Nancy's Travelblogue

New Mexico postcard #10

2012-01-11T19:36:00.001-07:00

Sadly, this will be my last New Mexico postcard, at least for this year. Yesterday Jonathan and I drove through the Sangre de Cristo mountains through Truchas, Chimayo and the other villages that seem so unchanged through the centuries and what make northern New Mexico so special. Today we walked through Taos and bade farewell to my favorite spots.

Here are my last ... ahh, yes, sentimental photos of my time in Taos.

This was taken in the mesa above Truchas. The main road in the village, gets gradually narrower, then turns to dirt as it heads towards the mountains. This is a snow field showing the .. well, the only word I have for it is the SPACE that defines the Southwest. No sense of getting too crowded around here!

Ristras (the hanging peppers) are a symbol of northern New Mexico. Aren't they lovely! This photo was taken at the Rancho de Chimayo restaurant, which unfortunately was closed when we arrived. But I was able to capture this image. We went to Chimayo so Jonathan could pick up a custom woven vest done by the Chimayo Weavers.

Today we walked through Taos. This building is so typical of Taos and southwest architecture.
The day's treat was when we walked into the new art gallery of Taos painter Ouray Meyers. Not only is Ouray a distinguished artist, but also has a most interesting family history. Ouray's father Ralph Meyers, is one the first and most successful trader in New Mexico. Ouray's newest gallery includes a "museum" showcasing some momentos that his family has collected. He gave us a personal tour of the museum, which included some possessions of Kit Carson, Bishop Lamy, sacred Indian artifacts, and spurs from the conquistadores. I was honored that Ouray would take us through his locked collections.

Then we walked down to LaDoux Street, a charming walkway where old Taoseno homes are now upscale galleries, but very tasteful. Neither Jonathan nor I could resist the temptation to get photographed next to this mural:

We got home from our walk just in time for a Taos sunset from the bedroom window: This isn't the only amazing Taos sky scene. I also see the moon, the stars, the pink dawn, the blue midday sky and all the variations of sky -- the stuff that we can't see or are not aware of in the city, especially the foggy Bay Area.

This is my last Taos entry. Soon we head to California via Canyon de Chelly and Grand Canyon. And back to real life!

New Mexico postcard #9

2011-12-18T21:30:00.001-07:00

I thought that by now I'd be taking winter in my stride and tell you it is no big deal. But, in fact, winter is a very big deal here at 7000 feet.Winter affects my daily routine, it makes driving and walking more dangerous, it determines what time of day I go out (and don't go out), it even affects the kinds of produce available in the markets. In a nutshell, winter is awesome and humbling and the experience of a lifetime.

This is a photo of a field near my house,with Taos mountain in the background. A typical day.

This snow pictures is one of my favorites. This is a field about a block from my home.It evokes the somber nature of winter that I'm so attracted to.

I love this photo of a cemetery on Taos Pueblo land, very close to my home. Cemeteries all over northern New Mexico look like this.

Here's the bonus photo. It really doesn't cost very much to live in New Mexico as evidenced by gas prices on 12/16/2011.

The images I unfortunately can't share are the Christmas lights and luminarias in Taos such as this one I found on the Internet:

New Mexico Postcard #8

2011-12-03T13:39:00.005-07:00

A snowy day, and time to catch up. Here's snow photo to begin with, from an early morning walk in the fresh fallen snow.

But let me backtrack to last week and before, when I drove 1700 miles to Austin and back for the Thanksgiving holidays. That's two full days each way! I've made this trip twice in the past but never in the winter when the days are short and the fields are ever so bare.

As you'll see. Went through several ghost towns in eastern New Mexico. These photos are from Cuervo, just of I-40. This town has seen better days.

Then on to west Texas -- miles upon miles upon miles of west Texas. The major photo op is this grain elevator in the long shadows and the end of a winter day.

... and some hay bales covered for winter

Trip to Austin was four full days of fun and food with my beautiful family, and back to beloved New Mexico. This photo is or the Mora Valley, between Taos and Las Vegas (NM).

New Mexico postcard #7

2011-11-14T22:19:00.001-07:00

I can be excused for going ga-ga over snow, since this is the first winter I've experienced since I was twelve years old (unless you want to count my freshman year in college, when I chose a college just for the snow, and wouldn't you know, that was the one year it didn't snow!). We've already had two significant snowstorms in Taos and it's not even the middle of November.

This is a view of the field across the street from my home.

Here is my home, my sweet casita, in the snow.

This is the tiny road I live on. It looks rural, but in fact it is right in the middle of town. That's Taos for you.

New Mexico postcard#6

2011-11-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Random photos from a day in Santa Fe. It was a typical late fall day, sunny an sparkly, so I pulled out my camera. Here is a typical scene -- an adobe revival building, blue sky, and aspen in the foreground.

Here from a colorful storefront in the historic section of town.

Here is a statue of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indian to be made a saint in the Catholic faith.

This is San Miguel Church, the self-proclaimed oldest church structure in the United States.Parts of the building date from 1610, 166 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed!!

A colorful display in a Santa Fe shop.

New Mexico postcard #5

2011-11-05T21:32:00.003-06:00

SNOW in Taos! It started this morning with a really stormy sky. Then the wind came up, then rain, then hail, then sleet. And then snow -- BIG showy flakes. Here are some photos taken from my balcony:

This is the neighboring casita, but looks just like mine.

This is a view of the casitas north of mine (and coincidentally, the unit on the left is the very first place I stayed in Taos, in 2004).

The snow storm was short-lived, though it stayed cold and windy all day. I went out in the afternoon to attend a "Taos Reads" event at the public library. The library was packed!! Now I know where people hang out in Taos on cold days. (Would that it be the case in Oakland (:_().

Now it is evening and the snow is mostly melted. It will be cold tonight, this night when we all turn our clocks back to standard and start to get used to it getting dark at 5 p.m. The wind blew the leaves from the trees, those brilliant yellow leaves on the cottonwoods, elms, and aspens.

I believe autumn is over, and winter has begun.

New Mexico postcard #4

2011-11-02T20:33:00.002-06:00

Today my love went back to the Bay Area, and its time to buckle down to work. We left for the airport early in the morning, with a storm threatening, but it never materialized. The three hour drive made me realize how lucky I am to be only 20 minutes away from the airport at home.

I drove back to Taos on Hwy 14, marked on the map as a scenic route (as if there are road in New Mexico that are not scenic!). I came upon Madrid, New Mexico, a hamlet in the mountains that was originally a mining town, then a ghost town, and now an artists' community.

Here are a few photos:

Here I stopped at the only cafe for a coffee and reading break in the sunshine.

As I sit here, comfortable in this isolated corner of the world, my hometown is making national news with the General Strike. I have mixed feelings about being far away, and what if anything, I would do if I were home. Though I'm a strong MainStreeter vs WallStreeter, I'm not quite sure where the Occupy Oakland Movement is going.

New Mexico postcard#3

2011-10-29T22:07:00.003-06:00

Today is a shopping day in Taos. We began at the Farmer's Market, the last one of the year.

The great thing about this Farmer's Market is that ALL the vendors are also the growers, bakers, or artisans. Here is a bean farmer. She and her husband thresh the dried pinto and red beans right off their truck

These radishes are as big as beets.

Then we went ristra shopping. A ristra is a clump of red peppers woven together to be hung from the rafters. I suspect they originally were functional, simply a convenient way to dry and store the peppers essential to New Mexico cuisine, but now have achieved iconic status as a New Mexico symbol. Between Jonathan and me, we purchased five ristras -- for home in Taos and California, and for gifts.

These cheerful sunshine faces greeted us at the back of the ristra vendor.Just one more sunny day in Taos.

New Mexico postcard#2

2011-10-28T20:38:00.001-06:00

Today I attended the Southwest Art History Conference here in Taos. First time I have ever walked from my home to a conference. A glorious day, as always. Some random photos from my walk to and from:

Mabel Dodge Luhan house. MDL was an East Coast heiress and patron of the arts who became enchanted with Taos just like me, but about 100 years ago. Unlike me, she had the resources to build a beautiful home/retreat, and entertained prominent artists such as D.H. Lawrence, Martha Graham, Georgia O'Keefe, Aaron Copland and a whole bunch of others. Now it is a retreat/conference center, and the site of my conference.

Kachinas in a Taos storefront.

It snowed the night before last and promptly melted in Taos, but the snow dusted Taos mountain and I suspect it will stay for the season.

New Mexico postcard #1

2011-10-24T22:30:00.001-06:00

Once again, I'm enchanted by the Land of Enchantment. It's been six years since I've been back to northern New Mexico, and it's the same wonderful place -- full of culture, history, art, gorgeous views, sunshine in the day and stars in the dark night sky, hot chiles, and cool people. Just as an example, here is a roadside view from a little drive we took yesterday, north of Taos:

Here is the casita where I'll be for the next few months. What a treat! It's right in the center of town, convenient to everything, but also quiet and away from the crowds.

The town of Taos is a fun motley of fancy homes, down at the heels places, squeezed together condos -- where everyone builds according to their spirit and no one is subject to zoning (but I may be wrong about that).

From my window I look in one direction at the Paseo, the main street. It's gridlock during the day but at night it is empty; If I look in the other direction I see cottonwoods and chimisa, both brilliant gold for the next few weeks, and I hear the crows.

Here is my street. It's turns into dirt and then dead ends, but it is right in the middle of town. I'm so glad to be here, must remind myself that I am here to write not to chill out, but if it is Taos, there is room for all. ... Stay tuned for more adventures.

Codex to Kindle? Or not/

2011-09-05T20:32:00.005-06:00

Just when I was deliberating whether to bite the bullet and modernize my reading medium from codex to Kindle, Lev Grossman published the most delightful and informative article in the New York Times. This article traces the evolution of reading media from its earliest, the scroll, to the codex, and now the e-book.

Mr. Grossman posits that the e-book is not conducive to non-linear reading:

"We usually associate digital technology with nonlinearity, the forking paths that Web surfers beat through the Internet’s underbrush as they click from link to link. But e-books and nonlinearity don’t turn out to be very compatible. Trying to jump from place to place in a long document like a novel is painfully awkward on an e-reader, like trying to play the piano with numb fingers. You either creep through the book incrementally, page by page, or leap wildly from point to point and search term to search term. It’s no wonder that the rise of e-reading has revived two words for classical-era reading technologies: scroll and tablet. ... The codex is built for nonlinear reading — not the way a Web surfer does it, aimlessly questing from document to document, but the way a deep reader does it, navigating the network of internal connections that exists within a single rich document like a novel."

I'm not convinced that e-book reading is non-linear, but I'll let that stand. My reason for considering a Kindle has to do with weight and volume. I will be traveling a great deal in the next few months, and since I make my living writing and teaching, I need to bring a number of books with me wherever I go.

This means schlepping a) Chicago Manual of Style (3.4 pounds), Roget's Thesaurus (3.5 pounds), The Organization of Information (2 pounds) and a number of smaller books up to 20 pounds

OR

purchasing a Kindle + electronic versions of the books I need to take.

The idea of reading on a Kindle rather turns me off, but the practicalities of it balance that out.

The likely bottom line: bedtime and pleasure reading remains analog; professional reading will go digital very soon.

HANGING OUT WITH 500 E-ENTREPRENEURS

2011-07-09T21:50:00.037-06:00

Today I traded in my comfortable world of reading and gardening and non-profits for three days in the eCommerce world. I flew to Seattle and joined 500 e- entrepreneurs at the Sellers Conference for Online Entrepreneurs sponsored by Amazon.com. It's a taste of the corporate/technology/eCommerce world.

Day 1. I learned a couple of things about Amazon right off the bat. First of all, the company considers itself primarily an eCommerce platform, rather than simply an online bookseller as I considered it. One third of the merchandise sold through Amazon comes from second party sellers like the ones at the conference. Over a million of them! Another thing I learned is that many of these sellers are not individuals like me listing items to clean out the house, but big time vendors with inventories in the 6-digits. They sell everything (no exaggeration) -- from beauty supplies to electronics to toys from China to lingerie to cold packs.

And they are making big bucks. I’m hearing about net profits of many thousands per month, with the top seller that I heard about making about $40K per month. So the recession has not hit online sellers.Another thing I learned is that Amazon is growing like there's no tomorrow. They cannot hire people fast enough and they don't have enough employees or capacity to meet the demand. In fact I think the reason they encourage so much second party selling is because they cannot meet the demand for merchandise themselves.

One of the best things for everyone is the F2F interaction between sellers and Amazonians (a.k.a. Amazon employees). We 500 sellers were joined by 150 Amazonians who mingled generously among us – at lunch, at the bar, in the hallway, in formal sessions, and with one on one appointments. It was good for us and good for them, as it is clear that the selling platform is huge and complex. .

Day 2. Today is vender day. All the companies that have grown up to support Amazon sellers got to present their services. This includes inventory management software, postage and shipping companies, repricing software, and software which can check Amazon pricing for you if you see an item at the Good Will or a garage sale. Another area of big business -- Amazon support companies.

By now I've mingled enough to find my own -- very small - niche of small time sellers like me. There are a few who, like me, are selling only books and selling for the love of it. Even within this group, I am the smallest seller.

