A Most Civilised Outing

It was a sepia sort of afternoon. We were cycling through Cambridgeport, when Eustacia Vye spotted a charming lady friend on the hillside.

We decided to join her.

It continues to amaze me how much nicer it is to explore on a bicycle than using any other means of transportation. On foot, you are going too slowly and can't possibly cover as much distance. In a car you are going too fast. A bicycle is just right, and it is so easy to pull over when you come upon something interesting. Like a park full of cannons and carved iron figurines.

The Co-Habitant proceeded to inspect the weaponry, lest the ladies require protection.

Satisfied that all was in order, he assumed a post of vigilance. The ladies watched him with delight as they engaged in polite conversation.

In case you are wondering, this was shot in the Fort Washington Park in Cambridgeport - the site of one of the cannon emplacements used during the siege of Boston in the American Revolution. Once in a state of dilapidation, the park has recently been restored and made accessible to the public.

For more picturesque velo-nonsense, see the Lovely Bicycle flickr set.

!French Doors!

From the time we moved in 8 years ago we haven't cared for the sliding glass doors that led to the back yard. So on Friday we went to Lowes Home Building Store to get a new light to put in the yard as ours had quite. We did get the light but found French Doors on sale at a price we could almost afford. So we splurged and bought them. The first photo is of the old door after we pulled it out as I forgot to take a photo before it was removed. Next are photos of the opening for the door from inside and outside. Then come the photos of the new french doors as we got them in place and then got the lock on the door. We really like our new door but it has really confused the dogs and cats. The sliding glass door opened on in the left corner for them to go in and out. The new door opens in the middle. They keep going to the corner to get in or out. I hope they learn soon. I am sure they will.

A stroll down Sausalito harbour and promenade

I've heard from friends who have been in and around San Francisco that I should not miss visiting the charming little coastal town Sausalito, even the KLM flight attendant highly recommended this place. Now Sausalito has piqued my interest...







There are a few ways to get to Sausalito from San Francisco and the two easiest ways are by car and by boat. I have no experience with the boat, although I would love to—they can be boarded in Pier 39 and Embarcadero. By car the drive is about 10-15 minutes from San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge.



Funnily, because we arrived at the other part of Sausalito town where it’s a bit quiet, Dutchman started jeering, taunting me albeit jokingly—‘Now, show me... where is this Sausalito hype...?’ We drove around a bit and decided to park the car to explore further on foot. After walking past the harbour filled with yachts and down to the main street where many shops are located, we saw a beautiful coastal promenade with spectacular views of San Francisco, and this was when we realized—aaah, this is the hype people have been talking about.



March is obviously not high season and there were very few people there but I can only imagine how the place would look like in the summer, or even in spring.



The harbour and the dramatic shoreline lined with shops, restaurants and a sidewalk promenade, the wooded hillside peppered with houses and the impressive panorama of San Francisco makes the little town of Sausalito a beautiful place to visit and experience. Great for a half to one day side trip.





My souvenir photo of course.









Charming little wooden boat houses (this is only one of them) along the harbour.











Yacht masts and lockers for the yacht owners in the harbour.





A sailing school.









Love these lavender-coloured flowers dotting the shoreline.





View of San Francisco from Sausalito harbour.



More pictures of Sausalito:

















Sausalito reminds me of Italian coastal villages, American version of course.



More on Sausalito in next entry.

Visitors Center

There was a visitors center at the end of the road to the top of the mountain. It has tons of information about Hurricane Ridge. We spent time in the gift shop buying souvenirs, and gifts for others, as well as myself. They were having a sale and it was a big hit with the customers. We had lunch at the snack bar. Then spent a goodly amount of time just enjoying the view from all angles. The parking lot was packed and there were a lot of people there, especially sense it was a Sunday, but it didn't seem that crowded as so many parks can get on weekends. And everyone there was enjoying themselves as much as we were. You would find yourself uuing and awing, and exclaiming over the view, the flowers, the grass, the mountains, the glaciers, the sky, or a passing deer with a total stranger standing next to you. I found myself watching a small child about 2 years old and his parents as they enjoyed the park. I, also, found myself sitting quietly by an elderly lady and neither of us had to say a word about how we felt at what we were seeing. I heard several languages besides my native American - Spanish, German, English, Canadian, Japanese, and others I couldn't put a country to.

