Patty and I returned home last night from the Bay Area, where we spent six days, partly on WomenSpirit business and partly to visit relatives and friends.
We spent most of our time in Berkeley, San Francisco and Napa, where one of my cousins lives. Patty was displaying her robes, blouses and other clergy vestments at two Berkeley seminaries on a very steep hill just west of the University of California campus. Home to several seminaries, it is known as “Holy Hill.” We spent four nights at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, an Episcopal seminary, and two in the East Bay community of El Cerrito, where two good friends live.
Patty goes to Holy Hill almost every year, and this is the second time I’ve gone in the last few years. If I had to live in California (I’ll never leave Kansas City, of course), I would live in the East Bay, which includes, Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and other municipalities. Much of the East Bay is more affordable than San Francisco, but San Francisco is a relatively short train ride away.
But enough of the commentary…On with the photos!
If you fly into the Oakland airport, one of your first views after getting off the tram that takes you to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station is the Oakland Coliseum, home of the loathsome Raiders…An adjacent roofing supply company is the perfect accompaniment to this eyesore of a stadium.
The sightseeing gets a lot better in Berkeley, home of the University of California. This is looking toward the library.
The majestic clock tower.
South Hall, the oldest building on campus — built in 1873.
A campus pathway that winds down the hill toward downtown Berkeley.
The heart of Berkeley, Shattuck and Cente.
We jump to San Francisco and its broad Market Street, which cuts southwest from The Embarcadero through downtown and out to the hills. After a 26-year-old civil engineer named Jasper O’Farrell proposed the street widening in the 1840s, opponents suggested a lynching, literally, and O’Farrell fled to Sonoma, where he remained until passions cooled.
Ah, those cable cars. Here’s a major turnaround at Powell and Market.
Heading up the hill from Market. The idea for the cable cars originated with a man named Andrew Hallidie after he saw a horse-drawn streetcar slide backwards down a wet hill in 1869, killing five horses. Hallidie had experience with wire-rope technology and used it to beat the fearsome hills of San Francisco.
I took the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf. That’s the Bay Bridge in the distance.
The wharf offers a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, which leads to Sausalito and the North Bay.
Alcatraz…The only inmates to escape were Clarence Anglin, John Anglin and Frank Morris, who at least made it down to the water in June 1962. Chances are their homemade — make that prison-made — raft didn’t make it to across the Bay. But no one knows for sure. Their bodies were never found.
Looking toward the hills of San Francisco from Hyde Pier at Fisherman’s Wharf.
The top of famous Lombard Street, a twisting, brick street that would be largely inaccessible were it not for cable cars and motorized vehicles.
Not everyone was riveted to the sights from the cable car.
This is from a streetcar, heading toward the Ferry Building at The Embarcadero.
A windshield view of Market Street.
The San Francisco streetcars have an old-time feel and look, but they sparkle inside and and out.
This one was about to leave the Terminal Building.
The Golden Gate Ferry, at The Embarcadero, moves a lot of people across the bay.
The Bay Bridge, from the ferry terminal.
Somehow I came away from Napa, about an hour up the coast, with no photos of vineyards but one of a battered and beaten Pinto.
Patty (left), my cousin Laura Eckert and her husband Doug Parker. Doug is president and c.e.o. of the Land Trust of Napa County. Laura is the self-anointed, unofficial chairwoman of the Sanders for President movement in Napa County.
Back in Berkeley at a well-known breakfast and lunch spot, Bette’s Oceanview Diner. I told the man who greeted us I thought I recognized him from the last time we were there. That could well be, he said, seeing as how he has owned the place for 34 years.
From our perch at the counter, we saw an amazing amount of mouth-watering food leave the cooking area.
Back on the BART for another trip in to San Francisco, a group of young men working for tips entertained us with some fancy footwork and gymnastic moves.
I tipped them and gave the guy on the left my black straw hat…Don’t worry, it wasn’t my only hat.
I don’t know why Patty was protesting this great selfie on the BART. (I bought the cap at Goorin Bros. hat shop in Berkeley the day before.)
On Saturday, the day before we returned home, we went to Sausalito and Muir Woods, both of which are north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge. At Sausalito Harbor, the masts were as thick as the redwoods at Muir Woods.
These houseboats front the street. Great view either way.
A distinctive house in the Sausalito hills.
Muir Woods National Monument is a remnant of the redwood forests that blanketed many northern California coastal valleys before the 1800s. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt used the 1906 Antiquities Act to proclaim the area a national monument…Thank you, Teddy!
And with this, we drift away…(For reference value, below is an overview of the Bay Area.)
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Wow, thanks for all those pix, Jim. Nearly all bring back happy memories of visits to the Bay Area, and especially those of Berkeley and that great campus.
Thanks, Don. I wish I’d happened upon that campus when I was younger and better able to handle the hills.
Nice photos of one of the world’s most beautiful areas. We went to an A’s game at that stadium when we visited the Bay Area in 1995 _ the only time I have ever been there. It was actually a nice-looking stadium back then because it’s outfield was open much like it is at The K. Unfortunately, Al Davis had the stadium enclosed when he moved the Raiders back to Oakland. And that Ford Pinto brings back some memories. Growing up in the 70s, we suffered through, not one but, three of those miserable mobiles.
You were persistent on those Pintos, Mike…Funny thing, before we went to Cuba, a friend named Janet Redding asked me to take a photo of a Pinto if I saw one. I didn’t. But the other day, when Patty said, “Look, a Pinto,” I knew what to do…That photo was primarily for Janet, but I thought others might enjoy it, too.
Jim:
Great of you to take the time and make the effort to give us another great travelogue.
All best to you and Patty,
Laura
Thanks, Laura. The travelogues have become one of my favorite aspects of the blog. Whether you’re conservative or liberal, a fan of The Star or a detractor of The Star, everybody likes appealing images of interesting places.
Jim Let me know in advance of your next trip to the East Bay area. I would like for you to meet Carla Marinucci who is the political writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her son, Joe, spent about 3 months with us in 2008 when he was working on the Obama campaign. They are a fun family and full of opinions and political intrigue. They live in Oakland.
What a nice array of pics. San Fran (and surrounds) is one of those cities one can enjoy despite the weather.
Do you remember the Mark Twain quote that Annette O’Toole recited in “48 Hours”?
It rained the better part of the last two days, but, like you say, no problem.
I don’t recall the Twain quote…Tell us.
“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”
I don’t suppose you happened to notice whether The Silver Ball on Telegraph was still open?
I didn’t make it up to Telegraph Hill, Will.
Well, it is something of a walk…
Thanks, Gayle. What a treasure Twain was — and remains.
Looks like a wonderful trip, Jim. San Francisco is one place where I’ve longed to spend a little time. Maybe after March 24th …
I wish you a happy and gratifying retirement, Les…I hope you’ll be staying in the area for a few years, at least. Stay in touch!