to Ocean Beach, via the N-Judah…
…an ordered list of the day:
- Woke up shortly after dawn, after the usual subtly vexing dreams, quickly dissipating, forgotten; read a bit, went back to sleep around half past 8, up again a couple hours later.
- Towards noon, walked down to Polk and North Point, catching the 49 up Van Ness, got off at Oak and Market, walked the rising blocks up to Steiner, then down to Duboce Park.
- The sun had emerged over that part of the City, by the time I got to the Park, waiting a little while for the N-Judah. Took out my McKibben-edited book with half an intention to read, but instead people-and-dog watched.
- By the time the streetcar got to its terminus, the sky was overcast again, as the marine inversion layer is still aloft. Popped in at Java Beach for a cranberry muffin (warmed up) and a cup of water, and to start this day’s travelogue using my handy external keyboard to register these notes on today’s blog…
- Started walking south along the new Sunset Dunes park (which used to be part of the Upper Great Highway), finding a secluded spot on the dunes where to sit zazen for a while in complete solitude except for the passing gulls and occasional flock of Canada geese (see pic below). There were a number of cool pathway murals (one freshly painted), citizen art installations, and play-places for kids and adults alike.
- Made the acquaintance of Felix, a burly, be-tattooed Russian who'd set up his camera and telephoto lens to take pictures of distant cargo ships, the Farallon Islands, and the surf. And of his wife Alyona and their 2 little girls playing on the sand below. For some reason, he didn't seem all that surprised to hear me speaking to him in Russian... I guess Russian-speaking Filipinos are a dime-a-dozen hereabouts. ::chuckle::
- There's excellent potential for San Francisco's newest park to be the West Side Manhattan High Line of the West Coast. Except with lots more sand and sea life. That said, the project continues to be controversial, with a petition started by folks in this district to recall to recall their Supervisor, who was supportive of Prop K, the initiative to make the UGH a park.
