paw around Titanescu’s shoulders and trying to lick him forcefully results in a quick smack down, jiu-jitsu-like, with the old cat towering over him. There’s no viciousness though, just a quick throw down and they move on.
But even when he tries to snuggle up to the humans, the magnificent bastard is full of peril.
Partly because he likes to stretch and his claws come out as a result, Wolverine-like.

So I was getting texts at work last Sunday from Rhuda-an, lurid descriptions about severe pain on one side of her face. Talking about a possible trip to the Emergency Room, even. Something about a fat lip following a puncture.
One thing about Titanescu enjoying naps on his humans is that he sometimes will accidentally stick a claw in tender flesh. Another thing is that… Well, he’s a bit nasty. I guess that’s why Tito tries to bathe him occasionally, and he deserves mucho praise for his hygienic efforts.
Because frankly, there is no way I would ever try and bathe the Ancient One: I need my fingers and I only have one face. He could alter the course of my existence in one swipe. People just have no idea, none, about how strong he is.
But. he also is not the daintiest cat, very far from it. So when that claw went into her lip on what we guess must have been Saturday or possibly Friday, she made the oh-so-sorry mistake of waiting for it to hurt before deploying Peroxide and Neosporin.

What do I tell people at work when they ask how was my weekend? Oh, I watched a movie, pretty sure it was “Apocalypse Now”, but I think it had Edward Scissorhands in it.

Uh-huh… Yeah.

Rudha-an here. After seeing a doc and getting a scrip for an antiobiotic, my face and lip are slowly returning to normal.

I have been trying to sort some pics from our last walk in the rain and I finally got it done. Here they are. We played around with different settings on our phone (Samsung S3), which will explain why there are two pics of the bridge, etc.

From the pier, we went over to Fort Point to see the Bridge. The sun was beginning to break through the clouds.

Another view of the skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-an

The Bridge in B & W with only the reds and yellows coming through by Rudha-an

Another view of the skyline in blues this time by Lastech

From Fort Point we wandered over to Crissy Field.

Alcatraz (right) and Angel Island (left) by Lastech

Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge by Rudha-an

August 24, 2014August 24, 2014

Sunrise pics and an earthquake report

Hello world. We survived the earthquake just fine here in San Francisco. The epicenter was rather close though as it was only about 40 miles NNE of us. While we did fine, many in Napa are now picking up the pieces. There was a tremendous amount of damage.

Now for some sunrise pics taken by Lastech.

July 27, 2014

Cock up at the park

Given the construction, we avoid leaving the kitties alone when the workers are doing their thing. Instead, we left very early and went to the park at sunrise. The last time we were there, we got to watch ducks, geese and robins. This time, it was very quiet.

Not a cloud in the sky as Karl The Fog was on a short vacaion. Photo by Lastech

Even with no clouds, the colors were pretty

Since a couple of ducks were the only wildlife we found at Stow Lake, we wandered off to another lake for a walk.

It had been a very quiet morning, all things considered. While slighty disappointed that we didn’t see more wildlife, we were very happy with the sunrise and eucalyptus and lack of other humans. In other words, it was peaceful. It didn’t last. Our peace and quiet was abruptly shattered.

We headed off around the next curve in the trail and came face to face with the rare and elusive Golden Gate Bawk-Bawk.

Here you see them investigating the noms that some human left for them — Here you can see them investigating the noms that some human left for them

This Bawk-Bawk has paused long enough to pose for me — This Bawk-Bawk stopped long enough to pose for me

Abandoning the noms left by humans, they can be seen scratching in the grass

Our very quiet morning turned into a rare event and will be much remembered. As we left, the Bawk-Bawks were safely roosting in the nearby shrubbery.

July 11, 2014

Birdies in the afternoon

My last post was from Stow Lake at dawn. This time we went in the late afternoon, before the fog rolled back in. The geese posed nicely and the water was reflections were pretty.

Blue sky with wisps of fog over Stow Lake

We paused to sit at a table and enjoy a cup of coffee. We had a visitor who sat at the other end of the table watching.

After our coffee we went for a walk around the lake.

Lady ducky showing off her feets and checking to see if we had noms.

Another pretty female duck with a Brewer's Blackbird lurking behind — Another pretty female duck with a Brewer’s Blackbird lurking behind

And here is my ultimate goal. In my last post I had a pic of a young girl ducky who was molting. I had taken pics of her and her siblings, but that was the only one that came out clear. I got lucky and got a cute pic of all three together.

July 9, 2014

Birdies at dawn

We went to Stow Lake at dawn to see what critters were lurking in the fog. It’s very peaceful, but not exactly quiet. The birds were noisy.

No boaters on the lake this early

The Chinese Pavillion and mist on the water

Hummingbird

Flappity flappity

Steller’s Jay and mate

American Robin

Robin with noms

Feed meh!

This little ducky is almost a big girl now. She’s molting.

And now for the bonus pic from Lastech. This was also taken at dawn, so it fits the theme. 🙂

Black Crowned Night Heron hunting for fishy noms

July 1, 2014

Duck, duck, goose, goose, goose!

