How beautiful is Embarcadero? I rode to the Embarcadero Y and back this afternoon. I had to tangle with cars once in a while, but in general it was just amazing to be out on this beautiful, sunny, day, biking on a long stretch alongside the sparkling bay, the bridge, the big arrow and bow pointing into the ground… oh wait, that’s art, sculpture, etc.
Downloaded a huge batch of photos from my camera dating back to last week. The above is the Palace of Fine Arts, which may be self-evident to most people. I had to rest my camera on the fence around the pond to make sure it didn’t get in the frame. I’m glad it’s getting renovated, but while trolling Craigslist’s master gardener discussion group a year or so ago, I read a bitterpost from a gardener that they were tapped for their expertise, for free, when the surrounding neighborhood is dripping in diamonds.
Blossoms
Anyways, the blossoms are amazing around Palace of Fine Arts. And, like today, biking home, I could really smell the plum blossoms, jasmine, and other unrecognized blossoms. Is it weird that blossoms are coming out in February? How could I have missed basic season demarcations, having lived in the Bay Area all my life? Yes, at age 34 it now seems strange that I never thought it was strange. But for a large part of my life I thought spring was Jan-March. I blame a very confusing season-wheel in kindergarten.
Neighborhoodiness
There’s an intersection, Powell and Francisco, in the Tel-Hi hood (I love using that nickname) that feels really small community. Kids were playing cement hockey in the schoolyard, everyone was walking around on the sidewalks or crossing the street, shopping, hanging at a café (Café Francisco). It could have been out of Scarry’s, BusyTown.
Favorite Houses
We all have a favorite building or house in our neighborhood, that we fantasize we will live in at one point in our life, or if we got the lottery we would remodel, or heck, we just track it in a creepy stalking way. Well I’ll try to grab a photo of mine. If you have one, please post a description!