With the Indian Summer drawing to a close, Allegra and I opted to strap on our hiking boots / flip-flops, walk out the back door, and head for the summit of Twin Peaks. One of those little to-dos that has been on my list since I arrived, we could have not have chosen a better day to do it – music from the Bluegrass festival floating up through the trees and the golden light flirting with us through the trees of Mt Sutro Open Space Preserve … a place that you can actually mountain bike inside the city limits!
Sutro Tower basks in the sunshine (for once)The view down to downtownSutro catches the last of the rays
The view from the Dipsea trail down to the oceanAllegra keeping up a good paceThe trees aglow in the sunlightNew shoes!Fetching colour schemes… and alas another farewell to Abe!
A third hike to Alamere Falls, and still worth it. A lovely little hop from the city, and you find yourself walking along the coast with views as far as the city and Point Reyes. Naturally, the jewel in the crown are the falls that cascade down to the beach; the weather has been a bit dry of late so they were not quite as plump as they have been – but still a nice treat from a busy week.
No filter or editing at all, honest.Pleasing organisation. Todd on the left, Jos in the middle, and Allegra on the right.Allegra gives Jos a friendly scratch on the back of the head.The drive home.
I haven’t ever managed to ride 100 miles in a single day, so the prospect of ticking off this little challenge with the support crews, burritos and ice cream that the Marin Century offers was not a prospect that I could turn down. While the Tour de Cure was significantly shorter, I argue it was actually the harder ride, with much steeper and more sustained climbing and a wider variety of terrain. Still, a lovely chance to blast up and down the coast and reconnoitre some new roads!
I never take anywhere near enough photos.Just before the halfway point.The finish line!
Point Reyes has the strange ability to make me feel like I am ‘home’ – there is something deeply primal about it, and in a vaguely spiritual way reminds me of the East Angle coast, Wales and Scotland. It’s a little gem of solitude, just an hour north of the city, and here are a few portraits of it while it’s in a mildly grumpy mood.
Lauryn and I swapped one California city for another over Thanksgiving, and headed down to LA to celebrate with her family in a marginally warmer climate. I was delighted to discover that the Eames’ Case Study House No. 8 was in the neighbourhood, so we headed over before the lunch was finished. In the past, the grounds of the house were open for anyone to just romp around. Sadly, no longer – they were advertised as ‘closed for the holidays’. That didn’t stop a pair of intrepid mid-century adventurers though – we jumped the gate and had the place to ourselves, autumnal sun pouring through the trees.
Situated amid a grove of Eucalyptus trees, and in a thoroughly lived-in state, you could not help yourself imagining living life behind the windows, amid classic pieces of modern furniture (that you designed yourself) and artefacts gathered from a lifetime travelling the world. Rather inspirational.
A lovely balance of natural and man-made geometry. I could not help but think of my previous trips to Japan; no doubt a lot of influence came from the East.Lauryn gets some interior design tips“I’ll take it!”
The back of the house, brightened with some splashes of colourReflecting the surroundingsThe rear elevationIntersectionsRather a nice experience, all in all. It makes me realise that while LA is a suburban hellhole compared to San Francisco, it reaches higher heights with regards architectural quality. This makes little sense to me, given my adopted home city’s reputation for design and innovation.Goodbye for now.
It wasn’t only all about mid-century architecture, we also had a mini tour of the city, taking in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by Frank Gehry. While not situated as tantalisingly as the Bilbao prototype, and with ideas which initially seem derivative, the surfaces sang in the Californian sunshine. Before I had seen it with my own eyes, I was a little sceptical, but it worked better than I expected, and certainly provides a focal point for downtown and the orchestras contained within.
Sunlight screams out the geometry… but it’s in the shadows that the real drama lies.
Day of the Dead is the Mexican holiday that brings people together to remember those that have passed away. Rather more celebratory and stylish in nature than our own Halloween, it is a firm fixture on San Francisco’s calendar; particularly in the southern Mission district, traditionally home to San Francisco’s Latino population.
A procession makes its way through the streets of the neighbourhood, and people go to great lengths to get dressed up, paint their faces and make elaborate shrines; either mobile or immobile. It’s a sight to behold: you can really see where Tim Burton gets his inspiration from for his animated films.
