On March 19th, we celebrated our tenth anniversary. Ok, we didn’t actually. Poor Lastech caught an evil cold, so we postponed it. I didn’t mind and it wouldn’t have been a celebration if he wasn’t feeling well. As a result, we went out last Thursday. We divided our celebration into two parts and this was the first day.
We weren’t planning much for that day, but we had an ice chest with food and went out to grill some of our favorites. We originally planned on going to a lovely spot on the Marin Headlands, but it was closed for renovation. Instead, we explored the headlands for a while, clouds and bird watching before returning to The City to do our grilling at Baker Beach. We grilled carne asada, zucchini, mushrooms and a few bratwurst. We made tacos and had a very pleasant time.
We then took a trip to the arboretum to see what wildflowers might be blooming as it’s that time of year. It was lovely and we found azaleas, ferns and wisteria blooming. We also came across an old friend. 🙂
Yes, it was our old friend the hawk. We also watched a young couple walking around the arboretum. Both were so intent on their phones that they never saw the hawk. I don’t mind technology, but I would never want to be so unaware of the beauty that surrounds me. To be so close to a hawk is not a moment to be wasted. I’m simply amazed that it has happened so many times now.
The next day we went hiking on Angel Island and that will be the next post.
Lastech managed to take a couple of pics from the pier and at the Embarcadero. They weren’t taken on the same day, but they all occurred after the storms that have been blowing through.
Morning glowBay Bridge
We have had lots of rain, small hail, thunder and lightning. The pointy eared people were not amused, but they only hid during the hailstorm. They didn’t hide for long at all. That’s evidence (to me) that the Feliway is working.
You might remember the Wave Organ, this acoustic sculpture at the end of a jetty near the San Francisco Yacht Club. We had visited before, but our timing always seemed to coincide with the tide going out. This time, we took advantage of the king tide and went back to listen for a bit.
The organ pipes are made of pvc and cement. In the 1940s, when San Francisco’s cemeteries were moved to the suburb of Colma, unclaimed headstones and monuments were reused in various places from Golden Gate Park to this location. This is how the organ sculpture was created, with some of that carved granite and marble.
The Wave Organ with Alcatraz in the background. Photo by Lastech
A visitor listening at one of the pipes
Two of the organ pipes
More pipes
The dark squares visible in the recess are more pipes
While the curving pipes reminded us of the “Yellow Submarine”, the waves lapping from below actually sound like a chorus of gurgles and squeaks, even occasionally like a wine bottle being uncorked.
Well, no. This IS San Francisco and the home of the Maltese Falcon, but not this time.
We went to the Japanese Tea Garden to soak up a bit of Zen. Instead, the main pond had been drained for maintenance. Bummer. Still, we decided to walk around it to see what might be blooming. Then we found this:
Red shouldered hawk
This is not the same bird that we saw across the street at the Arboretum. I meant to take only a couple of pics, but it turned into a regular photo shoot. The birdie was working it for the camera.
From the tree, the hawk dove down to catch a crawdadWowOm nom nom nomAfter eating, the hawk flew over to sit on a lantern and modeled for usLooking coyThis is my good side!
I think I took about 90 pics. These were the best. I’m still in awe.
Here’s a vid that Lastech took with his new phone. The sound is awful, but I’m too impatient to edit it out for now, so hit the mute button. 🙂 We’ll get better at this. We just need practice.
Yesterday we ran off to the park to test Lastech’s new phone as we wanted to see how well the navigation worked. We decided to visit the Arboretum in the hope that there might be some wildlife in addition to the magnolias that were blooming.
Magnolia
We rounded a corner to find 3 other people staring at a tree. This is why.
HawkCloseup of the hawk
I found it amazing that several people walked by and never even wondered (or noticed) what we were all looking at. The hawk was sitting in a tree next to the walkway. It was only about 7 feet off the ground.
Several months ago Lastech and I were invited to go to Angel Island. While there, we took the tram tour. We did that as we had no opportunity to hike the trails at the time. My photos are limited as a result. I’ve been saving the last few as they are mostly of the the Immigration Center exterior but they are meaningful to me. In 2010, President Obama declared January 21st as National Angel Island Day.
The barracks were cramped and afforded no privacy
I’ve spent my life surrounded by immigrants. Lastech is an immigrant and most of my friends are immigrants as well. One of my grandfathers came through Ellis Island. Sadly, unlike beautiful Ellis Island, Angel Island was built as a detention camp. The barracks were cramped and afforded little in the way of privacy and conditions there were deplorable. It was built to enforce the Chinese Exclusionary act of 1882. Economic fears and racial prejudice were the reason for act. From the proclamation (above link):
Unlike immigrants who marveled at the Statue of Liberty upon arrival at Ellis Island, those who came to Angel Island were greeted by an intake facility that was sometimes called the “Guardian of the Western Gate.” Racially prejudiced immigration laws of the time subjected many to rigorous exams and interrogations, as well as detention in crowded, unsanitary barracks. Some expressed themselves by carving poetry and inscriptions into the walls in their native language — from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean to Russian, German, and Urdu. These etchings remain on Angel Island today as poignant reminders of the immigrant experience and an unjust time in our history.
The station was abandoned after WWII and scheduled for demolition. In 1970, a park ranger named Alexander Weiss was exploring when he came across Chinese characters carved into the walls. It was the poetry. Due to his efforts and those of others, legislation was passed to preserve the poetry. You can read more about the station history here.
This poem and many others were found carved into the walls of the barracks
This is a translation of one of the poems
There are tens of thousands of poems on these walls
They are all cries of suffering and sadness
The day I am rid of this prison and become successful
I must remember that this chapter once existed
I must be frugal in my dailyneeds
Needless extravagance usually leads to ruin
All my compatriots should remember China
Once you have made some small gains,
you should return home early.
Written by one from Heungshan
There is writing and poetry from other languages and cultures as well.
Now here are some of our pics. We intend to go back when we can hike to the center and visit the museum.
Mule barnImmigration barracksThe old fog bellAnother view of the station barracks
The old hospital. It is currently undergoing renovation and isn’t due to reopen until sometime next year.The island is full of deer
If you want to see our other posts about our Angel Island trip, you can find them here.
The Sunday before Christmas, Lastech and I braved the unruly masses and went grocery shopping. Once we got home, and put away our supplies, Lastech told me to get ready to go out again and to grab the camera. The next thing I knew we were headed across the Bay Bridge.
He wound up taking me to Tilden Park to ride the steam trains. Redwood Valley Railway was established in 1952. It uses a small scale steam engine that runs on 15 inch track. The track is a bit over a mile in length and winds around through redwood trees that were planted there back in the 50s.
Naturally, I just had to ride the train. 🙂 I felt like a little kid again. Here are a few of my pics. Forgive the quality. The lighting was bad as it was late in the day.
#7 getting ready to take another load adventurers around the trackWe sat in one of the open cars. The Kids in the car ahead of us were excitedThe back half of the train had covered cars and a cabooseOff we go
Yep, there was even a tunnel
The ride was over too soon. The next time we go, we’ll leave home sooner so that we can ride it more than once. In addition, there’s an even smaller gauge steam train adjacent to this one. It had just made its final run when we got there, so that ride will have to wait.
On our way back out, we made a point of stopping by the roundhouse where they work on the different engines.
At the end of October, I posted about our trip to Angel Island. I only posted the fog and harbor pics from that trip.
Now I’m going to share another batch of photos. While we were there, we took the tram circuit around the island. While it was frustrating because I wanted to step out and explore, it was also good since we could see just where we wanted to go when we go back. And we certainly will go back at some point.