Here are just a few ducks and geese I’ve found at Golden Gate Park. 🙂

June 27, 2014June 28, 2014

Spellbinding

The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever ~Jacques Cousteau~

Once in a while I like to take a stroll in the cold sea water. Earlier today, the water at Baker beach was a nice warm 59 degrees and the air temperature, a balmy 67. Karl The Fog was draping the Golden Gate Bridge in a lovely shade of gray. To put it bluntly, it was a very beautiful time by the shore.

Only a wee bit of the Golden Gate Bridge is visible

I thought the weather was great and I wore a short sleeved t-shirt. However, it was cool enough that you could tell the tourists from the locals.

I watched a seagull wading in the surf and then flapping away.

Then my phone went off. I usually turn it off when I’m out, but I forgot. Then I realized it was Lastech who was watching from the parking lot up above. I answered to hear him giving me a “fins in the water” alert. The bottlenose dolphins were out romping.

It was amazing to watch them. I wish I had been faster with the camera, but I did better than the last time. 🙂

Now for some bonus pics. We were on our way home and we stopped at a red light. We were right next to the freeway. I saw movement to my right and saw a hawk land on the ground just on the other side of the chain link fence. It was less than ten feet away.

To be honest, I never know what I’m going to see when we go out. I’m always amazed. 🙂

June 26, 2014

Angel Island: East Garrison and more

Back in April, I made a post about the Immigration Station on Angel Island. Now it’s time for pics of the rest of the island. I didn’t plan on taking this long to get around to it, but it’s finally done. Photos from our anniversary trip to the West Garrison (Camp Reynolds) can be found here.

After exploring the Immigration Station, we continued on around the island on the perimeter road. We didn’t explore the East Garrison quite as much as we wanted. We stayed up near the road due to time constraints. We’ll go back one day and spend more time exploring. Since there’s not that much to say I’ll let the pics speak for themselves.

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April 24, 2014

Numbered, Weighed, Divided: The Angel Island Immigration Station

It’s impossible to explore the whole of Angel Island in one trip as the various sites like Camp Reynolds, Fort McDowell and the Immigration Station require time and study. For our anniversary, we explored Camp Reynolds. This time, we went to the Immigration Station and visited the museum. We also managed to hike all the way around the island via Perimeter Road, but I’ll post those pics later.

This is what the Immigration Station looked like before. In the foreground are the docks and the administration buildings. They are gone now. The barracks, which house the museum can be seen just behind the admin building on the left. — The Immigration Station in older times: the pier and the administration building are in the foreground. Both gone now but the barracks, now the museum, can be seen just behind the admin building on the left. Perimeter road, which rims the island is visible above the station.

Continue reading “Numbered, Weighed, Divided: The Angel Island Immigration Station”

April 4, 2014April 4, 2014

Anniversary adventures continued: a return to Angel Island

I have posted the first part of our tenth anniversary adventure here and now it’s time for the rest of the adventure. Ever since our first trip to the island we’ve wanted to go back to hike. This time, rather than try to hike around the entire island (about 5 miles), we chose a section and explored. We took time to really see the area we chose rather than just hike past it.

On our first trip to the island we went as guests on a company picnic. It was our first time and we loved it. Karl The Fog was around for most of that trip. It was beautiful and it made the island feel peaceful and very secluded. This past week, however, the ferry trip out was beautiful and clear. We passed close to Alcatraz and pulled into Ayala Cove. From the cove, we followed the trail south and west to Camp Reynolds.

Along the way we saw lots of butterflies on the beautiful purple spiky flowers of the ‘Pride of Madeira” (echium candicans) which were blooming everywhere. The views from the perimeter road were stunning. We could see Belvedere, Tiburon, Richardson Bay, The Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge.

On the way, we passed the old hospital. It’s located on the road above Camp Reynolds. It was kept away from the camp so as to lessen the fear among the military men.

Once we reached Camp Reynolds we went exploring. The camp was built back in the 1860s and the bake house is still used for educational purposes. Down by the shore near the brick building, we had our lunch and enjoyed the scenery. I don’t know exactly what the brick building was used for, but it’s pretty and there are many century plants to found next to it. The old bloom stalks loomed over us. From our lunch site next to the ruins of the old wharf, we could watch the ships entering the bay beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

After a leisurely lunch, we hiked back up to the perimeter road and head south toward Battery Ledyard. The views of The City skyline and the bay were stunning. We spent a while there just enjoying the scenery. We decided not to hike further as we didn’t want to rush back to the return ferry on time. We preferred to take our time and just enjoy the day.

From Battery Ledyard, we followed the perimeter road back to Ayala Cove. Since the ferry wasn’t due for a while, we went and found a nice spot in the shade and I got to soak my feet in the cove and watch the crows. It was a beautiful ending to a wonderful day. I love sharing the view with Lastech and hope to share many more.

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There are no photos of the ferry trip back to The City. A very cold wind picked up and the water was rough. While we sat outside on the deck, I wasn’t going to try to stand up for photos. 🙂

P.S. While there we came across this cairn made of sea-scoured bricks. A critter (no dogs there) then came along and left their own mark. I call it…

Photos from our first trip can be seen here, here and here.