As I spend time in this city, it’s nice to discover local events that feel really ancient. This is a ‘new’ city with many transient residents, and it made me realise how much I miss the festivals or events that happen in Europe or Asia that have been happening since time immemorial; things like Guy Fawkes night, where it is not even a question if you participate – it’s woven into the fabric of the country.
I missed Day of the Dead when I was in Mexico by a few weeks, back in 2004, so I was really pleased to see it this time round. Next year I dress up!
Dancers perform at the four intersections of the route; Mayan culture fusing with western religion before your very eyes.Flamboyant dancers.
An extraordinarily well art-directed event, without any art direction.Vantage points
Some people slightly less entertained – but the event went off peacefully.Crowds of people with their own models followed behind.Local celebritiesThe destination on the route is in Garfield Park, with the Festival of Altars. People spend the day setting up little shrines to loved ones, family members, or even pets.
Americans take their weekends very seriously – far more so than us lazy Europeans, who have lengthy holidays allotted to us. One of the local get-aways is to Russian River, an hour or two north of the Bay and nestled in some of the finest hills (and vineyards) in the country. Lauryn and I opted, for our first weekend away, to find a guest house in the charming town of Guerneville. A town that later revealed itself as the destination for outdoorsy gay community of San Francisco; the Rainbow Cattle Company bar name should have given it away! (www.queersteer.com)
Still, a nice weekend away from the city, spent hiking, drinking and eating good food. I shall no doubt be back.
View across the hills to the Korbel wine plantations (ironically, the codename for my final project at Dell – you can’t escape!)Said hills. Very purdy.Depth of field … I am not finding myself playing with my SLR as much these days … but it is fun when I do.Signs of FallThe sun, cascading through the treesDawn. Ish.
I have been driving past this strange building on the 101 for almost a year now, on the way to mountain biking in Marin, or other outdoorsy activities. I suspected it was a Mosque (unlikely though), a stadium, or perhaps some sort of edifice to Scientology. But I was wrong; in fact, it’s the Marin County Civic Center, and the final commission from Frank Lloyd Wright; at the time aged 90.
Composed of sets of circles, I am reminded of an enormous Mexican hacienda landed from space, completed with Arabic detailing. I can’t help but imagine that this is what municipal buildings are like in Brazilia and other emergent South American nations. In short, the design left me a bit confused, and slightly put-off by the 2D-like projection of the shapes on the side of the building.
What was more of a pleasure was peering through the windows to the still-working offices and meeting rooms. Spaces filled with mid-century furniture and desks still unadorned with computers, this place is a bit of a time-warp. While grubby and a bit worn out, I would still love to see the place when properly open to the public.
Details work well from a medium distance, but seem a little tacked together.Lauryn, sneaking past the security cordon to go check out the offices.I found the forms more pleasing on the internal structuresView from one of the landscaped hills that surround the building.The quasi-religious spire at the southern end of the complexPleasing detailsOrigami foldsGeometric detailsCircles repeated everywhere
My weekend of pure Americana continued, when we stumbled upon the annual Pinball Expo at the Marin County Civic Center. There was obviously no choice – we had to go.
Bringing together machines from over fifty years, a one-time charge at the door allowed us to play on machines dating as far back as the 1950s, right up to the present day. It’s astonishing just how little the concept of the machines has changed; a pair (or perhaps a couple more) of flippers, a bunch of balls launched at unlikely, noisy obstacles. More than a few times, I got sucked into a cabinet, attempting to better my score, and I must say that some of the old machines were still a hoot to play. I guess this was the birth of the video game?
A hall full of machines … it felt like stepping into one of those documentaries along the lines of Air Guitar Nation, or King of Kong. And yes, the people (i.e.: men) were just as fascinating.
Machines followed a huge range of themes, from the frankly racist …… to the simply racy.A delight of the electric age.Reflecting the culture of their dayDrawing the punters inAt the back of the hall, and on loan from the local pinball museum (yes, that exists), was a fully-transparent machine. It was fascinating to see all the gears and electro-mechanical parts whizzing away – it’s amazing that they could extract logic from this collection of wires.I think I need one of these in my houseDon’t tell my Dad about pinball machines – he would take over the house!