Day 3. This last day I am glad to see the conference conclude. It's been a fascinating learning experience and I met a lot of people I'd never meet in my general life, but I didn't get the Amazon selling bug, and I'm not going to try to be a big time seller. I sell books because I’m running out of space in my house and can’t buy more books unless I get rid of some. My books are my friends and every book I own has a story behind it. Some stories are about meeting the author and getting the book signed. Other times it is about what was happening in my life when I read the book, or someone special who gave it to me, or a particular passage which moved me. When I sell the book, I often share my story of this book, this physical object, with its new owner. And I hope I pass on something more than a commodity.

Bulgarian Day in San Francisco

2011-05-30T13:22:00.003-06:00

Bulgarians in San Francisco?? Well ... yes, actually. There are about 10,000 Bulgarian Americans living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and yesterday a good number of them gathered at the Croatian American Cultural Center in San Francisco to celebrate Saints Kiril and Methody Bulgarian Festival with traditional music, food, wine, and spring rituals.

Saints Kiril (also spelled Cyril) and Methody (also spelled Methodius and Metodi) are not household names in the U.S. but they are in Bulgaria, and right that they should be. These brother-saints of the 9th century were giant intellectuals in the Slavonic Orthodox Church, but best known in the West for their invention (more or less) of the Cyrillic alphabet used in Bulgaria, Russia, and other Slavic countries.

Bulgarians honor Saints Kiril and Methody on May 24 as a day to celebrate culture, literature, and of course, the Cyrillic alphabet that bears Saint Cyril's name. Children pick flowers and make wreaths for adults, and sing the Anthem of Sts. Kiril and Methody.

Since 2001, Bulgarian American choreographer Tanya Kostova has brought this festival to San Francisco audiences. Flowers, Bulgarian food, Bulgarian wine, and Bulgarian music and dance round out the program. The day has always been a family day where multiple generations share festivities and speak Bulgarian, but this year especially the program focused on kids.Young folks enlivened the afternoon with traditional costumes, poetry recited in Bulgarian, by traditional flower garlands.

Adult entertainment was equally enjoyable with concerts by the Bay Area's Nesitinari Orchestra and the Petar Ralchev Quartet from Bulgaria. There are a number of samples of the quartet on YouTube, but here is my favorite of Petar's accordion work,

Here's a shout out to John Daley at the Croatian American Cultural Center, who produced the festival, and Tanya Kostova, mastermind and creative director. Stay tuned for next year; it will only get better.

Reflecting on Retirement

2011-05-10T20:08:00.022-06:00

I never, NEVER thought the concept of retirement could apply to me. As a charter member of the Forever Young Generation and a follower of the Gestalt Prayer, having a real job to retire from was a foreign concept for some time. But life being what it is, not only do I now have a job, but in three days I'll be retiring from it.

I've gone through the cycle of emotions -- relief, anticipation, panic,excitement -- till now I'm down to crossing items off a ToDo list at work. I'll be dealing with my new identity as a retiree for some time, but I'm blessed with good health, a loving partner, beautiful grandchildren, and a house in the Bay Area that's paid for. I'll remember my blessings every day for the rest of my life.

I'll be spending more time with my beloved Jonathan such as we did in this photo, relaxing on the deck of a resort in Death Valley.

With my sweetie at Death Valley

The library where I work threw a retirement party for me and a co-worker. My experience these past 22 years at this job has not been completely positive, and I was not enthusiastic about the party. But in fact, it was a lovely party and I'm grateful to everyone who came, and in the end I had a lot of positive things to say.

Here is an edited version of my remarks:

My Mills story begins before I had ever set foot on this campus. A friend told me about a job opening at the Mills College Library and I did apply but my heart was not in it. My career was in flux. I was working for a library software company that was going bankrupt. I knew I had to leave but had no idea what to do next or even if I wanted to stay in the field. I couldn’t imagine going to a job interview and putting my best foot forward. But I was invited for an interview, and I ALMOST did something really bad. I almost just stood them up, not cancelling the appointment, but just not showing up! All these thoughts were going through my head as I was driving down I-580, but at the last minute I took the MacArthur Exit and ended up on campus. Wow! Once I saw this lovely campus it was love at first sight. This is where I wanted to be. I did put my best foot forward at the interview and I did get the job.

When I arrived at Mills College in 1989 there was no Olin Library. No computers, no OPAC, no email, no Google, no Internet. Certainly no databases or eBooks. The swimming pool was in the central plaza between the Tea Shop and Suzys, but then there was no Suzys. Parking was free and easy to come by. We communicated face to face or by phone, but I didn’t have my own phone till five of six years into the job. Or my own computer. That was our world.

Those first few years were very eventful. Six months after I arrived was the Loma Prieta Earthquake, resulting in Mills Hall and other buildings declared unsafe. All the campus offices had to shift around to accommodate, and we, the library staff and the library collection (all 250,000 books), were required to quickly relocate to our incomplete new Olin Library. Imagine packing, moving, and reshelving 250,000 books in the correct order on the shelves in our new scarcely finished space. The following year was the Student Strike, which resulted in a Mills for Women only mandate; and the year after was the East Bay Fire. These external events shaped these early years.

After those early eventful years, things quieted down and I settled into my job in technical services, mostly behind the scenes. There are two big projects that I am especially proud of.

The first one is the oral history program: the Oakland Living History Program. In 2001 Andy Workman asked me to work on an oral history program to connect Mills to the surrounding Oakland community. Over the years that Program has conducted and archived more than 70 oral histories that are available at Mills College and Oakland Public Library. Another component of the program was oral history workshop series for Mills students and the surrounding community. It was a great opportunity for students and the community members to get a one day introduction to oral history and to interact with each other. Some wonderful partnerships grew out of those workshops, in particular the Friends of Negro Spirituals and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. The Friends of Negro Spirituals Oral History Project won a national award from the Oral History Association.

The second project is my work with the CCM (Center for Contemporary Music), cataloging the archived materials Maggi Payne transferred and digitized. There are now more than 300 CCM CDs used by the Mills community and researchers from around the world.

A third project is Mills related but not job related. Anthropology professor Mitch Allen is the founder and publisher of Left Coast Press. Mitch took a chance with me and agreed to publish my first book, Curating Oral Histories. This is been a wonderful publisher/author relationship – even more precious when I hear about the nightmares other authors have had with their publishers. In fact, it has all worked out so well, I am currently working on another, much larger publishing project for Left Coast Press, and Mitch has invited me to edit an oral history series for Left Coast.

Now – 2011 – is a fitting time for me to step aside and pass on the torch to someone else, not only for personal reasons but also for the shift occurring in the library science field. Twenty-one years ago my predecessor, Eva Konrad, retired when the library automated. She had worked the previous 30 years at Mills. Once again libraries are experiencing a sea change in the access and delivery of information – with databases, eBooks, patron driven acquisitions, and mobile delivery. These changes and opportunities are wonderful, but not the kinds of things that interest me or that I want to wrap my mind around. It is with great pleasure that I pass this job on.

When people ask me what is next, they expect me to say lots of oral histories, travel, or dance – interests that have been important to me over the years. But in fact, I do not have specific plans for the future, but I hope find a path completely different from what I’ve done in the past. Maybe get better at Tai Chi, learn to weave, learn more about jazz, about viticulture, about the early history of religion. My only plan is to not plan, and let come what may. Stay tuned.

Lilla Serlegi at the Croatian American Cultural Center

2010-09-18T14:21:00.011-06:00

About five years ago a young Hungarian musician arrived in the Bay Area to learn English. Last night she graced Bay Area audiences with a solo concert as part of the Croatian American Cultural Center’s Culture at the Crossroads Series. In those five years Lilla Serlegi has found her place in the Bay Area Balkan music scene as lead instrumentalist and singer in two local bands, noted tamburitza instructor, and frequent guest musician.

It is misleading to consider Lilla simply Hungarian, though she is that and more. Lilla grew up speaking Croatian and Hungarian, and absorbing the musical influences from the three cultures of her childhood village. As she explains in the program notes,

I am from a small Croatian village in Hungary near the Austrian border in the area called Gradišće. Our population Gradišćanski Croatians on the two sides of the border is approximately sixty thousand people. This area has been populated by Croatians from the sixteenth century. Our culture, to this day, is a blend of Croatian, Hungarian and Austrian. It is obvious in our music and in other aspects of our life. Tonight I will bring music to you from Croatia, the old country, a bit from Hungary, and music with the taste of the Austrian influence.

Last night’s concert was completely introduced by Lilla (and yes, she did achieve her English learning goal). Her lively personality engaged the audience immediately, and I found Lilla’s introductions and back story associated with each song to be one of the best parts of the concert.

For example she introduces the song Kad me lupi tambure: “This is about the good feelings of playing and listening the tamburitza. Why is the next song important to me? I remember when Caroline Bahr of Novi Stari Tamburaši gave me this song to sing with them. This was the first song I sang solo with them. It has become the song of Lillian Ruzich, my dear Lillian, and me. It is a Slavonian song.”

The program included music from Hungarian, Croatian, Austrian, Dalmatian, Romani and Moldavian traditions. She selected each song for a personal association. For each section of the concert she invited her favorite musicians to the stage: The Slavonian Traveling Band, Novi Stari Tamburasi, and the Ferenc Tobak Family Band. Though I’m struck by the musical quality of Lilla’s solo work, the presence of the various bands highlights the cultural range of her musical repertoire.

Lilla’s expertise on the strings and vocals, as well as her energy and enthusiasm to share her tradition with Bay Area audiences is a blessing to Bay Area Balkan music enthusiasts. Her style and repertoire is unique to my knowledge. We are all fortunate to have this emerging musician in our midst. With Lilla’s energy and talent I expect to see her as an emerging young leader in this musical scene.

This short video captures Lilla's lively personality and love of music, as well as samples for last night's concert.

Dancing High in the Sierra Foothills

2010-09-14T11:05:00.019-06:00

CODA: Grace Edith Callaway, 1987-2011

We miss you Amazing Grace, and we love you. We celebrated your life today with music, kind words, videos of your dancing, as the snow was falling outside the church. Your mother shared her dream, where she met you and you told her, " Now I need to learn to dance in a different way." Love to you - Nancy

I live in the San Francisco Bay area where you can see the most innovative dance in the world, so I was amazed to find a dance company in the sleepy town of Grass Valley that outdid any performance I've seen around here recently.

Last week-end our friend and aerial dancer Grace Callaway invited us to a concert by the AirAligned Dance Company. (Grace is the dancer in the far left of this photo). Aerial dance I've learned, has been around since the 1970s, but it was new to me.The dance form consists of acrobatics and and dance performed from long strips of cloth hanging from the ceiling. Dancers climb, fall, slide, twist, dance together and apart with incredible skill and grace.

Another highlight of the show was Shredder Hoops, the performs with hoops from her neck, her torso, her legs, and her tippy toes. With memories of my hula hoop days, I know the skill it takes to get one or two hoops moving in the most logical parts of the body. And Shredder worked up to 10 hoops at time! My admiration for her work only grew when she told me she practices five hours a day. Also to note are company director Tresa Honaker both for her beautiful dancing, her choreography and her ability to put together a show as professional as this. Musician Craig Thomas tied things together with keyboard, guitar music and vocals, and brought the house down with a sexy David Bowie rendition.

This tightly produced show consisted of aerial dance, hoop dance, modern dance, show dance and a little hop hop bound together with a loose narrative around a masquerade theme. Each dancer created a character and created a short piece around the character.They put on a show once a year. Definitely worth a trip to the Sierra Foothills!

Air Aligned has a number of videos on YouTube so you can see for yourself. Here is their demo tape:

And here is one of Grace's solos:

No One Ever Said That Freedom is Free

2010-08-18T22:54:00.000-06:00

I received my ACLU Newsletter this evening, and it's a 90th anniversary edition. Surely, Americans' struggles for civil liberties goes far beyond the 90 years of the ACLU's existence, but the newsletter offers a sort of retrospective of civil liberties struggles that reminds me 21st century struggles represent one mark in a long history.

Here are the highlights. Can you add others?

1920s. Fight against the Sedition act which criminalized "disloyal" statements during wartime, and Ku Klux Klan violence and lynchings in the South. ACLU fought against arrest and deportation of resident aliens deemed "radical" by some.

1930s. More violence against African Americans, including the Scottsboro cases where 8 African American men were accused of raping white women. Literature censured, including the banning of James Joyce's Ulysses. Labor organizing and picketing decriminalized.

1940s. Unjust detention of 120,000 American citizens of Japanese origin.

1950s. The decade of the blacklist, rendering it impossible for many to get jobs because of their outspoken "UnAmerican beliefs." Rossellini's film The Miracle censored (story about a peasant woman who thinks she is impregnated by Saint Joseph.)

1960s. The decade of civil rights struggles for African Americans and other ethnic minorities. Successful Supreme Court case which struck down the law banning the teaching of evolution. (And now we're fighting that battle all over again).Religion banned from public school curricula.

1970s. Abortion rights secured in 1973 (another battle we're fighting all over again). Struggles around gender equality. Watergate Scandal fells the Nixon presidency and causes a crisis in government. (This is the first time I started to question the infallibility of our leaders).

1980s. Right to abortion struggles continue. HIV/AIDS epidemic brings Gay movement to the spotlight and makes the struggle harder.

1990s. Continued for womens rights, equality in the workplace, affirmative action.

2000s. In my opinion the Bush Administration takes the prize for subjugating civil rights.

