On April 1 of 2022, I wrote that the night before I rode to Van Ness and market and met a whole bunch of people. We rode the length of Van Ness Red lanes and back. I took pictures of us.
There were metermaids at two spots. An MTA representative was setting up for a press conference at Geary. I noted that the ride up was hard but way easier when there are no cars. The far side was fun. The turnaround was hard at Chestnut because the lane ends. When we passed Geary there were more people getting ready for the press conference.
At the Veterans Memorial buildings I spoke to a couple of acquaintances who were part of an environmentalist group. We discussed my old coworker. We drank beer. I spoke to a couple of old school people too.
A small group ascended to the press conference. We kind of rolled into the cameras. The whole thing ended pretty quickly but the MTA Director and some people from the board spoke.
Unfortunately a guy in a Ferrari showed up and started acting rude. A bunch of us conspired to disrupt his situation. The guy assaulted a cameraman and a cop showed up.
A number of us were itching to go so everyone not involved went to Benders. We actually tried to go to Zeitgeist but it didn’t work out. Everyone else showed up later. Apparently the Ferrari guy got arrested.
We chatted over tots until 9 o’clock when they kicked us out of the parklet. I went home then.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, February 27, 2023
Friday, February 3, 2023
Rio Vista
In the morning of March 19, 2022, I got the boys dressed and fed. Then after I got stuff for dad from the store and had a coffee and the four of us packed up and got in the car to visit the town of Rio Vista.
The trip was OK. Dad thought Lincoln Way was cursed so he drove up Portola. On the 80 he drove too fast and I yelled at him. By Fairfield he had calmed down.
The Western Railroad Museum is a bookstore, library and four warehouses. It also has a yard and a short line. We looked at the books and then a few of the SFMTA trains. There were also key line trains and some others like the Sacramento Northern Railroad.
A while later we got on a San Diego Trolley and headed down the track to the town of Pantone. The whole thing was exciting. It was an SNRR right of way. Back at the museum we looked at SNRR locomotives and other cars before I gave the boys a snack.
The ride home was on Highway 12, 160 and four. We went through Lafayette and back to the bay bridge. Back in the city Hayes Street was not very fun but the rest was OK.
Back home I made a trip to the store and Dad made us spaghetti and my niece came by to babysit because I had plans for attending the Midnight Mystery Ride. I noted also that I would need some luck.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
The trip was OK. Dad thought Lincoln Way was cursed so he drove up Portola. On the 80 he drove too fast and I yelled at him. By Fairfield he had calmed down.
The Western Railroad Museum is a bookstore, library and four warehouses. It also has a yard and a short line. We looked at the books and then a few of the SFMTA trains. There were also key line trains and some others like the Sacramento Northern Railroad.
A while later we got on a San Diego Trolley and headed down the track to the town of Pantone. The whole thing was exciting. It was an SNRR right of way. Back at the museum we looked at SNRR locomotives and other cars before I gave the boys a snack.
The ride home was on Highway 12, 160 and four. We went through Lafayette and back to the bay bridge. Back in the city Hayes Street was not very fun but the rest was OK.
Back home I made a trip to the store and Dad made us spaghetti and my niece came by to babysit because I had plans for attending the Midnight Mystery Ride. I noted also that I would need some luck.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Monday, January 30, 2023
At Conservatory of Flowers
On March 5, 2022, I wrote that the night before I got the boys from their gym class and took them home. I made them a meal and let them watch TV. Eventually I got us ready for their first Bike Party. I had to yell a bit and needed to run up and down the stairs for our shared cargo bike a few times but once the three of us got going together on it, the ride up Dolores was great. At the park I was really happy to see a bunch of people I knew including a lady I had met only a few weeks earlier. An acquaintance had her son and a neighbor’s kid too and that was comforting. The ride left and I took a shortcut. A number of us climbed 18th st and we spotted some others we knew as we climbed the Wiggle.
We had slowed down by the time we were at the Panhandle. We found one of our acquaintances and her companions and my boys shared the truism that “birds are dinosaurs.” From there we rode together as a group and got to know each other which was nice. Once we got to the Conservatory of Flowers one of my kids told me he wanted to go home which made me sad. I left them with a couple of acquaintances and quickly said hi to everyone.
The three of us rode home through the rain after that as it was getting wet out. The boys didn’t even want ice cream. They just wanted to go to bed – being generally unhappy about the cold.
We had slowed down by the time we were at the Panhandle. We found one of our acquaintances and her companions and my boys shared the truism that “birds are dinosaurs.” From there we rode together as a group and got to know each other which was nice. Once we got to the Conservatory of Flowers one of my kids told me he wanted to go home which made me sad. I left them with a couple of acquaintances and quickly said hi to everyone.
