Birthday Weekend

An unusual three days distinguished by monsoonal moisture and the return of MK Ultra.

1.

Saturday 26 July 2014

Strolling the sunny streets of Berkeley, 

attending to a few matters in a carefree manner

There's a crack in everything

that's how the light gets in

Tee hee, Naked Ladies

everyone is fond of them

an aroma dainty and narcotic

Sidewalk culture

it's free for the taking

Flowers new to me

for the cognoscenti of color

2.

Sunday 27 July 2014

The Berkeley Kite Festival

Kite fest!

A favorite moment for me 

crossing the nature preserve

people flowing in on foot

first sighting of the kites

Hmmmm... he's new to the festival

America's global reach

 Wrangler rhymes with angler

the bush league and the Bay

easy to launch a kite in wind so constant

It's all happening,

I scored a kobe beef hamburger

from an "Apps" outfit

they mistook me for a likely sucker

Look, a frog girl showed up

Can a frog man be far behind?

Hail to the magnificent cephalopods

Maybe it's time to hit the old dusty trail

Time to roll up the circus wagons

Approaching the pedestrian bridge,

a breath-taking cloud stream

over this recently man-made hill

3.

Monday 28 July 2014

Splendid day on the San Francisco Bay

Set sail for my usual dockside haunts

The monsoonal clouds reached

extravagant expressive beauty

in mid-Bay

Nature records its expressions 

through human beings,

never forever, always changing

Observing the coastal fog

Mount Tam under wraps

These boats seem to follow you around the room

And a round room it be

a panorama 

of the National Historic Maritime Park

 Roundness suits the subconscious mind

and pleases the soul

Time to dive down this deco hatchway

Build me a boat

that can carry two

and both shall row

The woods are filled with wardens

-Jack Kerouac

A moment's meditation

in a wind-sheltered spot,

the respiration of the sea

Some manly amusements,

Pleasures fleeting and slight

before my appointment with the oceanic

hi-ho, hi-ho

it's stoned to home I go

All my excursions are circular

ending where they begin

26-28 July 2014

Circling Angel Island

For nautical diehards the Flaneur's here-- a fast tour of the marine meteorology and topography, and the culture of primeval Angel Island and its environs.

Another day on the Bay, vigorous and glorious.

I took a mid-day ferry to Pier 41,

Had lunch out on a windy node of a nearby dock--

sardines, whole wheat seedy bagel with almond butter, 

broccoli, golden bell, and carrots in cherry balsamic vinegar --

the usual. Oh and a Raven's Eye imperial stout

Then I caught the 3:15 summer weekender back

For the same fare you get a cruise to Angel Island

to pick up the day-trippers bound for Oaktown

Alcatraz

I have never set foot there and I never will 

unless it's returned to First Nation people.

A commercial attraction based on human misery it stands

 

Underway

mid-Bay in minutes

The bridge is much closer than it appears in this wide-angle photo.

 Really wild out hear, boat rocking, wind and sea spray,

like riding the "Maid of the Mist" at Niagara Falls

This is where London's The Sea Wolf opens:

A gentleman is returning to SF from Sausalito when the boat sinks

Rescued by the brute Wolf Larsen
only to be shanghaied for a long sea voyage

There's Sausalito 

ant hill that went from square to bohemian and back

Still fun in an kitsch artsy overpriced tourist trap way
the location and the view always astonishing

Mount Tamalpais looks sagely on

San Francisco appears so distant,

wave good-bye

Here's Angel Island facing the Gate

My choice for the most beautiful waters on the Bay

Calmer under the influence of the islands

Around to the harbor

Last year at a picnic table uphill a bit on the right

 as I stood up a deer came bounding downhill toward me
It veered into open space, landing well on the beach below

 bounding off past some young boys

like, wow

There's the marina and the main building on the island.

I left my previous image capture device on a bench there 

It freed me to explore with bothering with photos

Here's where we pull in

The view across the cove-- territories of Marin county

 Showing his daughter how to shuck oysters;

she's avidly interested

I imagine it has looked pretty much like this 

for quite a long time

Always plenty of elbow room on the island
I hiked up along here point last visit

 The farthest point, beyond the sea

San Francisco comes into view

Back into the middle

 Willie Brown fudge-punches Yerba Buena Island

 Adios to Angel Island

Making for home port

 The old Bay bridge disappears

make way for the new

 Everybody's grooving on the water
on a sunny day in July
I savored a fine white peach

 Home again, home again jiggity-jig
last refuge to which a scoundrel clings

 The Secret of the Sea 

Inter-chapter 3

19 July 2014