Oral history, Oakland Chinatown, and Tai Chi

2010-07-11T22:52:00.005-06:00

It was oral history that got me to Madison Park in Oakland on Saturday morning, but it's Tai Chi that will get me to go back. I received a flyer from Roy Chan, the director of the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project (OCOHP), announcing the Bubble Tea Chats* exhibition would be at Madison Park, on the edge of Oakland Chinatown. Since I was out of town for the main event, I decided to catch it here.

The Bubble Tea Chats oral histories focus on the displacement of Oakland Chinatown families living in the Madison Park area in the 1960s, when their homes were claimed by eminent domain for construction of BART, Laney College, and the Oakland Museum. The narratives of these families were brilliantly recorded and preserved by Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project, Mills College students for KALW, and StoryCorps.

I learned on Saturday that there is another, contemporary story in the Madison Park area, a story of new immigrants who make this park their community center. These folks gather every morning for dance, Tai Chi, and social activities. When I arrived around 9:30 there were more than 100 people, and Roy told me that if I had arrived earlier there would have been twice the number, and that this park hosts the group seven days a week throughout the year.

Roy also told me that these folks form a microcommunity within the larger boundaries of Oakland Chinatown. As new immigrants, they have found a home in the Madison Park area, and would not be likely to venture a few block over to events at OACC in the Pacific Renaissance Center.

Everyone in the park was excited to see the exhibit, and I hope it will will inspire questions about the history of the this section of Chinatown .... about the Chinese families who came before them, moved in, moved out, moved on, and assimilated. The story of newcomers to Oakland is told over and over, from one generation to another, from one language to another -- stories of tragedy and loss, of hope and new beginnings, of hard work, setbacks, and triumphs.Each person you see in these photos has such a story.

The morning offered me a bonus, since I've been waiting for the right situation to learn Tai Chi. The groups here are open to anyone at any level, and I even received a personal invitation to join, with an indication of the special spot to stand in -- the spot for beginners. I'll be there soon.

*Bubble tea is a popular drink in Asia.

Writer's Diary, #6, End of a chapter

2010-07-02T22:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning I packed up my computer, my printer, my research books, my espresso maker and said good-bye to Green Valley, Arizona, my writing retreat for the past month. The month by myself was a writer's dream, and I had the luxury to experiment with narrative styles, organization, design, and presentation -- seeking the very best form for this book. Even more of a luxury is the leisure to go back and revise if a better idea comes up. I left with what I think is a pretty solid first draft. We shall see.

Now I go back to real life to California -- to work, classes, gardening, shopping, and all the details that make up modern life. That's as it should be, and I know I'll get back in the routine quickly, and be happy about it.

This month was a treat, and the remainder of this book series will be squeezed in between more pressing duties, especially teaching three classes fall semester on top of my three day a week day job.

Hello life!

Here's a photo I tookon Hwy I-19 leaving Green Valley

Writer's Diary # 5: Site-Seeing

2010-06-29T23:36:00.049-06:00

I'm pleased to report that oral history is alive and well in southern Arizona, thanks to dedicated historians like Shaw Kinsley of the Tubac Historical Society and Indira Berndtson of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. I took a break from writing to make site visits to these two oral history projects here in Arizona. Shaw and Indira are typical of the dedicated and underappreciated individuals I meet whenever I visit community oral history projects. These are the people who are preserving our cultural heritage from the ground up.

If you are like me, you may never have heard of the village of Tubac, but it is the oldest settlement in Arizona, founded as a presidio in 1752 to support Spanish missionaries at the Tumacacori Mission down the road (definitely worth a visit). Tubac is about 30 miles north of the current US/Mexican border, and after many iterations in its 200+ year existence, is now state historic park and arts village, and a destination for Arizonans and others who know about it.

Shaw Kinsley is the Director of the Historical Society, and is working double time since budget cuts eliminated state support for the site. He showed me samples of the oral histories the Society has been collecting over the years -- of old timers and newcomers. Shaw is eager to resuscitate the oral history program, and to get the community excited about documenting their own history once again. The Tubac Oral History Project is an excellent example of how documentation of a little known piece of history will fill in the gaps in a much larger story -- with many chapters. The story begins when Juan Bautista de Anza led an expedition which founded Yerba Buena, the predecessor settlement of my home town of San Francisco. And the recent history of Tubac is just as interesting, mingling stories or land acquisition and use, arts community, newcomers vs old timers, and border issues.

Indira Berndtson is an equally dedicated oral historian, documenting the history of a higher profile site, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation at Taliesin West. Frank Lloyd Wright purchased the property and founded Taliesin West in 1932 to support his vision. And what a vision! Aerial photos from that time show the property and the surrounding area as one gigantic slice of the desert -- no Phoenix, no Scottsdale, no I-10 of course. Only sagebrush.

Indira is the perfect person for the job, since she has both an insider's knowledge and and oral historian/archivist's perspective. She lived at Taliesin as a child when her parents were apprentice architects under Frank Lloyd Wright many years ago. Both Indira and her mother (at age 96) continue as long time residents at Taliesin.

Indira's project at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is a perfect example of how oral history can offer another perspective to a well known person or movement. Frank Lloyd Wright is a greater than life figure in the public eye, and his public story is filled with controversy and myth. The 1500 interviews of persons associated with Frank Lloyd Wright and the Foundation offer a broad and balanced perspective to the public record. In fact, she has more research requests than she can keep up with.

Bravo to Shaw and Indira and to all the community oral historians around the country and the world who are collecting, recording, and archiving personal accounts of their own communities for the benefit of the public. It's our cultural heritage, folks. Without a sense of the past we are, indeed, bereft.

Writer's Diary, #4, Getting Real

2010-06-20T22:00:00.073-06:00

This week has not been as productive as the first two. The task for this week is to write about cataloging and access for oral histories, the topics I know most about. Does that make it harder to write about them? I've entirely reorganized the material three times in three days, essentially wasting two precious writing days. Very frustrating, but I hope I got it right the third time. Now that I have the organization plan in my head, of course I have to transfer it to the keyboard. Another days work. And so it goes ...

In spite of this little setback, I am pleased with my accomplishment and progress, not the least because of close email collaboration with my colleagues around the country. It makes all the difference in the world to get a question resolved right away, or get feedback on a troublesome passage, or generally get a social fix after a long day alone with my computer. Thanks, Barb and MK!!!

Despite good writing days and bad writing days, I always must remind myself that, in spite of all the progress, we are still in the early stages of creating a book. .A first draft is like a skeleton, or a fancy outline. Many, many steps to follow. Here's what goes into this particular writing project.

1. You get the idea and mull it over, changing it many times - DONE

2. You find publisher, and he gives you both encouragement and real deadlines. Thanks, Mitch!! - DONE

3. You create a book outline, which you know you will change many times, or get thrown out altogether, but still is important to give some structure to a big, amorphous project like writing a book. - DONE

4. From the outline, you break down the pieces into smaller pieces -- volumes (in this case), chapters, sections, knowing that it will be changed about a million time as you move through the project - DONE

5. You take a deep breath, pour a glass of wine, and remind yourself and your loved ones that you aren't really a masochist to write a book. - DONE, MANY TIMES

6. You sit down with your outline close at hand, and stare at the computer screen, waiting for inspiration to come. - DONE AND ONGOING

7. Then at some point your fingers start moving, and words appear on the screen, almost without effort. You keep typing, and you can't stop -- not for lunch, not to go to work, not to give your sweetie a kiss. The writing just keeps flowing. - DONE AND ONGOING

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 about a million times till you have a first draft. - IN PROGRESS

Once you have a first draft you have the skeleton of a book. Then comes

revision;
reorganization of content;
fact checking;
inserting forms, examples and screen shots;
verifying citations;
discussions about format and appearance;
creating appendices;
sending it out to readers;
getting legal permissions for copyrighted material;
preparing a final draft.

Whew!! In this case, I've only just begun .....

But I got out to do at least a little sight seeing. Here are photos from the San Javier Mission at Sunset:

Writer's Diary, #3. Buckling down.

2010-06-13T20:59:00.012-06:00

This is the end of my first week intensely writing and I'm pleased to report a resounding success. No writer's block, no distractions, no going off on tangents, no fact checking that can't be done remotely. I polished off drafts of three chapters (of a 6-7 chapter book) and posted them on GoogleDocs for my co-authors' review. This is unbelievably satisfying because this project has been troubling me for some time.

Secrets to success? A combination of the best of circumstances for a writer. Much of it is due to close daily communication with my co-author Barb, the perfect working environment here in my cousin's house in southern Arizona, and the hot dry climate which makes me feel physically good and therefore gets me into a good mood. The family of javelinas in the photo above live in the neighborhood and along with the other wildlife, keep me company.

Here's my work routine, dictated by the climate but it works well for writing. Up a little after dawn, go walking about 6-7 a.m. before the heat builds up. Back home, turn on the computer and do the heavy intellectual work in the morning, fortified by a full pot of Peets coffee, brewed strong. Take it easy in the afternoon, with maybe even a nap in the heat of the day. Swimming* in the late afternoon, then back home for the part I love about writing. This is when I print out the day's work, take a cold drink out on the deck, and review, revise, think about possibilities for presenting material, and think expansively about my project. Then a quick stint on the computer to revise, and to bed fairly early to do it all over again the next day.

With so much success I decided to take a break for the week-end and do a little exploring. I drove south, and I stopped in the town Tubac, Arizona. Never heard of it before -- it's about 20 miles from the Mexican border. It claims to be the first Spanish settlement (though I thought Taos was settled 100 years earlier), and now is a thriving arts community.When I arrived at the end of the day, both the historic museum, and the galleries were closed, but it offered all kinds of possibilities for a future trip. Below are some photos from the town.

* I should mention that I always consider swimming work time (and, incidentally, I wish my employer would pay me for swim time). Swimming gives me clarity, as this is when I can see problems and solutions most clearly.

Writer's Diary #2. Settling In

2010-06-03T18:27:00.014-06:00

The first day of my writing retreat and my desk is already messy. But that's a good sign. Things are happening and I'm creating enough stuff to mess up my desk. Today was to be my getting started day, with no benchmarks for completion. Yet I polished off the first chapter, aptly titled "Getting started [with processing oral history]".

It's easier to understand my first day success, if you know more about this setting. My situation is a writer's dream.

My cousin Ellen offered the use of her winter home in an adult community in southern Arizona.

What this means:
1. Because it is an adult community everything is works well; access to everything is close, good, and convenient; it is quiet, and it is safe.
2. Because it is nestled in high country of the Sonora Desert, it is incredibly beautiful.
3. Because it is June in southern Arizona, it is too hot to spend time outside during the day. It also means that most of the residents that come here for the winter, have already returned to their northern homes and left the place to me.

All that adds up to an ideal situation for focusing on indoor, mental work without distractions.

It's hard to tell from the photo at the top, but as I sit at my computer I look out across the patio, then to the green belt which separates each block from the one beyond giving the impression of being alone in the desert. Far in the distance I see the mountains, hazy today, but always changing with the light and shadows and clouds. The critters are my constant companion -- some of them I see and others are hidden, but always, always is a chorus of birds, crickets, and other unidentifiable animals. As I'm writing, several bunnies, a lizard and a number of birds have crossed my line of vision.

Even though I'm a heat lover, it's not wise to venture out too much in the middle of the day. The best time for being outside is around 5-8 a.m. or in the evening after 6 p.m. Here are some photos I took on my morning walk. And now ... the shadows are lengthening and the breeze is coming up, and I think I'll head out for an evening walk.

Writer's diary #1. Getting ready

2010-05-28T22:20:00.018-06:00

Laptop -
Backup flash drive -
Thesaurus -
Style guide -
Espresso maker -
Legal pad and pen -
Photos of granddaughters -

Early tomorrow I am driving to Arizona to spend a month by myself with my laptop. I'm giving myself the gift of quiet, of time to reflect and organize my thoughts, and ultimately time to get ideas out of my brain and into my computer to meet a deadline.

Reactions to my self-imposed writing retreat are mixed. My writing friends are green with envy. My family -- we're all a bunch of loners -- find the idea perfectly natural. My sweetie? He'll miss me a lot but he's used to my writing tangents, and besides he might come join me at the end. Everybody else?? They think I'm enormously self-indulgent, or conversely, enormously masochistic, to go off alone to the desert where it is 100 degrees before noon and I don't know a soul. Or just plain nuts.

But this is all precisely the point. When it is 100 degrees before noon, and I have nothing but my laptop and my thoughts, it's easy to focus, to follow a thought, and to craft a piece of writing. The subject of my writing project will remain a secret for the time being.

I thank my dear cousin Ellen, for making this happen. Ellen has offered me the use of her winter home near Tucson. I'll have a place to spread out, be comfortable, and focus.

Stay tuned for more to come.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Milla Milojkovic

2010-03-27T11:13:00.012-06:00

Last night was another great event in the Croatian American Center's innovative new concert series, Culture at the Crossroads.

This event showcased San Francisco jazz artist Milla Milojkovic, and her tamburasi accompanists - Danny Ovanin, Ryan Werner, Adis Sirbubalo, and Steve Ovanin -- who flew in from Chicago for the evening.

Tamburitza-jazz fusion. Are you kidding? Sounds unlikely, but it works, thanks to unbelievably talented artists, with Balkan rhythms flowing through their blood, and to vision of series curator John Daley.

Milla put together a set alternating the tamburitza melodies she grew up with, sung in Croatian, with the jazz standards she is so well known for. Her smoky contralto carried us from the Ellington classic Caravan to the Romany favorite Jelem Jelem to Whatever Lola/Milla Wants to to Besame mucho in Spanish and Croatian to My Heart Belongs to Daddy, a loving tribute to her father who sat in the audience.

