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End of Summer
I’ve had a fun summer, and it’s kind of depressing, but time to acknowledge that it’s over. I was away for almost every weekend, except one or two, and those were full of friends or relatives visiting. The weather has turned south and the water near my house at Aquatic Park is near freezing. I…
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Preparing for Road Trip
It’s been my unofficial goal to be absent every weekend this summer. So, for Labor Day, I’m driving to San Diego for a week. My preparations: Drop car off at mechanic. It’s like asking for bad news. He calls, $1200 work done on car. I check, and it’s all kosher. Shit. Buy new music for…
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North Beach
I’ve been gone for so many weekends that I think my paperboy has given up on me. Let’s just say- I’m paying for the papers, but not getting them. Each time I come back home I recognize things I really like. The sound of foghorns during the day, when it’s bright and sunny out (the…
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Camping
We spent 2 afternoons at the swimming hole- second afternoon was a little windy but first day was amazing, lounging in the tubes, swimming around. Something about this part of the river, there was a current one direction, and wind the other, making it a kind of eddy. One side was deep and full of…
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Driving in the Bay Area
I was going to write a post about kayaking, which I did this weekend for about 20 minutes, atop a huge kelp bed in the Monterey Bay. But, well, there’s not much to say that’s not in the photo above- of my 2-year-old nephew Tilden looking fondly at his dad & brother kayaking off of…
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Girl Weekend
This Thursday night begins… Girl Weekend! I was invited by one of my sisters to attend the conference of girls in our family up in Seattle. It’s going to be fun. Unfortunately one or two can’t make it, but we’ll do the best with our small numbers. I have a few surprises in store. The…
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Visiting Minnesota-Style
My aunt and uncle from Minnesota just visited, and it reminded me of childhood visits from my other Midwestern extended family and their unique visitor behaviors. Sit around drinking coffee for hours at the kitchen table. This begins right when you wake up. I forgot about the endless pot and kept reminding myself it was…
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Riding the Train
My first rides with CalTrain were from San Jose/Diridon to Palo Alto, about 20 minutes. I was on a year break from college due to financial issues, and attending San Jose State and Stanford night classes. I had a scam- I’d board at San Jose, and slowly travel up the train, walking, until I reached…
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Biking in the City
First bike ride in a month 2 days ago- a quick jog to the gym- and wow, was I skittish. There’s this (lack of) personal space that you build up over time. When you take a vacation, you’re back to zero again. On Bay Street, a car whizzed by me and I almost drove into…
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Things I Love About SF
Well, first off, not the eau de trash that is wafting in my window from the sewers… on a hot day not the ideal place to live. As I flew to Baltimore then drove back, I had a lot of time to think about the things I like about this fair city. – Lots of…