Garden

Squarsh blossoms, butternut squarsh, squarsh vine, green cherry tomotoes, corn flower

Dine with the Ancestors at the Carnival

Wow, the COG just keeps getting bigger and better! Thirty-one posts comprise the February 4th Carnival of Genealogy, 41st Edition. The topic is: "If you could have dinner with four of your ancestors who would they be and why?" Take some time to meet the dinner guests and enjoy the culinary delights presented. They will make you laugh, they will make you cry, they will make you think. You'll run the full gamut of emotions and you will be amazed at the vivid imaginations of some very talented writers!

Who, What, When, Where, Why? is my contribution to COG-41.

Jasia also announced the topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy:

"The Best of The Best!" It's Academy awards time... time for the Academy of Genealogy and Family History aka AGFH (an esteemed organization that all genea-historian bloggers who participate in this next edition of the COG will become founding members of) to honor their best blog posts of ..* in the following 5 categories:

Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in ... Tell us which you liked best and why.
Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in .. would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?
Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in ..?
Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in ..?
Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in ..?

The award given to these very deserving examples of quality writing of family history will heretofore be known as the iGene Award.

Start digging back into your archives and choose which of your blog posts deserve to be recognized for outstanding achievement. This is not a competition between bloggers but a chance for you to spotlight your own shining efforts at recording your genealogy and family history in ..*. There is no nomination process. You just need to announce your winning blog posts for the 5 categories mentioned above in an article on your blog and submit it to the Carnival of Genealogy.

Please act as your own "award presenter" by writing an introduction and include it in the "Remarks" box on the BlogCarnival submission form. The deadline for submissions is February 15, ...

*We're going to define ".." to include any posts written in .. as well as those written Jan. 1-Feb. 15, .. as well (so that new bloggers can participate).

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

A Moveable View

Staying by the sea, I notice how unaccustomed I've become to a stationary view of any kind. Back in the city, the windows of my apartment offer vistas of a brick wall, a narrow alley, a tangle of branches and telephone wires. And I usually keep the blinds closed when I work anyhow; there is too much commotion outside.



But now I sit on this porch, just yards from the water's edge. A vast harbor is stretched out in front of me. The surface ripples of the cerulean water are like a silk scarf fluttering in the wind. Lobster buoys bob up and down. Now and then a fishing boat goes by. A family of swans travels back and forth along the shore in perfect peloton formation.



It is peaceful and almost improbably beautiful. And as I try to work, I find that it drives me nuts - the unchangeability of it. I am not used to looking at scenery so... passively. My eyes focus on the right outeredge of the harbor, where the rocky shore curves and disappears from view. As I study it, the curve begins to look hard-etched and forbidding, willfully preventing me from seeing beyond the bend.



In fact, I know - roughly at least - what lies around the bend; I have been there many times. A hilly back road winds along the shore's edge sleepily. There is a small patch of dense woods along the cliffs, then a gravel garden path, a wild rocky beach, an abandoned coast guard's tower... Soon I am visualising each of these landmarks in great detail, picturing them as they look when I cycle past them. I laugh at myself, realising that I am enjoying this mental game more than looking at the view in front of me.



I close my laptop, get on my bike and take off just as the sun begins to set, heading for the hilly back road that will take me around the bend. No one else is here. The road narrows and steepens dramatically and I get into my lowest gear. With each pedal stroke I see more and more of the landscape that was hidden from view as I sat on the porch just minutes earlier, and this fills me with an absurd sense of fulfillment. I reach the top easily, unhurriedly, and there sits the patch of woods with its narrow mossy path to the edge of the cliff. I keep going, coasting down the steep hill now at what feels like flying speed, passing all the landmarks I'd recalled. The mysterious garden path, the wild beach. And I remember now also the old sprawling house with a beautiful garden and the "bunnies for sale" sign taped to the green fence. After the coastguard's house I stop and turn around, my urge to experience a movable view satisfied. It seems silly now to have taken this short ride for no reason at all, but I am pleased.



I roll up to the porch as the last of daylight disappears. The vast harbor is still there, its fluttering silk surface now a deep indigo. A green light flickers in the distance. A stray boat is being rowed ashore. The swan peloton is making its last round. I get my coffee cup and turn on the porch light, ready to settle down in the stillness. But I know the moveable view will call out to me again tomorrow, even though I know what's around the bend.