Milla was born into the musical culture of the Bay Area Balkan community. She was singing and playing piano and tamburitza by the time she was five. She went on to study at the Manhattan Conservatory of Music and earned her degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a Milla groupie, I've been following her jazz performances throughout the Bay Area. I find those sentimental old songs in her throaty voice absolutely irresistible.

I thought she had found her musical home with jazz standards, but this concert broke new ground. Milla understands the music so well -- the jazz and the Balkan melodies -- that she can move seamlessly from one tradition to the other, keeping the essence of each rhythm and melody and language, and at the same time making it all her own.

And Milla's on-stage style makes the audience feel like favored guests in her home. Don't be surprised if you get a hug from Milla if you attend her performance!

Definitely an emerging artist to follow.

IDITAROD MADNESS

2010-03-06T20:27:00.025-07:00

Today is Anchorage's glory day, and I'm here to witness it! This is the ceremonial beginning of the Iditarod, the world's longest and most famous dogsled race. The race course travels more than 1100 miles from near Anchorage to Nome, way out on the Alaska's west coast on the Seward Peninsula. You can follow the c ourse and see ph otos along the trail.

Mushing (the official word for dog sledding) is a serious sport for those who practice it, and this race is much like the Olympics. Mushing is a way of life for the devotees, and their lives and their savings accounts to breeding and training dog teams. Seventy-two teams come from all over, including entries from Jamaica and Georgia. Mushing in the South????#$?? Go figure. True devotion.

I learned from my personal musher in Fairbanks (more about that later) that dog sledding originated with native Alaskans as a mode of transportation. The idea was adapted by

prospectors during the Alaska Gold Rush in the 1890s, who needed to haul their equipment through Canada's and Alaska's interior. They first experimented with pack horses, but horses couldn't handle the rough terrain and their weight was too much for the ice, so dogs were substituted. It was only later that it turned from transportation to sport.

Today's event isn't the real beginning. That begins tomorrow in Willow, a little town north of here. But today Anchorage is alive with people and dogs and all the associated activities from everywhere. The weather was warm for both people and dogs -- about 32 degrees. They had to bring in snow for the sleds. It was parade style; each dog team was announced off they went down 4th street. The dogs get really excited, and their barking adds to the chaos and general activity. Tons of media, too.

My Fairbanks colleague, Robyn Russell, treated me to my own personal dog sled ride a few days ago. Much better in that it was just me, my musher, the dogs and the wilderness. My musher Miriam Cooper is, pictured below, is originally from Sacramento, but now completely innured in the Alaska sledding life. She is developing a sled dog sanctuary near Talkeetna. Our team consisted of eight dogs who did all the work, me cozy in the sled, and Miriam standing behind me directing the dogs.

LOCAL COLOR: The Anchorage Captain Cook Hotel has a very comfortable lounge, so that's where I'm blogging from. I order a glass of chardonnay, settle into and easy chair, open my computer and take in the atmosphere. Along with all the Iditarod celebrants. Now a rather loud party of four sits down next to me, and the drinks start flowing. There are three youngish men, a somewhat attractive middle aged woman, and an older man who has already had a few.

Who in the world are these people? Locals? Iditarod folks? Tourists? For the life of me I can't figure out from their conversation what is their connection to each other, or why they are here. The woman is making overt sexual overtures to all of the men, the older man gets more talkative as he downs more drinks. He tells a garbled story of his childhood involving Eastern Russia, adoption, and a Catholic boarding school. A tantalizing story that makes me want more.

Then someone looks over at me listening to them and says, "I bet you have a press card." I tell them no, but I am blogging. They say, "Good. Put me in your blog." And so it goes for another hour or so -- more drinks, louder conversation, that is just enough to titillate me, but not quite enough to figure out their story.

Finally things quiet down and the party is getting ready to leave for dinner. By this time the horny woman and the drunk guy are over in a corner getting it on, and the three younger guys strike up a conversation with me. I learn that all three of them are involved in the tourist trade. One of them runs a touring bus business and the other two are involved the the cruise industry. the older guy has a high position in the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. I never found out about the woman.

So this is a business meeting! The young guys are negotiating with the older guy for more connections from Anchorage, especially touting the advantages of adding Anchorage as a destination for cruise ships. The tourist economy is suffering in Alaska just like everywhere else, and these folks are just doing business over drinks.

Just another day in the Far North.

See more Alaska photos.

p.s. Looks like Sarah Palin is come kind of Iditarod sponsor. Check the video, which can't be avoided on the Iditarod homepage.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Drone Magic

2009-12-06T12:29:00.027-07:00

Yesterday occurred one of the most extraordinary events in the Bay Area: the 7th annual Drone Magic International Bagpipe Festival. Each Christmas season instrument maker and musicologist Fe renc Tobak gathers bagpipes, bagpipers, and and bagpipe music lovers like me for a grand celebration of this weird music that is part of the musical tradition of almost every culture throughout Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. And what do these musicians have in common? They love hugging goatskins!

This year's festival started off with a lecture demonstration by bagpiper and musicologist Sean Folsom. Sean has made bagpipes and bagpipe lore the focus of his musical life since he switched from jazz and rock in 1970. It was the Scottish pipes that stole his heart.

Sean filled us in on the origins and evolution of the instrument. The antecedent of the bag-pipe is -- quite obviously if you think about it -- the pipe, such as those pictured at the top of this post. According to Folsom, the pipe originated in the kingdom of Sumer (now modern Iraq) a good 3-5 thousand years ago. It was the Romans who added the bag.

The Romans are responsible for dispersing the instrument, and the Christians are responsible for repressing it. Sean told us that nearly all early Christian music is vocal, because instrumental music was too closely associated with pagan practice. So the bagpipe survived for about 500 years as a shepherd's instrument in all the regions that the Roman Empire touched.

There is much more to the history, but let me fast forward to the 20th century when the bagpipe had all but died out in most areas. It was considered dirty, yucky, and generally old fashioned. Then came the revivalist movement, of which both Sean and Ferenc have played a big part. Ethnomusicologists convinced old village musicians to bring out their old bagpipes. These scholars admired the bagpipes, repaired them and and recorded melodies. And young people took interest. Bagpipes are becoming cool for Generation Yers as evidenced by the young players at the concert last night and by my favorite Celtic band Seven Nations.

Sean owns 55 bagpipes from Great Britain, Italy, Croatia, North Africa, and Armenia. He pulled them out of his suitcase, one by one, and demonstrated -- the tone, the different kinds of construction, and the story behind each one. He could have been the Pied Piper. The audience was fascinated and definitely in the mood for the concert which followed.

Ference Tobak (whom I wrote about in this blog August 29, 2009) is himself a gifted musician, instrument maker, and ethnomusicologist. Each Christmas season he produces this event. Last night's concert included piping traditions from Spain, Sweden, Scotland, England, Bulgaria, Hungary and Greece. Each musical tradition is entirely different, the only similarity being the limitations of the instrument itself. The Bulgarian group entertained us with a caroling ritual followed an animal blessing consisting of guys dressed in animal skins as you can see in the photo.

And how did I get interested in bagpipe music? I guess it's in my blood. My father is a second generation Scot. Though music in general was not a part of our family life, when bagpipe music came around -- at the Scottish Games or occasional touring groups -- we'd end up there -- my mother in agony and my father and I in bliss. Those days are gone and so is my father, but I try to make it to the local Scottish Games so I can to listen to 100o pipers gathered on the racetrack playing together Scotland the Brave. Tears come to my eyes every time.

Here is a selection from the concert on YouTube

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Croatian American Cultural Center

2009-11-07T18:03:00.082-07:00

Culture at the Crossroads ... An apt term to describe any number of phenomena in the Bay Area; in fact, it could well describe the Bay Area itself. But I want to tell you about a particular crossroads of culture which resulted in a concert series of the same name at San Francisco's Croatian American Cultural Center (CACC), and how it came to be.

For more than 20 years the CACC's cultural director John Daley has been organizing festivals and concerts which highlight the culture of Croatia, the Balkans, and Central Europe. Though everyone else considered these events successful, John wanted more. He wanted to reach deeper into established ethnic communities to ask what their culture means to them; to open a door to recent immigrant communities; and to extend a welcoming hand to younger audiences and families. His goal is to develop programs with a more inclusive lineup of artists and an appeal to a wider audience, especially families and youth.

John figured the best way to do this is go directly to the communities and ask about what's most important to them, and he invited me to come along. We spent the spring of 2008 traveling throughout the greater Bay Area, meeting with 25 artists and cultural workers with roots in Hungary, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia, and Poland. We were treated to wine and cheese, coffee and torte, and home cooked feasts as we sat across the table from our new friends and listened.

We listened to stories about family; about the leaving home -- sometimes involuntarily-- and beginning anew; about finding the balance between preserving culture and assimilating; and always, about the power of food, language, music, and dance. For example:

College students Antej and Igor are the lead dancers in San Jose's Koraci Cr oatian Folk Ensemble. Both emigrated from Bosnia as children during the war, and are outwardly just two girl crazed American teenagers who happen to speak Croatian and dance well. But Antej was leaving soon to spend his sophomore year in Dubrovnik, and he got real serious as he told us about the mixed feelings inside him as approached his childhood home as a young adult.

Rumen is a Romany musician from Bulgaria. Rumor has it that he is the best tambura player in the world, but that only begins to describe his musical talent, for he sings, plays percussion, and any other instrument you put in his hands. We visited Rumen in his Berkeley home and met his daughter -- a dancer -- and granddaughter, who had recently arrived in California. He told us his own emigration story --the lucky series of events which brought him here -- and how much he would like to help his family and musical colleagues do the same.

Tanya was a professional dancer and choreographer in Bulgaria till she emigrated to the Bay Area in the mid 1990s. She has been instrumental in introducing the Bay Area to Bulgarian culture through the annual St. Kiril & Methody Festival. Tanya would like to increase Bulgarian cultural activities, especially to reach out to young people, and she has the energy and commitment to make it happen. She suggested a "kids pre-conference" to accompany all of the CAC festivals.

John and I left each interview excited and inspired by our conversations, and overwhelmed by the potential opportunities for creative programming at the CACC. But I wondered how John would organize these diverse ideas into a concert series. Well, I needn't have worried. The result is the Culture at the Crossroads concert series, which John produced this fall, based on our 25 conversations.

The series kicked off with a concert in August, appropriately titled Firewalkers & the Sun, referring to the English names of the featured bands, Nestinari (from the Bulgarian word for firewalker), and Helios, (the Greek word for sun). I remembered our evening conversation in their Concord (Calif.) home the previous spring, the feast we were served, and the musical treat afterwards. These accomplished musicians stated clearly that they are in it for the love of music, not for the performance. Which made me especially grateful that they made an exception for this occasion.

The second concert in the series had a Hungarian theme, but not the same-old Hungarian Rhapsody/Csardas theme. Curated by Hungarian born musician, instrument maker, and ethnomusicologist Ferenc Tobak, this concert had a bagpipe theme. Am I kidding about bagpipes in Central Europe? Well, no, but you have a good excuse if you've never heard about them. Ferenc spent much of the 1990s uncovering a bagpipe tradition among the Csango people of Moldova that was literally dying out. Ferenc found discarded old bagpipes in the villages, and inspired some of the elders to play tunes which Ferenc recorded. This concert (and another one in December devoted solely to the bagpipe) featured the bagpipe (called duda in Central Europe) and tamburitza music featuring the Slavonian Traveling Band.

The series concluded with a concert by Sidro Tamburitza Orchestra. A successor to the Blue Adriatic Orchestra, Sidro is composed of family and friends from the San Jose area who have been playing music together since childhood. They blend tamburitza music with rock and roll, and bluegrass to create their unique sound. We were not disappointed at the concert. When I walked into the hall, I immediately noticed a different ambiance. White tablecloths. Tea candles, The lights turned down low. A full bar. I flashed back to our conversation with Emil, Thomas, and Kristine the previous spring. They represent the 30 something couples and families with strong ties to their Croatian culture. In our conversation they emphasized heir wish for a social outlet for young people, but with a Croatian theme. I can see immediately that John Daley listened, and made it happen.

This series was delightful both musically and culturally. I was impressed to see the musicians on stage -- most of whom we interviewed in their homes the previous spring. It was wonderful to see many of the ideas and requests we developed, unfold in this concert series. And the really good news is ... John just told me he hopes to produce a similar concert series next year !

Stay tuned!!

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: SF Ferry Building Farmers Market

2009-11-07T17:58:00.005-07:00

My cousin Ellen from Montana visited recently. We took the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco and hung out around the piers on stunning morning. Her photos of the food at the Farmers' market are so wonderful, I'm posting them here.

SMART Cars are Smart

2009-11-03T22:52:00.010-07:00

The first SMART car appeared on my block last week. Isn't it cute! Be assured, my neighborhood is not "smart" or upscale in any way, which is why I'm so pleased. These new cars have hit the mainstream and, at least in the Bay Area, are now found in ordinary, working class neighborhoods like mine, along with Peets coffee.

I first saw these little cars in Europe in 2007, before they were distributed in the United States. I would never have believed these cute cars would be gracing the U.S. Interstates within a few months, and my very own neighborhood with two years.

Here are some photos of the Smart cars I saw in Europe.

This one in Jelsa, on the island of Hvar, Croatia.