The three of us rode home through the rain after that as it was getting wet out. The boys didn’t even want ice cream. They just wanted to go to bed – being generally unhappy about the cold.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
Visit Peacock Gap
On February 21 of 2022, I wrote that the previous day I woke at dawn to hear coyotes barking. Later on when I woke up again someone told me that the raccoons had trashed the campsite even though I had tried really hard to minimize the damage they could potentially cause.
We I got up, I had the boys to run across the way and I got the boys dressed and fed. I wanted to get them oatmeal but there were many steps between. The tent was wet so I had to dry it. Someone had made coffee and then I told several people I wanted to climb over to the country club and they all‘s seemed interested. Some one made eggs which I offered to the boys but they only wanted the bacon.
I ate and drank in between putting stuff in bags for the day. In the meantime all of the kids in China Camp it seemed were out riding a loop up to the upper campsites. I think they rode around on their bikes four times. When I was done putting everything away I made oatmeal and then took them on the upper campground loop myself. Then everyone got on their bikes and we took the coastal trail. Unfortunately a section – the ADA – was not finished yet so we had to go on the road for a short bit. The rest of the trail was easy.
The only hard part was my cargo bike was really big and inappropriate for the trail. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get off the trail until the Visitor Center. One of the kids on the ride had a mishap with his bike, which turned out all right but I had to leave him to go forward in the column. When I found his mom she headed back to return to the camp to make sandwiches for everybody.
The rest of the group had gotten ahead of us and were waiting for us to catch up. At the visitor center we all got on the highway to China Beach - the park’s namesake. Once there we had beer and a special visitor everyone knew showed up.
When the sandwiches showed up I fed my boys. I also did a little walk to the pier with a few from our group. We also saw the group from the neighboring camp site who were going stand-up paddle boarding.
When we finished at the beach, the rest of the people decided to go back to the campsite but I packed up the bikes on the GSD because I wanted to visit Peacock gap. A few of us went to a spot on the ridge and then took a trail down to the country club. I bumped my knee. We had french fries and cheese sandwiches. Later on we climbed through Peacock Gap and took the coastal trail back. The ADA was closed so we took the perimeter trail and cheated back to the camp. I discovered that the ADA actually wasn’t off-limits.
From there I had a limited time to prep dinner and got the boys and sleeping bags. Someone in the group had made paella but I still dinner for the boys and at least one of them put effort into eating it. There was also roasted kale with which I added to my ramen after eating the paella. I also had a bratwurst in a bun. I added my horseradish and some mustard.
I took the boys aside twice to tell them to be good. The boys at least once attached themselves to members of the group so I let them sit next to each other at the fire. The fire was really big because someone had told all of us to get extra wood after we got back from our bicycle ride.
New people from the East Bay and the city showed up. I got the boys situated and eventually they went to bed. I sat with the group by the fire then. We had a lot of controversial discussions. Then fire got overly large. We pointedly asked each other about controversial topics then and later a few of us put food away. One of our group was wearing a full body sleeping bag.
I probably slept four hours. I woke at 5:45 and was up at 6:15. I started the fire again and set food out for the boys. Then I started breaking things down. I took the fly off the tent and the boys got up. They were dazed but not too wet. I broke up everything into piles after the tent came down. My neighbors at the campsite packed faster than me because they had an appointment to keep in Larkspur. They left at 8:45
I had instant coffee and soldiered on with the mattresses first before doing the sleeping bags. and I paced myself based on their civic center smart trip. Two people offered me coffee which was nice.
I left at 9:45 and took the boys riding their own bikes on North San Pedro to the train station. It had a sidewalk after the first real uphill. We made it to the Smart Station nearly 10 minutes before the 10:26 train came in. We found our companions in Larkspur. They had just finished their appointment.
I got coffee and snacks at Starbucks before we boarded a boat for San Francisco. The boys were hard to get along with at times. At the ferry building we all rode to Polk Street in a group. As it was late we said goodbye really quickly. Octavia was hard and I noted that I need to rethink about how to cross that intersection.
I gave the boys Pepsi when they came home and later that we rode to get some burritos. Ironically, we saw some of our campsite companions riding through the Wiggle as they had returned on the next boat.
We I got up, I had the boys to run across the way and I got the boys dressed and fed. I wanted to get them oatmeal but there were many steps between. The tent was wet so I had to dry it. Someone had made coffee and then I told several people I wanted to climb over to the country club and they all‘s seemed interested. Some one made eggs which I offered to the boys but they only wanted the bacon.
