Monday, March 24, 2003

Point Lobos National Recreation Area and Land's End Just when I thought that San Francisco had nothing else to surprise me it has surprised me again. Having just moved to the Richmond District (from the Haight and, previously, Nob Hill) I've been enjoying the abundance of nature here--Golden Gate Park, Sutro Heights, Ocean Beach. But it's Point Lobos and Land's End that I keep going back to. From my house in the Outer Richmond (north of Golden Gate Park, near Ocean Beach) I walk through the golf course and by the Palace of the Legion of Fine Arts (stopping by when there's a new exhibition), then down the hill and into the east entrance of the Point Lobos National Recreation Area. I've been here before. It's a big tourist spot with its crows nest that looks down onto China Beach and Baker Beach with a perfect Golden Gate Bridge backdrop--just right for wedding photos on a clear day--but I never made the whole loop before I moved here, and I didn't know what I was missing. My loop from home takes about an hour and a half, more if I make a stop on Balboa Street to go to the store, get a video, or a cup of coffee. But back to Point Lobos. On the trail to Land's End in springtime the Mont Brecia is in bloom--curving sprays of tropically orange flowers rise from lush, spikey green leaves up to four feet in height. Under them the society garlic look shy and petite with their dangling, paper-white bells and softly drooping leaves. Farther down the trail on the cliffsides the native Iris pop up, blooming purple above fields of emerald green fern clusters hanging on the rock and cypress trees stretch their limbs over the ocean far, far below. In the sunshine the churning sea offers a visual treat, sparkling blue-gray and broken by guano-covered jagged rocks at the cliffs. In fog an aurial treat, the sound of waves lapping or crashing, memory or the imagination reeling from the certainty of sheer cliffs and unsympathetic waves. Mornings are the best time for explorations here--afternoons can get windy. The coastal trail will take you to Sutro Baths and the Cliff House and down to Ocean Beach. Take a left and you can stay above it all, walking through Sutro Park. This end of Golden Gate Park can wait. Land's End has become my addiction. Point Lobos official site: http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/ 6:32:21 PM     South Lake Tahoe and Hope Valley Ski Weekend For a large group of friends, renting a cabin in Tahoe is a sure-fire way to enjoy a weekend, good ski conditions or bad. Our group of eight prepared for either case by renting a three-bedroom cabin with wood burning stove and hot tub, and bringing plenty of decadent groceries and hot-toddy mix. As much as we wouldn't have minded being blizzard-bound for days in our little paradise, blue skies prevailed, so we suffered the downhill skiing in fresh powder at Heavenly Resort, popular for its largely medium-skill-level terrain and its spectacular view of Lake Tahoe sparkling below. Because of growing crowds and, admittedly, a few middle-aged aches and pains, some of us opted to cross-country ski the next days, a first for me. Wild Writing Women Lisa Alpine and Lynn Ferrin, both former cross-country skiing tour leaders, had both given high marks to Hope Valley and Sorenson's Resort. A half-hour south on Highway 89 from South Lake Tahoe we found the quaint wood cabin at Hope Valley where the restaurant and bar served us coffee, beer, an excellent red pepper soup, and the biggest chocolate chip cookies I've ever seen. We also rented our gear there, and bought silly fleece hats on end-of-season half-price sale. We drove five minutes to ski the beginner's course and geared up. Donning soft boots not attached at the heel was a big relief for me after a day trapped in hard plastic downhill boots. From the road, we skied through a small wood and past a meadow where snowboarders skimmed the surface towed by parachutes, snow squeaking under their boards. Some of them had built small jumps, showing off impressive twirls, flips, and some spectacular spills, too. My friend's husky romped from one to another of us, finally getting some snowshoe hikers to throw her yellow tennis ball. She was as happy a dog as I've ever seen as we led her across a series of meadows and forest in the silent and pristine wilderness. One friend remembered an idyllic summer backpacking trip that began at this location, and we made plans to come back in a few months together to repeat it. At one point I took up the rear, endorphins pumping from the rhythm of stepping, gliding, stepping, gliding. The sun beat down and I stopped to remove my jacket and take a breath. Looking up, I noticed that my colorful little party had moved far ahead. In miniature they were absolutely insignificant in the bowl of rocky mountain peaks soaring to the sun. Heavenly Ski Resort http://www.skiheavenly.com/ Toll free: 1-800-2HEAVEN Hope Valley Cross-Country Ski Center http://www.skiingadventures.com/crosscountryskiing/hopevalley/index.cfm Toll free: 800-423-9949 5:58:06 PM     Natural Food Stores in the Richmond District... are few and far between. I had an conversation with the manager at Safeway (Fulton and LaPlaya) about free-range hormone- and antibiotic-free chickens. He said he ordered them once, nobody bought any of them, and they threw them away. I said you have to advertise them. He said he'd try again, order Foster Farms hormone- and antibiotic-free hens. I expressed doubt that Foster farms was farming truly free range hens. He didn't know, but Foster Farms seems to be their brand. I've heard that even Rocky the Range hens are dubious, and I've no idea about Andronico's special brand of meats. Safeway has NO organic vegetables. The manager told me that their store was too small, unlike in the Castro "which is huge" and they "can afford to have an organic section." And a very tiny one, in my opinion. Maybe they could stock fewer family packs of Charmin in favor of organic carrots. As an alternative, I have been shopping at Andronico's in the Sunset, which is pretty far from the outer Richmond (north of Golden Gate Park). But yesterday, while trying to find a shortcut through the park from the outer Sunset (south of Golden Gate Park), I found Other Avenues, a small natural foods shop on Judah at 44th. Unlike Andronico's and many other "natural" food stores (Whole Foods, et al) Other Avenues has a committment "To provide the Sunset community with reasonably priced, high-quality products which are free of chemicals, additives, excessive packaging and process; to support organic agriculture; and to promote sustainable development. What a relief. I don't need to fret over labels analyzing if I'm about to buy something "bad" -- over-packaged, poisonous, or owned by RJ Reynolds -- because they've already done that. Nor do I need to bug the produce stocker about where they're getting their vegetables. I hate buying tomatoes from Southern California when they can get them from Watsonville, or cheese from Wisconsin when Petaluma is right next door. Other Avenues holds an annual beach cleanup (somebody needs to jump in and sponsor another few, the beach is ugly, lately) and a community festival, and have a community room in their store. They give a 10% discout to shoppers over 60 years old, and offer a community discount card for a fee or for volunteering in the store. The store is a tight squeeze but has a friendly vibe. Most customers have their own grocery bags and say "excuse me," when passing by in the narrow aisles. (How many times have I been bashed in the butt in Safeway without the accompanying "sorry!") The staff are happy to show you where the miso paste is (next to the yogurt) and there are shelves full of bulk items: shampoo, grains, jars of herbs, honey and oil. They carry a mean selection of refreshments, too. I'm enjoying Prince Neville's Famous Authentic Jamaican Extra Strong Ginger Beer right now, in a plastic container with a CA CASH REFUND sticker on it. Other Avenues website: http://www.otheravenues.org/ 5:10:26 PM     Welcome Welcome to the home page of Carla King's weblog. There are a few topics that I want to keep a running commentary on: - San Francisco life in general - The San Francisco Literary Community - Motorcycle travel and motorcycle culture These are presented in different categories of this weblog that you can subscribe to if you like. For background on my motorcycle travels, involvement in the literary community, travel writing, technical journalism, and more, please visit my website at http://www.carlaking.com/. 12:09:43 PM

© Copyright 2003 Carla King. Last update: 4/11/03; 10:42:18 AM.