These last two photos from Vienna.

Where is God, and who cares, anyway?

2009-10-30T21:50:00.005-06:00

I don't talk about it much, but my spiritual life is important to me. Karen Armstrong is my favorite religious writer, and something of a spiritual guide. So I was excited to find an article by her in the current print issue of Foreign Policy. She addresses current myths such as these, with cogent arguments. Here are some excerpts and paraphrases:

God is dead. NO, When Nietzsche announced the death of God in 1882, he thought that in the modern, scientific world people would not be able to understand religious faith. ... but it is only since 9/11 that God has proven to be alive and well beyond all question ....
God and politics shouldn't mix. NOT NECESSARILY. Theologically illiterate politicians have long given religion a bad name ... The manner in which religion is used in politics is more important than whether it's used at all. J. F. Kennedy and Barak Obama have invoked faith as a shared experience that binds the country together ...
God breeds violence and intolerance. NO, HUMANS DO. All fundamentalism -- Jewish, Christian, Muslim -- is rooted in a profound fear of annihilation. History shows that when these groups are attacked, militarily or verbally, they almost invariably become more extreme.
God is for the poor and ignorant. NO. The United States is the richest country in the world and the most religious in the developed world. None of the major religions is averse to business; each developed a nascent economy. Still, the current financial crisis shows the religious critique of excessive greed is far from irrelevant.
God is bad for women. YES
God is the enemy of science. HE DOESN'T NEED TO BE. Science has become an enemy of fundamentalist Christians who campaign against the teaching of evolution in public schools and stem cell research because they seem to conflict with biblical teaching. ... The conflict with science is symptomatic of a reductive idea of God in the modern West ...
God is incompatible with democracy. NO.

So I was horrified when I went to the Foreign Policy website to post the link to this article, and found a long litany of scathing comments for my favorite writer: "this is the stupidist article I've seen." "Dumb is right." "How can she miss the most essential points?" And so on. Is it me or the other readers who misses the point? FP is not a magazine I ordinarily read (I got it as a gift subscription), but I didn't know I was so out in the woods as to be 180 degrees off the mainstream.

Figure it out yourself at http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/19/god_0?page=full

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Alameda Oakland Ferry

2009-10-02T22:50:00.012-06:00

We took a day off from real life today and played tourist in our own hometown. We got up early and took the Oakland/Alameda Ferry to San Francisco getting off at the Ferry Building Marketplace. That old Ferry Building that I remember as the tallest building on the skyline in the later 1950s, is no longer even visible on the skyline, thanks to the skyscrapers that popped up in San Francisco's boom years. No matter, it is a high class destination now -- much more than just a ferry hub. Now you can buy gourmet olive oil, gourmet wines, gourmet organic fruit, gourmet mushrooms and every other kind of gourmet yummy that you'd expect to find in San Francisco. With prices to match.

We stayed simple and started out at Peet's then moved over to Boulette's Larder for a fancy breakfast overlooking the wharf. Here is a photo of Jonathan's poached eggs on a pork and chard loaf. As you can see from the photos it was a sparkling autumn day, and lingered in the sun with our coffee and tea till almost lunch time.

Turns out today is Gandhi's birthday and we witnessed a lot of activity around Gandhi's statue on the Ferry Building Square. First we saw some gentlemen polishing his statue, next we saw a ceremony honoring this great man, and finally, I took a photo of with a wreath.

Our planned destination for the day was the Asian Art Museu m, and we arrived there in the early afternoon. Wonderful exhibitions of early photography from India, China, Korea and Japan. Then on to the Southeast Asia galleries. I never tire of that museum and never stop learning. We stayed till closing time.

Which meant we took the ferry back to Oakland at the end of the day with the sun on the water. It was a scrumptious day, and testimony to the fact that if you live in the Bay Area you don't have to go far away to be on vacation.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project

2009-09-12T17:22:00.010-06:00

Most people think of San Francisco when they think of Chinatown, but actually Oakland Chinatown is as rich and interesting, and without the tourists.

According to Oakland journalist and Chinatown native Bill Wong, Oakland Chinatown was settled in waves, the first in the 1850s following the Gold Rush. Most of the early settlers came from Southeast China near Hong Kong. The early settlers made a living however they could -- as cooks,gardeners, and laundry men, and of course as workers on the railroad.

The next wave came in 1906 earthquake when great numbers of Chinese from San Francisco, displaced by the earthquake, relocated to Oakland. Families put down roots, family and business organizations emerged and evolved, and the community found an identity within the larger Oakland community.

World War II accounted for another change and the emergence of a Chinese American Middle class in Oakland, and became home to a larger Asian American community. Japanese Americans found a home in Chinatown, as did Filipinos, Koreans, making a lively mosaic of cultures, languages, traditions, and values.

The Oakland Asian Cultural Center, located right in the center of Chinatown at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza, has recently completed an oral history project, bringing the stories of Chinatown through the words of longtime residents. The digital archive is now online and there will be a public celebration in Saturday, September 19, at 1:30 p.m.

For more information and photos about this event, check Bill Wong's blog.

DEEP LANDSCAPE

2009-09-05T15:52:00.016-06:00

My mother ... and her mother as well ... grew up in the Midwest where the landscape is lush and moisture hangs in the air. Though they both moved to California as adults and never looked back, they never quite got used to the western landscape. To them, a desert was simply a badland, and the golden hills in the Bay Area were just an ugly brown.

I, on the other hand, am a product of western landscape. It's natural and comforting for me to see the horizon far in the distance, either across an expanse of ocean or a wide stretch of desert. I like expansive unobstructed views where plants grow sparingly, so that each tree or shrub or cactus has its place in the landscape, without competitors. I like to watch the sun set and the moon rise when the air is crisp and dry, and then you wait a little longer and the whole sky comes alive with with stars, so many more than you could imagine if you lived in the humid east. (And yes, I'm a fan of the Dark Sky Association.)

A recent trip to Pennsylnvania took me out of my "western landscape comfort zone." I was bowled over by a total sensory experience, not just visual but also aural, olfactory, and tactile. It was the hot damp air that hit me immediately, as I stepped out of the airport. Walking through a park the sounds and smells hit me hard -- taking me back to my own early childhood in the Midwest. I guess it is the smell of cut grass, or maybe just aroma of so much plant life in a small place, that took me back to long ago when I played in the weeds and grass, my little body so small that they enveloped me. And the plant life nourishes the noisy bugs, cicadas I believe, who treat you to their own music 24/7. It's part of the landscape.

The visual impact of the eastern landscape came later in the trip, but stayed the longest. Green in the summer? Seems upside down. The foliage blends together to form a visual impression with textures, filtered light, shades of green, and layers of density. They form a kind wall between you the viewer and the horizon, so much so that I feel closed in and a little uncomfortable.

Some people are deeply affected by the physical landscape, others not at all. My trip to the east reminded me how deeply I am affected by my own physical landscape, how deeply I am a child of the West, and the West is me.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Lilla Serlegi Musician

2009-08-30T14:28:00.003-06:00

When Lilla Serlegi came to San Jose from Hungary two years ago as an au pair, she didn't know a word of English, so she used her musical talent to find her community in the area. She joined several tamburitza bands, including San Francisco's Slavonian Traveling Band and is becoming entrenched in the Bay Area's Eastern European music community.

Lilla was was raised in the Croatian community of Horvatzsidany in western Hungary and is fluent in both the languages and musical traditions of both countries. Lilla's specialty is in plucked instruments of the tamburitza family, and her singing talent is close behind.

Lilla is sharing her musical expertise through lessons and workshops for more information, contact tamburitzalessons@gmail.com

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Freight & Salvage Re-opening

2009-08-30T13:28:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was the Freight & Salvage's grand opening in its new location in the Berkeley Arts District (2020 Addison St.). Musicians, long time fans, and curiosity seekers joined for a two day celebration of roots music -- from Balkan to Appalachian to Celtic. The new space is a quantum leap from the old in concept, size, and elegance. The auditorium is similar to the design of Berkeley Rep theater, and lined with planks from the old Freight (so I'm told). The acoustics are to die for. There is a large lobby and second floor for classrooms.

But the Bay Area secret, and what I really am here to write about, is the Freight & Salvage Oral History Project, master minded by Andrea Hirsig. If you've ever attended a concert at the Freight, you know Andrea because she is the one who introduces each concert and tells us all to dispose of our "detrius." Off stage Andrea is a ball of energy and one of the nicest people I know.

Over that past year or so, Andrea initiated a documentary history of the Freight, and has interviewed long time audience members, performers, and staff members. Plans for a commemorative book are in the works. Interviews include Nancy Owens, the founder of the Freight; performers Terry Garthwaite and Toni Brown; and singer Holly Near.

Stay tuned for the next phase of the oral history project, and if you are a Freight musician or audience member with a story, stop by and talk to Andrea next time you come by.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Ferenc Tobak

2009-08-29T09:23:00.008-06:00

Hungarian musician, instrument maker, and self-taught ethnomusicologist Ferenc Tobak has opened the eyes of many San Francisco Bay Area music lovers by introducing eastern European bagpipe music to local audiences.

Last night's concert at the Croatian American Cultural Center was a spin on this theme, with the addition of guest musicians from the Hungarian Ethnographic Museum in Budapest, local Didjeridu musician Stephen Kent, and the Center's own Slavonian Traveling Band.

The show started with short film documenting Ferenc's research among the Csango people of Moldavia in the 1990s. At the time of Ferenc's trips, the bagpipe was almost obsolete in this area. It was certainly uncool to be a bagpipe player, and Ferenc went door to door in some of the rural villages "outing" reluctant bagpipe players. He found some elderly musicians who kind of remembered the tunes, or maybe had a non-functional bagpipe in the trunk. Piece by piece Ferenc reconstructed the music, the instruments, and the culture behind it. See photos of the musicians here. Or hear a sample here.

Ferenc is also an instrument maker. He makes bagpipes, flutes, and any kind of wind instrument. In fact, I first met him in the Budapest airport about ten years ago where he was arguing with the check in agent about the charges for his extra luggage. His extra luggage consisted of hundreds of pounds of plum wood he had collected from a certain region in Hungary. This rosewood would become the chanters for his bagpipes, and other flutes and whistles he made in his studio in Northern California. H

This concert is part of a concert series, Culture at the Crossroads, held at the Croatian American Cultural Center this fall.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Berkele Kite Festival

2009-07-27T11:30:00.010-06:00

Take 1000 kites plus 10,000 people plus a lovely day at the Berkeley Marina and what do you get? The Berkeley Kite Festival! This annual event draws kite fliers from around the world and kite lovers from all over the Bay Area.

We started our morning at the 4th Street Terrace where Peets is, then walked over the Hwy 880 walkover. This is a trip in itself, to be above all the traffic instead in the middle of it. Here is a photo from overhead:

The kite festival is one of the more visually interesting of all the Bay Area Festivals. There is a kite battle event, kite making activities, and a whole section devoted to a Kite-flying society from Hamamatsu, Japan. But the event that really blows me away is the Kite Ballet. This is where individuals or teams choreograph kite formations to music. The idea is hard to imagine and to catch in a still photo, but here is a video from a previous year.

I'm sure the organizers were delighted to have the right combination of wind --- to please the kites, and sun -- to please the people, and everyone had a great lazy summer day.

WINE IN CANADA

2009-07-22T21:38:00.019-06:00

Visiting the Okanagan Valley got me really interested in Canadian viticulture, so I looked it up in the Oxford Companion to Wine. So interesting that I will summarize it here.

As of 1997 Canada had as much land cultivated for grape growing as New Zealand. Growing areas are concentrated in four provinces: Ontario (60 wineries, 560 vineyards, 18,000 acres), British Columbia (55 wineries, 132 vineyards, 4000 acres), Nova Scotia (4 wineries, 150 acres), and Quebec (30 wineries, 330 acres). (1998 statistics).

The Canadian wine industry begins in 1811 when the German Johann Schiller domesticated the labrusda vines he found growing along the Credit River near Toronto. But not till 1866 was Canada's first winery, Vin Villa, established, on Pelee Island on Lake Erie. In the late 19th century the industry grew quickly, yielding 76 commercial wineries by the end of the century.

In the Okanagan Valley and along the St. Lawrence River it was the Church rather than the farmers who encouraged the industry. Prohibition in Canada (yes, they had it too!!) began in 1916, and actually was good to the wine trade. Thanks to some wild political lobbying, wine was exempt from prohibition and the number of wineries actually increased during this period.

But other government regulations emerged during this period. The Provincial Board Liquor System created government monopolies which still control alcoholic beverages in Canada and collected millions of dollars in tax revenue. This may have changed in the past decade as some provinces are privatizing wineries.

Canadian wines may have a poor reputation or no reputation at all, but that is changing quickly. Until the 1970s Canada was known for fruity highly alcoholic wines. But recently boutique wineries have emerged in the four wine growing regions. SOURCE: The Oxford Companion to Wine / edited by Jancis Roginson, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 1999)

Since we were in the Okanagan Valley, I was most interested in viticulture from that area. This Valley is actually a desert - the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert, and temperatures are mitigated by the Okanagan Lake which flows through the center of the valley. The most common grapes grown here are Merlot, then Chardonnay. The best known winery in the area is Mission Hills Winery, but I really enjoyed visiting the Gray Monk winery.