I ate and drank in between putting stuff in bags for the day. In the meantime all of the kids in China Camp it seemed were out riding a loop up to the upper campsites. I think they rode around on their bikes four times. When I was done putting everything away I made oatmeal and then took them on the upper campground loop myself. Then everyone got on their bikes and we took the coastal trail. Unfortunately a section – the ADA – was not finished yet so we had to go on the road for a short bit. The rest of the trail was easy.
The only hard part was my cargo bike was really big and inappropriate for the trail. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get off the trail until the Visitor Center. One of the kids on the ride had a mishap with his bike, which turned out all right but I had to leave him to go forward in the column. When I found his mom she headed back to return to the camp to make sandwiches for everybody.
The rest of the group had gotten ahead of us and were waiting for us to catch up. At the visitor center we all got on the highway to China Beach - the park’s namesake. Once there we had beer and a special visitor everyone knew showed up.
When the sandwiches showed up I fed my boys. I also did a little walk to the pier with a few from our group. We also saw the group from the neighboring camp site who were going stand-up paddle boarding.
When we finished at the beach, the rest of the people decided to go back to the campsite but I packed up the bikes on the GSD because I wanted to visit Peacock gap. A few of us went to a spot on the ridge and then took a trail down to the country club. I bumped my knee. We had french fries and cheese sandwiches. Later on we climbed through Peacock Gap and took the coastal trail back. The ADA was closed so we took the perimeter trail and cheated back to the camp. I discovered that the ADA actually wasn’t off-limits.
From there I had a limited time to prep dinner and got the boys and sleeping bags. Someone in the group had made paella but I still dinner for the boys and at least one of them put effort into eating it. There was also roasted kale with which I added to my ramen after eating the paella. I also had a bratwurst in a bun. I added my horseradish and some mustard.
I took the boys aside twice to tell them to be good. The boys at least once attached themselves to members of the group so I let them sit next to each other at the fire. The fire was really big because someone had told all of us to get extra wood after we got back from our bicycle ride.
New people from the East Bay and the city showed up. I got the boys situated and eventually they went to bed. I sat with the group by the fire then. We had a lot of controversial discussions. Then fire got overly large. We pointedly asked each other about controversial topics then and later a few of us put food away. One of our group was wearing a full body sleeping bag.
I probably slept four hours. I woke at 5:45 and was up at 6:15. I started the fire again and set food out for the boys. Then I started breaking things down. I took the fly off the tent and the boys got up. They were dazed but not too wet. I broke up everything into piles after the tent came down. My neighbors at the campsite packed faster than me because they had an appointment to keep in Larkspur. They left at 8:45
I had instant coffee and soldiered on with the mattresses first before doing the sleeping bags. and I paced myself based on their civic center smart trip. Two people offered me coffee which was nice.
I left at 9:45 and took the boys riding their own bikes on North San Pedro to the train station. It had a sidewalk after the first real uphill. We made it to the Smart Station nearly 10 minutes before the 10:26 train came in. We found our companions in Larkspur. They had just finished their appointment.
I got coffee and snacks at Starbucks before we boarded a boat for San Francisco. The boys were hard to get along with at times. At the ferry building we all rode to Polk Street in a group. As it was late we said goodbye really quickly. Octavia was hard and I noted that I need to rethink about how to cross that intersection.
I gave the boys Pepsi when they came home and later that we rode to get some burritos. Ironically, we saw some of our campsite companions riding through the Wiggle as they had returned on the next boat.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Friday, December 30, 2022
China Camp Campground
On February 19 of 2022, I wrote that that morning I woke a few times but at at seven my boys were up and I so I made us a meal and I told them to watch TV.
Once the boys were settled I put a bag on the GSD and put it outside. Then I collected equipment and food – the total was 66 pounds. When I was done packing up the bike I realized I still needed to go to the store.
We to Valencia and down Market. It was initially hard on market but the green lanes were good and the boys were really fast on their bikes. I sometimes rode on the street while they were on the sidewalk. As we were nearing fifth I had the boys ride on the sidewalk. That was really hard but it seemed a bit safer. The city had blocked off the BART escalators so the path was really narrow. Around first Street I had them come back out onto the roadway.
My concerns over missing the ferry were quickly dispelled when we discovered that the boat to Larkspur was late. There were six additions to our crew for this leg and they were all on the pier when we boarded. Once the bikes were situated, we all went on the deck and took pictures.
When it was time to disembark the attendant said that they would have us roll off downstairs. I led the boys to the landing and everyone followed. Once there I got Starbucks and everyone else got a sandwich. I looked for a way to get things at the supermarket but knew I would have to split with the group. However when I met up with everyone again there were four additions who let me know that they had gone to the supermarket for us.