Then there is the wine itself and how it makes you feel. I love these quotes from the Gray Monk reception room wall:

In wine there is truth if you drink enough,
In wine there is wisdom if you drink the best,
In wine there is bliss if you drink the rest.

God in His goodness gave us the grapes
To drink both great and small
Little fools will drink too much
And great fools not at all.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Music Mondays at Jack London Square

2009-07-20T21:08:00.011-06:00

It's a perfect Bay Area summer evening. The sun is shining but the fog is rolling in along the horizon. Sailboats are traveling in and out of the marina. You have live music, and you have good friends for company. It's Oakland's Musical Mondays at Jack London Square!

This evening I joined my friend Angie at Jack London Square for the FREE concert that is the Musical Mondays series. Tonight we heard The Bobby Young Project, a local blues band with both talent and energy. Bobby Young's vocalist held the show till Oakland blues singer Wylie Trass arrived and took over. This is when the musical event evolved from pleasant-way-to-spend-an-evening to a blow away! Trass enraptured the audience with his vocal renditions of of old standards and a dialogue with us listeners. Wylie is the guy in the center.

There is only one thing missing -- an audience. I was surprised at how scanty the audience was for a free blues concert in a wonderful setting. There are even board games set out, should you get bored.

Oaklanders! Support local musicians and enjoy yourselves at the FREE concert series which, given the dismal state of the city's finances, may be the last. Head down to Jack London Square for a concert every Monday in July. The stage is located next Heinhold's, which has a history of it's own, but a special meaning for me, because it is where I took my son -- a Jack London fan -- for his first legal drink on his 21st birthday.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: China Camp State Park

2009-07-17T23:47:00.016-06:00

In my lifetime of hiking in the Bay Area, I somehow missed China Camp State Park, on the bay side of San Rafael close to the San Rafael bridge. Not only is it a great find for me, but it is the most convenient hiking spot in Marin County for East Bay residents.

The blurb on the park website says, " the park's ridge separates the 1890s from the 21st century. While the view south has changed immeasurably, the view down to China Camp on San Pablo Bay is almost exactly what it was in the early 1900s."

So true. The area was a thriving Chinese shrimp fishing village from the 1870s through approximately the 1930s. Some of the buildings still survive and there is an interpretative exhibit in one of them. Here are some photos of the village area:

In addition to the village there are 1500 acres of open space, laced with hiking and mountain biking trails. The trail that I took -- the Shoreline Trail -- is not a shoreline trail at all, but a view of the shoreline. It was an easy six miles in mostly shade following the ridge above the shoreline. Great walk for a break in woods. Here are some photos:

MONTANA CANADA TRIP: Reflections

2009-07-10T19:16:00.016-06:00

A story:

Jim and Martha are in a cafe talking about Martha's upcoming trip.
Martha: I'm traveling to San Francisco via London, Cairo, Istanbul and Mumbai.
Jim: Wow, what an adventurous itinerary. But don't you already live in San Francisco?
Martha: I do. But after the experience of these exotic destinations I will be a different person. I will view my own city and every detail of my life through the lenses of London, Cairo, Istanbul, and Mumbai.

This simple story illustrates why travel is so important to me -- that I see my own life differently after each trip. I savor not only the travel days, but also the planning, the anticipation, and most important now, the aftermath

I traveled 4300 miles with my sweetie in his Prius. Early on we figured out who's to navigate and who's to steer, who's to call the shots about how much money to spend and where to eat, and after that it was all smooth sailing. Every day now, we recall something about the trip -- some horrible incident that we laugh about now, some funny incident that we tell our friends about, or something in the news that relates to one of our destinations. And we will keep talking about the trip and recounting the highlights way into our old age. That's for sure.

I learned a great deal. The trip got me out of my intellectual comfort zone of computers, history, and library science, and got me thinking about the natural world. For instance, I learned that climate change is not just another fad of urban intellectuals, but is visible and measurable in the northern latitudes where we visited. This phenomenon is especially visible through the disappearance of glaciers. We spoke to park rangers, long time residents, and saw photos demonstrating the certain and rapid demise of U.S. and Canadian glaciers. Food for thought.

This was, above all, a journey of scenery. We visited five national parks: Yosemite, Glacier, Banff, Jasper, and Crater Lake. We saw wildlife: elk, mountain sheep, as well as all the little critters and birds. We drove through mountains, forests, deserts, farmlands, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. We had a feast of wildflowers in Canada. It adds up to a great humility for the largeess of Nature, and puts our human contribution to the big picture in perspective.

That said, I have tremendous respect for our forebears who forged lives for themselves in these northern climates before highways and electricity and central heating and wireless internet. For the indigenous peoples who lived well in these harsh climates for thousands of years. For European explorers and settlers who endured physical hardships we can't imagine to make a life for themselves. For the workers who risked their lives to build the railroads and highways through and over mountains in the harshest kinds of climates. Even for the railroad magnates, both in Canada and the U.S., who had a vision to open up the west, and create destination hotels in the most beautiful spots in the world.

We met wonderful people along the way, and a few nasty ones, just like at home. We chatted with park rangers, waitresses, visitor center employees, and fellow tourists. We heard about falling in love and out of love, of missing children at home and loving being away from them, of taking risks in business and the aftermath when it didn't work out, of young people's dreams and old people's dreams.

This journey was also filled with the quiet moments, usually long meals and good wine. Since Jonathan loves to "dine" and I love to try out local wines, long leisurely meals were our way to relax. We visited most of the big hotels in the national parks for a budget meal in an elegant setting. We also looked for restaurants featuring local fare with an elegant twist. Turns out most of the best restaurants in Canada bill themselves as "Mediterranean" though I'm not sure why. We dined at a number of these restaurants, though I usually ordered salmon and local wine -- nothing to do the the Mediterranean. The exception was in Banff where I got one of the best Greek meals I've ever had.

Finally, last stated but most important, is reconnecting with family. This trip was an opportunity to visit with my four Austin cousins -- and their cousins -- all together and as adults. It is unlikely that we will ever convene again, certainly not at my aunt's home, which will soon be sold. Every blood relative is in some sense, a mirror to myself. Though I relate to each of my kin in a different way because they are individuals and so am I, there is another, unspoken connection that is just there. Just because we are kin. Since I've had so little opportunity in my life to know my kin, this convening on the Missoula property was especially meaningful.

Now I'm home and moving on with the activities of everyday life, but somehow in some small way, my Montana Canada trip keeps me company all day every day.

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 21. Crater Lake, Oregon ->Oakland, California

2009-07-06T23:27:00.001-06:00

Today is our last day. Crater Lake was added to the itinerary after the trip was planned, so we didn't give it the time it deserves. But Crater Lake has more visual impact than words, so here is a sample of what we saw:

After a leisurely and late lunch at the Crater Lake Lodge,
we left Crater Lake at 4:30 p.m. and drove straight to Oakland down Hwy 5. Here is a wonderful photo of Mount Shasta.
End of vacation!!

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 20. Yakima, Washington -> Crater Lake, Oregon

2009-07-05T22:58:00.006-06:00

Another long day today, from Yakima all the way through Oregon to Crater Lake on the southern border. We're back in the U.S. now and heading towards home, and I feel the homecoming strings pulling me slightly. Today's trip through Oregon is also desert, much to my surprise. We drive fairly steadily all 330 miles in order to get to Crater Lake at a decent hour. ...

Only to find that our B&B is impossible to find using Google maps. This is the real boonies, Crater Lake notwithstanding. Eventually we do find it, Crater Lake B&B in the town of Fort Klamath, which in itself is hard to find, because it is one of those towns you miss if you aren't attentive. We were tired and hungry and I was annoyed that we had to drive yet another 10 miles to the nearest restaurant for a mediocre meal.

Here is a photo of our B&B.
And some of the lovely country between it and Crater LakeWe went to bed early to rest up for a day at Crater Lake and the long drive home to Oakland.

Accommodations: Crater Lake B&B ****
More photos

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 19. Vernon, British Columbia ->Yakima, Washington

2009-07-04T13:29:00.011-06:00

This is our last day in Canada. We have a fairly long drive, 350 miles to Yakima, Washington. We get a late start because of a delightful conversation with our Okanagan Valley hosts Roy and Liz, and savor our last Canadian moments. The Okanagan Valley extends from Vernon, where we are staying, to the U.S. border. Once on the road we make slow, unpleasant progress along a road under construction that ought to be a freeway.

Anyway, we finally arrive at the border. I have mixed feelings about leaving Canada and stop at the duty free gift shop for a few more souvenirs of Canada to take with me.

Back in the U.S. at last we drive straight south on Hwy 97 to Yakima.

Another surprise! I never knew that Central Washington was as much a desert as the so-called desert states of Utah, Western Colorado, or New Mexico. Here's an example:

We arrive in Yakima in the early evening. Yakima is a city of 84,000 and the population center for central Washington. It's a farming center and also the nearest city to the Yakima Reservation. After we settle in at our B&B we head for town for a twilight dinner at an outdoor cafe.

This is the 4th of July, and again, I'm looking forward to a small town celebration of this uniquely American holiday, but without much luck. There is a large fireworks display which we hear but barely see from our seats in the cafe. The only impact of the holiday is negative -- the freeway exit back to our B&B is closed because of the fireworks, and Jonathan did some quick talking to the highway patrol, and they removed the barriers especially for us out-of-towners.

Accommodations: Birchfield Manor Country Inn ****

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 18. Vernon, British Columbia

2009-07-03T12:57:00.003-06:00

A layover day, and we get to explore Canada's wine country. This is the only part of the trip where we experienced warm weather, and had to plan activities around the midday heat, instead of finding ways to keep warm.

Our host Roy suggested a short hike to a small waterfalls nearby, then a late lunch and tour at the Gray Monk Winery. We took him up on the whole plan. The hike was a pleasant two or three mile walk along the stream. We never did get a good look at the falls, but that's not a problem since we kind of overdosed on waterfalls in the past week. Good exercise.

Then we headed for the Gray Monk Winery, spending over an hour in stopped traffic along the way. (Okanagan Valley infrastructure has not kept up with tourist interest). The winery is one of the best known in the area, but one of hardest to get to. We turned off the highway, then down a narrow road, to an even narrower one, and then almost missed the small sign to the winery.

All worth it. We had a leisurely meal plus wine sampler at the Grapevine Restaurant. We arrived during the period between lunch and dinner when the waiters have time to chat and even the owner came over to say hello. All of this on a warm patio overlooking the winery. Here we are at the end of the meal. Very hard to tear ourselves away from this lovely place.Such a lovely afternoon, and I wasn't quite ready for our day to end. Since I was at the wheel, I decided not to turn in on the road to our B&B, but to continue up the mountain to see where it would take us. We drove .. and drove and drove ...up, up, up with only scanty directional signs and no company on the road. Eventually we did arrive. The road went to Silver Star Ski Resort, which in the summer is a lively hangout for the younger crowd. It is an old resort. The Vernon Ski Club house in this photo was established in 1935. All the buildings in town are painted in very bright, contrasty colors -- a Victorian palate gone wild. We arrived at sunset. It was getting cold and dark so we didn't linger, but I'm so glad we took the high road that evening instead of going straight home.

Accommodations: Castle on the Mountain *****
More photos

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 17. Hope -> Vernon, British Columbia

2009-07-02T12:21:00.000-06:00

Today we left Hope to travel north, then east, to the Okanagan Valley, Canada's wine country. It is Canada's mildest region, and actually forms the northern tip of the Sonora Desert. It is the Okanagan Valley as wine growing region that planted the idea for this trip in the first place.

Three or four years ago we were browsing the Sunday New York Times, and Jonathan came across an article about the Okanagan Valley being the northernmost region (at the time) in the world for growing grapes. He wanted to see this area, and I'm always interested in anything to do with wine. So the idea stuck in the back of our heads until this opportunity came up and we planned a three week trip around this destination.

The Valley is 100 kilometers long and the main feature is the Okanagan Lake. In addition to wineries, people come here for summer recreation, winter recreation, and to retire. People here have a sense for business (some tasteful, some not) and there is plenty of development and enticements for tourists to part with their money.

Our destination was Vernon, at the northern tip of the valley. It is one of the least crowded towns and one where we felt right at home. The hospitality at Castle on the Mountain resort sure helped us plan our time in the Valley. Innkeepers Roy and Liz, a youngish couple from London recently relocated to Vernon, were able to second guess just what would appeal to us for food, wine and recreation, and we were pleased with every one of their suggestions.

We dined the first night at town of Vernon at a white table cloth restaurant in town, whose name I forget. Of course, we sampled local wine. The menu, the service, and the ambiance was wonderful.

We came home well fed, relaxed from the wine and sat on our deck to watch the stars emerge as dusk set over the valley.

No photos of Vernon, but here is from the road from Hope to Vernon.

Accommodations: Castle on the Mountain, Vernon ***** (see my review on Trip Advisor)
More photos

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 16. Hope, British Columbia

2009-07-01T11:24:00.010-06:00

Today is a layover day. The sun is shining and we are in one of the most beautiful spots in the world, being served breakfast by our hostess, Eileen, and learning all about Hope. Here is a photo of our B&B. Our room was on the second floor looking out on the mountains.

Eileen is a native Canadian who spent most of her childhood on a farm in Manitoba and her adulthood in Calgary. Calgary got too big, and other life changes made her decide to begin a new chapter. She visited Hope, bought a wooded lot at the edge of town, and had the vision to see it as a setting for a B&B and a new life. That was just two years ago, and new she has the new house/B&B and her new life up and running.

We wanted to spend the day exploring the area in a fairly leisurely way, so Eileen suggested a hike to the old railway tunnels at Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Par k. Perfect idea. We started at the bottom of the hill and walked along the river from town up to the tunnels. We enjoyed wildflowers, ferns, and interesting moss on the rocks. Up towards the tunnels the path got steeper and the river more dramatic as we approached the canyon.

Built for the Kettle Valley Railway in 1914, the train route only lasted a few decades. What an engineering and building feat to have hacked through solid granite to construct these railroad tunnels out of the sides of cliffs! The area is hard to photograph but this photo gives an idea of the scenery.

After our walk and a rest, we were in the mood for a fairly nice dinner. Restaurant options in Hope are scanty, but we settled on a Korean meal in one of the three or four restaurants that could be considered decent.

Hope is a world class destination waiting to happen. It has all the criteria -- natural beauty, two hours from Vancouver, outdoor recreation opportunities -- yet somehow it remains a sleepy town, with minimal tourist facilities (especially restaurants!). When I asked Eileen about this, she said that the downtown businesses and much of the surrounding real estate is owned by old British Columbian families with conservative ideas. She said that when this generation passes on, development will be up for grabs, and it will be interesting to see whether Hope the kind of tourist destination it will turn in to.

Today is Canada Day, the Canadian equivalent to our July 4th. Except that the day celebrates the union of Canadian provinces into a single nation, instead of the U.S. celebration of the severance of the colonies from the mother country. I was hoping to see an authentic Canadian celebration in this small town, but in fact, British Columbians don't do much for Canada Day. It's a day off work, and a time for families and friends to gather for a barbeque, but not much else.

Accommomdations: Misty Mountain B&B *****
More photos

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 15. Prince George -> Hope, British Columbia

2009-06-30T10:52:00.005-06:00

We got a very early start for one of our longer drives, Prince George south to Hope, almost 400 miles. We met Fraser River again at Quesenel, then got to walk over it on this old railroad bridge.
At this point I was in vaguely familiar territory, as I had once driven a loop from Vancouver north along the Fraser River and down to Hope, but many of the details are a blur. Quesenal I remember because of the name.

After Quesenal the landscape changed gradually through Williams Lake, 100 Mile House (note the name that survived after the Canadians switched from miles to kilometers), Cache Creek and Lytton. The railroad and the highway followed the Fraser River, I'm sure an ancient transportation byway. We traveled through forest, farm, high prairie, and tribal lands always following the river.
It was a long drive, and we arrived in the gorgeous mountain town of Hope, a small town at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla Rivers. Our accommodations were heavenly. The B&B consisted of two guest rooms in a private home at the edge of town, a few steps from the woodland and at the foot of Mount Hope. It was a warm night and the sun set late. We sat on the porch enjoying the dusk settle over the forests and the mountains.

Tomorrow would be a layover day in Hope, and I knew this would be a highlight of our trip. We slept soundly that night.

Accommodations: Misty Mountain B&B *****
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MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day. 14. Prince George

2009-06-29T23:16:00.004-06:00

Today was another layover day, and since Prince George is ... well ... Prince George, I spent the day resting, reading, doing the laundry and generally catching up instead of sight seeing. Prince George is an ordinary looking town as you can see in this photo ...
and as I learned along the way, a town where you have to scratch the surface in order to reap the riches. As we went through the day we had some extraordinary conversations with locals, especially young people. For example, one of the students we met at the visitors' center marine ecology student conducting a survey of people's attitudes on tourism to Antarctica. She hopes to visit Antarctica soon. Another highlight was a trip to the University of Northern British Columbia, situated on a hill overlooking the city.

In the late afternoon we went for a drive northwest up Hwy 16 to Vanderhoof. It's a quiet farming village that Jonathan fell in love with and decided, "Next time, we're staying here."
Here is a photo of the area:

We returned to Prince George for an outstanding Mediterranean dinner at the local hot spot.

Accommodations: Best Western Prince George ***

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MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 13. Jasper National Park to Prince George, British Columbia

2009-06-28T23:14:00.018-06:00

Ever heard of Prince George? I sure hadn’t until we planned this trip, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to check it out. Turns out it is a university city of approximately 70,000 in the geographic center of British Columbia. In fact, Google was in Prince George a few days before we were, with trucks and video cameras to capture street views for Google maps.

But I digress. Our projected drive for the day was 250 miles so we looked for advice about what to see and do along the way. Fortunately, I met Lorraine, the Jasper Lodge travel agent, who has a house in Prince George and makes the drive often. She gave us good advice and we turned a four hour drive into an eight hour touring excursion with no trouble at all.

The scenery northwest of Jasper was quite lovely, alternating mountain ranges and wide open meadow land. We reached the Continental Divide right at the Alberta/British Columbia border and at the edge of Mt. Robson Park. Here is Jonathan at the Divide:

Right here at the Continental Divide is Portal Lake, and small but charming lake that was exceedingly photogenic!

We stopped at Mount Robson Park Visitor Center, for a break, a chance savor the awesome view of the mountain and walk through the meadow.

Further on, we stopped at the Ancient Forest, a blip on the road which Lorraine told us not to miss. This are is an isolated rain forest ecosystem; surrounded by mountain, desert, and prairie; that is one of the amazing quirks of nature, the exception that proves the rule. The area is known for its "ancient" red cedar trees. We stopped for a walk. We did indeed get rained on, and though we enjoyed the cedar trees, they didn't have quite the impact on us, since as Californians we are so familiar with the sequoia sempervirens in our area.

We arrived in Prince George at the end of the day, tired and hungry, to a horrendous B&B situation, which I won't go into here. After some serious discussion over a mediocre meal and a stiff drink, we decided to pay the cancellation fee and remove ourselves from the B&B. An awkward moment, for sure, but we hightailed it over to the local Best Western, and I've never been so comfortable in a Best Western as we were those two days in Prince George.

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Accommodations: Best Western Prince George ***

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day.12. Jasper National Park

2009-06-27T22:53:00.007-06:00

This is our lazy layover day. We’ve traveled about 1800 miles so far. All smooth and fairly comfortable, but in truth, it feels good to stay over in one place, anywhere.

We decided to splurge and stay once in one of the old Victorian hotels built in the 19^th century along the railroads. The (very smart and crafty) railroad magnates built these hotels to give wealthy tourists a reason to take the train. There are such hotels in Glacier National Park in the United States, and both Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada. The most grand (and famous) of all is the one at Banff – the Banff Springs Hotel now owned by Fairmont -- where we had tea a few days ago.

We stayed in the Jasper version, the Jasper Park Lodge, a scaled down version of the Banff Hotel. The Lodge is located on the site of one of the two settlements which make up Jasper. This site was called Tent City in the early 1900s. The railroad turned it into a resort about 1915 and it grew and changed over the years. Now it is owned by the Fairmont chain, and they have put their brand on it. It consists of about 500 units scattered around the grounds, as well as a golf course and Lake Beauvert, as well as an elegant (and overpriced) lodge with restaurants, spa, shops and all kinds of other luxuries. Unfortunately, for all this luxury, there are no espresso drinks and no wireless internet, two criteria I most wanted.

But that is not a complaint. This is a fine place to lay over, and we can walk, read, sleep and do nothing – all in luxury and in the midst of incredible scenery.

We drove into the town of Jasper, which is a small town within the national park, a smaller and less expensive and less pretentious town than Banff. We walked around, stocked up at the grocery store, and had a decent mealin an Italian restaurant. All in all our time in Jasper was relaxing, down to earth, and fairly low key, the Fairmont Jackson Lodge notwithstanding.

Here is a view from our walk around Lake Beauvert:

And here is a view of the town of Jasper:

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MONTANA CANADA TRIP. Day 11. Banff to Jasper

2009-06-26T22:04:00.000-06:00

Today was an amazing day of mountains, glaciers, rivers and waterfalls, and changing weather. We left Banff early for our drive to Jasper National Park by way of Lake Louise. We drove up Hwy 93, nicknamed Icefields Parkway, for reasons we would soon learn. The highway was built in the late 1930s by a Canadian version of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The guide books tout this as the most scenic highway in the world, and I would surely rate it in my top 10. And I've seen a lot of scenic highways in my life.

Our first destination was Lake Louise, my request because friends told me it is less “done-up” than Banff and would be more to my liking. Indeed, it was. The lake (named after one of Queen Victoria’s daughters) is a turquoise gem set within the high mountains. The gray-turquoise color is caused by silt that slides into it with each year’s snowmelt. It turns deeper blue as the summer progresses and the silt settles. We walked to the end of the lake and back, sorry we couldn’t spend more time there. Here is a good view:

Back on Icefield Parkway, we had plenty of opportunity to view glaciers, or what is left of them. There are seven large glaciers and twenty-five smaller ones along the Icefields Parkway. We were reminded once again that we are witnessing an endangered geological phenomenon. It was most clear when we stopped at the Athabasca Glacier. In the mid 1800s this glacier extended across what is now the highway and covered the parking lot. Look at it now and draw your own conclusions.

I'm sorry that the subject of climate change is so fraught with political overtones. The changes are real, and measurable, and easily observed in northern latitudes.

As if we didn’t get enough great scenery, we took two short detours to see the Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls. Both are canyons where the Sunwapta and Athabasca rivers respectively change course suddenly from a shallow river bed to steep, narrow canyons with tremendous force. Here is a photo of Athabasca Falls.

We arrived at Fairmont Park Lodge Jasper, our splurge hotel, for a late supper overlooking the lake. It was still light outside when I turned out the light at 11 p.m. Here is our view from the dining patio.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge ***

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MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 10. Banff

2009-06-25T23:29:00.011-06:00

This was our layover day in Banff. My expectations of Banff were high -- based on photos I had seen of an elegant hotel nestled in the Canadian Rockies, so I wasn't prepared for a touristy town that could have been Venice Beach or Santa Cruz. The lousy weather, including freezing rain, didn't help

The day started off poorly, but got better with each new experience. We took a walk in the rain and unexpectedly came upon the famous Banff Hotel (now owned by Fairmont Hotels) looking just like it did in the photos. Here's my photo:

Of course we decided to go back for a very late lunch, and lingered.And because it doesn't get dark till after 10 p.m. we had time to ride the gondola up Sulpher Mountain to watch the sunset. This is the mountain where a Banff resident (I think his name was Mr. Samson), installed weather observation equipment and traveled up the mountain on foot or donkey over 1000 times in all seasons and weather. As we braved the biting cold and wind in the middle of June, we gain great respect for Mr. Samson and all the other early adventurers in the Canadian Rockies. Here is a view of Banff from the summit:And here we are looking out over the summit:Though the day started out bad, it ended wonderfully. As you can see the sky turned blue just in time for sunset.

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MONTANA CANADA TRIP. DAY 9. Glacier National Park -> Banff National Park, Alberta

2009-06-24T22:56:00.003-06:00

We got a very early start out of St. Mary and headed to Many Glacier, on the west side of the park. I'm not sure where the strange name came from. This is a part of Glacier National Park off the beaten track, so much so that the local animals think the road belongs to them:

Many Glaciers is not to be missed. The main area consists of a fancy mountain lodged situated next to a small lake, all of which is surrounded by glaciated mountains. Here are photos of the lake and of the lodge:

Many Glacier was one of my favorite destinations on this trip, and it certainly helped that this was one of our few clear, crisp, sunny days. Weather aside, this spot is hidden away from the crowds of the main park (all 500,000 of them), with as much physical beauty, and an atmosphere of easy informality.

We pulled ourselves away from this shangri-la and headed for the Canadian border -- our destination for the evening was Banff. I wanted to go through Calgary because I wanted to experience an interior Canadian city, but it turned out to be a mistake because we got lost in the city during rush hour and we wasted a couple of hours maneuvering through one way streets, traffic lights, and misplaced road signs. Despite our troubles, Calgary is an interesting city. It is a big city of more than a million residents, half of which have arrived in the past 30 years. This is all because of the Canadian oil boom. We recognized all the signs of a boom area (as we know from the Bay Area) in the miles of suburbia and exurbia, the prices of real estate, the clogged traffic arteries, and ugly thrown together buildings. But the city must still have some of its cowboy spirit because it hosts the Calgary Stampede, which they claim is the biggest rodeo in the world. We didn't stick around for it -- in fact we avoided it, but it sounds like the whole goes rodeo crazy for the whole month of July.

But we made it through the traffic and arrived in Banff late in the day, but in time for dinner at the Balkan Restaurant, one of the best meals in Canada.

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Accommodations: Blue Mountain Lodge, Banff **

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 8. Glacier National Park

2009-06-23T20:24:00.000-06:00

Today is our day at Glacier National Park, but first I needed some espresso, and it's a good thing because we learned a lot at the visitor's center. For one thing we learned that Logan Pass, AKA Going to the Sun Road, across the park is not completely open, so we must go around. Second, we heard the from the ranger the first of a repeating litany about the reality of global warming. This ranger had been taking groups up the mountain for thirty-five years, each year the glacier was diminishing before his eyes, but never did he notice or admit to himself anything unusual until it became a global conversation a few years ago. Now the whole thing depresses him, but this crusty old guy is glad to have witnessed the park in an earlier era.