The boys played at the playground. I was amazed that they both climbed on the big log because they had trouble doing when they visited previously in July. When we left I led the way to Cal Park Tunnel. The ride up Anderson was OK but the transit center was terrible. I yelled at the boys the whole time for directions. I also noted that the climb before Las Gallinas was hard for them. They both lagged and lead there but in the end had to walk to the top.
From there the descent was hard for the boys and the other members of the group really helped. At Merrydale and N San Pedro Road, some of us lost the group but we shepherded the boys under the freeway before riding in the lane all the way to the 7-Eleven at Meadow drive. It was hard because all the motorists wanted to pass us.
At 7-Eleven we rested and I tried to address my kid’s demands for toys and candy. I did my best to minimize their demands but it only made things worse.
When we continued, we found a secondary street to follow and after that and it was great. We managed to get to China Camp Campground pretty quickly. One of our group was waiting for us when we got to there. We found a good spot to put our tent up and the boys did a lot to set it up. We had to do each step one at a time. I got the table set up and dinner prepared.
Sometimes I don’t get any rest but I did have a beer. Beyond a few basic problems, we were able to set up camp fine.
Near bedtime a few people we knew turned out to be in a nearby campsite. One of our group made Frito pie and I made the boys Ramen. I gave them chocolate milk before bed. The group really helped. I had fun sitting around the fire and some of the group went next-door with to say hi. I chased raccoons around until everyone went to sleep.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Once the boys were settled I put a bag on the GSD and put it outside. Then I collected equipment and food – the total was 66 pounds. When I was done packing up the bike I realized I still needed to go to the store.
We to Valencia and down Market. It was initially hard on market but the green lanes were good and the boys were really fast on their bikes. I sometimes rode on the street while they were on the sidewalk. As we were nearing fifth I had the boys ride on the sidewalk. That was really hard but it seemed a bit safer. The city had blocked off the BART escalators so the path was really narrow. Around first Street I had them come back out onto the roadway.
My concerns over missing the ferry were quickly dispelled when we discovered that the boat to Larkspur was late. There were six additions to our crew for this leg and they were all on the pier when we boarded. Once the bikes were situated, we all went on the deck and took pictures.
When it was time to disembark the attendant said that they would have us roll off downstairs. I led the boys to the landing and everyone followed. Once there I got Starbucks and everyone else got a sandwich. I looked for a way to get things at the supermarket but knew I would have to split with the group. However when I met up with everyone again there were four additions who let me know that they had gone to the supermarket for us.
The boys played at the playground. I was amazed that they both climbed on the big log because they had trouble doing when they visited previously in July. When we left I led the way to Cal Park Tunnel. The ride up Anderson was OK but the transit center was terrible. I yelled at the boys the whole time for directions. I also noted that the climb before Las Gallinas was hard for them. They both lagged and lead there but in the end had to walk to the top.
From there the descent was hard for the boys and the other members of the group really helped. At Merrydale and N San Pedro Road, some of us lost the group but we shepherded the boys under the freeway before riding in the lane all the way to the 7-Eleven at Meadow drive. It was hard because all the motorists wanted to pass us.
At 7-Eleven we rested and I tried to address my kid’s demands for toys and candy. I did my best to minimize their demands but it only made things worse.
When we continued, we found a secondary street to follow and after that and it was great. We managed to get to China Camp Campground pretty quickly. One of our group was waiting for us when we got to there. We found a good spot to put our tent up and the boys did a lot to set it up. We had to do each step one at a time. I got the table set up and dinner prepared.
Sometimes I don’t get any rest but I did have a beer. Beyond a few basic problems, we were able to set up camp fine.
Near bedtime a few people we knew turned out to be in a nearby campsite. One of our group made Frito pie and I made the boys Ramen. I gave them chocolate milk before bed. The group really helped. I had fun sitting around the fire and some of the group went next-door with to say hi. I chased raccoons around until everyone went to sleep.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Riding on The Mountain
On February 4 of 2022, I wrote that in the morning of the day that I wrote this my companion woke me at 6:15 and I was ready to go at 6:50. However things were frantic getting to the bus. We got to the ski resort at 7:20 and we got some coffee before going to the rental shop for wax and skis.
After that we got tickets and boarded a gondola headed to the mid mountain. We rode a bit and then rode another lift to a high spot. We took pictures.
We rode down to the base of the mountain even though we didn’t want to because I had us take a wrong turn. After that we rode to the middle of the mountain again and had a sandwich and a drink.
My companion was going really slow but I didn’t mind. I had texted my father and a few other people. Our other companion sent us a message. We rode down the backside. I nearly wiped out and then we returned to the top for a few more rides for the day.
We met a couple from Minnesota or Wisconsin and a few other people on the lifts. My companion got worse at riding on the mountain. We stayed mid mountain for some of that segment but eventually made a break for the bottom.
When we arrived at the bottom I returned my skis but ended up with the wrong shoes. The manager bought me new ones at the apparel shop. I had a drink with my companions then we took the bus back to Truckee.
Later we went to The Alibi and Bar of America. We saw trains. We played cards in the hotel common room.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
After that we got tickets and boarded a gondola headed to the mid mountain. We rode a bit and then rode another lift to a high spot. We took pictures.
We rode down to the base of the mountain even though we didn’t want to because I had us take a wrong turn. After that we rode to the middle of the mountain again and had a sandwich and a drink.
My companion was going really slow but I didn’t mind. I had texted my father and a few other people. Our other companion sent us a message. We rode down the backside. I nearly wiped out and then we returned to the top for a few more rides for the day.
We met a couple from Minnesota or Wisconsin and a few other people on the lifts. My companion got worse at riding on the mountain. We stayed mid mountain for some of that segment but eventually made a break for the bottom.
When we arrived at the bottom I returned my skis but ended up with the wrong shoes. The manager bought me new ones at the apparel shop. I had a drink with my companions then we took the bus back to Truckee.
Later we went to The Alibi and Bar of America. We saw trains. We played cards in the hotel common room.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Hotel Truckee
On February 3 of 2022, I wrote that I went to bed really late and slept normal. I woke to the normal alarm and 25 minutes later discovered my companions had texted. I got up and grabbed my backpack. However I still had to do a couple of things. I walked to Market at Valencia and caught an L bus to Peet’s. Indy the barista helped me.
My companions met me then and we walked to Mission Street. We got on the bus and when we got off the wait for the train in Emeryville wasn’t long.
I took a photo of the train and sent it to my father and sisters. On board it was exciting. I cleared out stuff under the seats and drank my coffee. We switched seats with at Richmond Station and I took pictures to send my family. We had bubbly wine and whiskey.
By Martinez I had spilled coffee on myself. We discovered that the drawbridge was up. I asked about Mayscamas and at Davis we saw some new housing. We got pictures of the golden bridge. I told them about how I had ridden the causeway. We sat in the lounge car for Sacramento and Table Mountain before we had lunch. The conductor was nice. Everyone liked my Amtrak sweater.
When we entered emigrant gap we returned to the family room we had rented and toasted the ride. We couldn’t agree where Donner Summit was. We progressed through Soda Springs and passed train five at the pass. We got off soon after.
We unloaded at Hotel Truckee and called the hotel manager. Then we took a bus to 50-50 for a beer which was OK. We had barley wine. There was cauliflower and artichoke sauce. We went back to the hotel through the snow. My wayfinding was bad and I made a meme about it. The pedestrian bridge was a breath of fresh air.
After we stopped at the hotel we walked around and got some fish tacos. Later we explored the town’s nightlife. We had beers outside of Bar of America. We saw two cargo trains. The second one went east but was 120 cars with five engines - two mid train.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
My companions met me then and we walked to Mission Street. We got on the bus and when we got off the wait for the train in Emeryville wasn’t long.
I took a photo of the train and sent it to my father and sisters. On board it was exciting. I cleared out stuff under the seats and drank my coffee. We switched seats with at Richmond Station and I took pictures to send my family. We had bubbly wine and whiskey.
By Martinez I had spilled coffee on myself. We discovered that the drawbridge was up. I asked about Mayscamas and at Davis we saw some new housing. We got pictures of the golden bridge. I told them about how I had ridden the causeway. We sat in the lounge car for Sacramento and Table Mountain before we had lunch. The conductor was nice. Everyone liked my Amtrak sweater.
When we entered emigrant gap we returned to the family room we had rented and toasted the ride. We couldn’t agree where Donner Summit was. We progressed through Soda Springs and passed train five at the pass. We got off soon after.
We unloaded at Hotel Truckee and called the hotel manager. Then we took a bus to 50-50 for a beer which was OK. We had barley wine. There was cauliflower and artichoke sauce. We went back to the hotel through the snow. My wayfinding was bad and I made a meme about it. The pedestrian bridge was a breath of fresh air.
After we stopped at the hotel we walked around and got some fish tacos. Later we explored the town’s nightlife. We had beers outside of Bar of America. We saw two cargo trains. The second one went east but was 120 cars with five engines - two mid train.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
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