Then we headed into the park and up Logan Pass, which was closed at the summit, but we got out and looked around. F-r-e-e-z-i-n-g. The mountains were unbelievably majestic, even on a stormy day. Here are some photos:

We came down and stopped for a late lunch at the McDonald Lodge, one of the grand old hotels of another era. It was fun to enjoy the lobby and restaurant on a “poor man’s holiday.” After lunch we circumnavigated the park on Highway 2, which we very interesting. The weather was cold and cloudy but the light made for some interesting photos.

We pushed forward with Two Medicine Lake our next destination. By this time the sky was clear and the sun was low, making for the exquisite light you see in this photo:

Then onward to St. Mary, on the east side of the park, just in time to see this sunset:

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ACCOMMODATIONS: Johnsons at St. Mary, St. Mary, Montana **

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - DAY 7. Missoula -> Glacier National Park

2009-06-22T17:09:00.000-06:00

We got a very late start out of Missoula, but that's ok. Today is a short driving day. Jonathan had a dental emergency, so we detoured to the dentist who diagnosed an infection in his wisdom tooth, recommended extracting two teeth, but told him he could wait till he gets home if he takes antibiotics. Fortunately, Jon decided to wait.

Back on the road we headed north up Hwy 93 along the Salmon River for Glacier National Park. The weather was mediocre but the scenery was Montana at its best. Here are some photos:

If Idaho is the state of Big Rivers, then Montana is the state of Big Sky. True to its motto, The Big Sky Country, we saw more big sky and more variety within the sky than I could imagine. The weather changed by the minute (something a photographer would notice), as clouds moved in, out and around the sun. The color of the sky and the quality of the light on earth reminded me of a carousel moving in several directions at once, all part of a grand plan, but random to a person on the ground.

We arrived before dark at our motel at the west entrance to the Park. The weather was cold and wet and our little cabin didn't quite meet my expectations of a warm room with windows at the edge of the most beautiful scenery in the world. However the next morning we met the owners and got the backstory, and it all made sense. The motel was purchased a few years ago by a couple about my age from the San Francisco Bay Area. They bought it as a fixer-upper retirement project, and a good way to keep coming back to Glacier. They spend a few weeks a year in Glacier doing maintenance and remodeling and other administrative duties, and just happened to be around when we were having breakfast. Here is a photo of the breakfast area:

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Accommodations: Vista Motel, West Glacier, MT. ***

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 6. Missoula

2009-06-21T16:54:00.000-06:00

Another family day. With all of the formal events over and many of the guests gone, this was my chance to sit down and really catch up with my cousins, and for Jonathan to get acquainted. My Austin cousins are my only cousins, so I hold my relationship with them dearly.

When Jonathan and I arrived, Alice's life collection of family photos were spread out so her children could select and keep. Most were taken by Alice's husband Chic, my blood uncle. I hadn't realized what a gifted photographer he was until I saw them all laid out on the floor -- mostly portraits and nature photos in black and white. Many of the photos evoked memories for some of us, and other revealed surprises. We were all struck by Alice's physical beauty as a young woman, and how Chic captured her essence on film. Obviously, Chic loved photographing Alice, and she made a wonderful model. We wondered if there were other photos that didn't survive that might of revealed a different side of their relationship. ...

What a drag that I have no digital copies to share on this blog!!

A full day of visiting and enjoying each others company, the conversation often returned to Alice and Chic and family in general. Underlying our conversation was the unspoken certainty that we would never meet again in this setting. After a long walk in the woods, Jonathan and I took our leave. But the day will be with me forever.

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 5. Missoula

2009-06-20T13:46:00.000-06:00

Today is the day that we gather to honor the life of my late aunt, Alice Howe Austin. Her four children - Mike, Brian, Ellen, and Dennis planned an outdoor celebration according to Alice's wishes --"something low-key, maybe outdoors, maybe a picnic." Everyone associates Alice with the lovely homestead in Missoula, the apple trees, the expansive lawn, the flower garden and the hummingbirds. The weather, the flowers, and even the hummingbird cooperated to make this an event just what Alice would order. Maybe she did! This photo shows the lovely setting:

It is wonderful to see my cousins Brian, Dennis, Louie, Ellen (X2), and Bill; to reconnect with Mike, Torgun and Annie after so many years; and to meet Alice's brother, nieces and Missoula friends. All are living rich, interesting, and diverse lives, testimony to the breadth of Alice's network.

The main event of the day was an "Alice story sharing." Alice's friends and relatives told funny or poignant incidents about Alice as a big sister, a mother, and a community activist. Each story boiled down to another example of Alice's strong will, persistence, strength of character, and passion for social justice. Brother Artie talked about Alice's role as the eldest child with four younger brothers and how she got the nickname "Old Girl." Brian retold a story about their lives in Rochester, NY, and how Alice's passion for social justice played out within her marriage. Grandson Bill told a funny story about how Alice's determination to stay fit until the very end made her a terror in the shopping mall where she "did laps" with her walker. Her friends talked about Alice's activity fighting for civil rights and the environment which lasted her entire life. We all left the event with a wonderful sense of a life fulfilled.

Here is a photo of the relatives:

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MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 4. Stanley, ID -> Missoula, MT

2009-06-19T22:35:00.023-06:00

Stanley was just too wonderful to leave, so we dallied. We had breakfast on Salmon River frontage right outside our cabin, with the Sawtooth Mountains to our right and an open pasture in front of us across the river. After chatting with our cabin neighbors, some bikers from Alberta, and our proprietors, we headed for a short hike at Red Fish Lake. Unfortunately the trail took us deep into the forest and robbed us of a last few minutes of viewing the Sawtooth Mountains, but at least we got some exercise.

Here's our breakfast view:

Idaho is a state of rivers -- big ones and little ones, raging ones and quiet ones, level ones like the Salmon in front of our cabin, and nearly vertical one which make waterfalls over the Sawtooth mountains. Rivers are the arteries of the state that connect one mountain valley to another, each starting as a lonely spring high in the mountains and converge to a torrent in a lower elevation. Since we traveled in June after most of the snowmelt, the river system was working overtime, and we got the best and the wildest of the Idaho waters.

We discovered some hot springs along the Salmon River near Challis. Now just a marker on the road, the springs were once a resort for weary travelers, built by Idaho's Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. We stopped long enough to dip our toes in the hot springs (scalding!) and which flowed into the Salmon River (freezing). There is only one spot on the river where the hot and cold water mixes at a comfortable. He

re is Jonathan testing the waters for the special spot.

We drove straight for the rest of the day and arrived in Missoula around 8 p.m., with almost two hours of daylight left (Northern lights!!). I found voice mail on my phone from my cousin Ellen, telling me about general plans for the week-end. It was wonderful to hear her voice, and to bring my attention to the reason I'm here in the first place. I'm looking forward very much to visiting my cousins tomorrow, to honoring my aunt Alice, and to meeting the people important in her life. Tomorrow will be a big day.

Addendum: 10/10/2009. Here is an article by Jan Morris, by favorite travel writer from Wales. She is so much more eloquent. Oh, how I wish I could write like this. Here is the link.

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Accommodations: Val-U Inn, Missoula, ****

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 3. McDermitt, NV - Stanley, ID

2009-06-18T22:14:00.002-06:00

Now we're getting into unfamiliar territory for me. I've never been to Idaho or to eastern Oregon, so I have the benefit of low expectations, and was I ever pleasantly surprised!

We hightailed it out of McDermitt shortly after dawn and drove to the nearest destination on the map, Jordan Valley, Oregon, right on the Oregon/Idaho border. If I could choose I couldn't have asked for a better antidote to McDermitt. We were greeted at the edge of town by a sign, "Espresso" and a coffee house. We stayed here several hours, soaking up the sun, the ambience, the caffeine and the stories of the locals. It turns out that this stone house is the oldest building in town, built by one of the early Jordan Valley settlers. The building was sold out of the family and subsequently repurchased by the sons or grandsons who acquired city tastes and brought them to Jordan Valley. One of the cousins told us this story.

The next stretch -- from Jordan Valley to Boise -- completely dispelled my conception of Idaho as dark and forested or full of potatoes. Instead we came upon big sky and wide open spaces. Driving up Hwy 95 we first encountered high desert, then prairie and grazing land, and finally farms as we approached Boise.

We arrived in Boise around lunch time, and since it is the state capital we headed for the center of town for a place to eat. Downtown Boise is tastefully upscale with a mall, restored historic district, reminders of Boise's Basque community, and fancy restaurants with patio service. We just happened to choose the Bardenay Restaurant, which doubles as a micro-distillery! Who would have believed they would be distilling and bottling whiskey and rum in the middle of Boise! We didn't sample but we sure enjoyed watching the process.

After lunch we drove north on Hwy 21 to Stanley, in the Sawtooth mountains. Of all the scenic roads, this struck me the deepest, perhaps because it was the first. We drove up, up past the fancy part of Boise into the hills, then into mountains, crossing river after swollen river, working our way toward the Sawtooth mountains.

Our destination for the day was Stanley, ID, just over the hill from the more famous Sun Valley. I've never been to Sun Valley, but I know this little town on the Salmon River is much more my style. Our cabin was just a few feet from the river, so we heard it all night and ate breakfast beside it the next morning. Here is a photo of the Sawtooth mountains at sunset.

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Accommodations: Salmon River Cabins & Motel

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 2. Lee Vining, CA - McDermitt, NV

2009-06-17T23:10:00.019-06:00

We started the day with organic espresso sitting in the sun on a deck overlooking Mono Lake. The bright sun warmed us up after a rather cold night in the cabin.

Then we followed the recommendation of a Lee Vining locals and toured the J une Lake Loop, a short distance off Hwy 395 south of Lee Vining. June Lake is a hidden community of old timers and vacationers, which has been around since the 1930s. One of California's best kept secrets. The mountains, the three lakes, the big sky and the wild flowers made it a great morning. Here is a photo:

After the June Lake Loop and a late breakfast we set out for our destination, McDermitt, on the Oregon/Nevada border. It was a long afternoon through the high desert. Less monotonous than I expected, but still monotonous. A thunderstorm was threatening all afternoon, and finally hit us -- short but intense -- shortly outside of Winnemucca.

McDermitt, is a godforsaken excuse for a town on the Nevada/Oregon border. I'm sure the only reason for its existence is so that Oregonians can gamble without traveling too far. The 2000 census recorded 269 residents. I bet the population is half that now. McDermitt was somewhat redeemed by a good restaurant within the casino, run by a number of very smart and competent Native American women. Here is a photo:

But I'll be glad to get an early start tomorrow. Destination: Boise for breakfast.

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Accommodations: Diamond A Motel, McDermitt.

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 1. Oakland -> Lee Vining

2009-06-17T22:48:00.026-06:00

Oakland - Yosemite - Lee Vining

We got an early start from Oakland and drove straight east – through exurbia, over the Altamont Pass, through the Central Valley and finally into the Sierra Foothills in time for a late breakfast at Big Oak Flat, near the west entrance to Yosemite. Weather was cool and cloudy, threatening t-storms which never materialized, but I’m really glad I brought warm clothes.

Though our planned route through Yosemite was straight over Tioga Pass, at the last minute we decided to drive through the Valley floor, and I’m so glad we did. Words ... and even photos are inadequate to share the majesty of the scenery, but I try. Here is one of the valley floor.

Our valley floor detour got us to the High Country late in the day when the light is delicious, though the weather was cold and rainy. (At 9000 feet, what can you expect?) The sun was low enough to peek through and to get so great photos.

Jonathan booked us a cabin in the little town of Lee Vining, right on Mono Lake. Lee Vining is a charming town -- at least in the summer -- and we've stayed there before. Here are some fun photos from this little town in the high Sierra.

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Accommodations: Lake View Lodge, Lee Vining ***

MONTANA CANADA TRIP - The day before

2009-06-15T20:17:00.019-06:00

It really is hard to think about anything except your vacation the day before, especially if your vacation consists of visiting three U.S. and two Canadian national parks, 3700 miles on the road in a Prius with the guy you love, and the underlying inescapable wunderlust. All of this underscored by an escape from a routine of computers, traffic jams, neighborhood burglaries, airport security delays, bad news on the radio, and generally, the 21st century.

So tomorrow morning early -- Jonathan promised by 7 a.m. -- we'll grab our morning drinks at Peets, and head east towards Yosemite. We should hit the high country by mid afternoon when the clouds form from the East, then over to Lee Vining and Mono Lake for dinner at sunset. Am I dreaming, or what?

Actually the seed for this journey was planted several years ago when Jonathan read an article about Canada's Okanagan Valley, the northern most region for growing wine grapes. He got a hankering to check it out, but turning the idea into a destination never worked out till we got an invitation to a family gathering to honor the life of my late aunt Alice Howe Austin, and in Missoula, Montana next week.

My Aunt Alice was my favorite, though I mostly knew her from heresay. Beautiful, smart, energetic, and well connected, she and her family seemed to cast a shadow on our conventional, boring WASP family. She was my aunt by marriage, and survived her husband/my blood uncle by thirteen years, enough for some of us to wonder if she were immortal.

Alice was mortal like the rest of us, and passed quietly this spring at age 91. Next week-end her family will gather at her home property in Missoula to honor her life and to reacquaint. I'm looking forward to reconnecting to my four cousins whom I barely know (for our family was not into family togetherness), and to meeting Alice's siblings and their offspring.

Having lost both my parents and witnessed the phenomenon in other families, I am acutely aware of the shift when the last parent passes on, and the younger generation becomes the older. The oldest children bear the burden of legacy because they've been around the longest, younger siblings find their place in a new org chart. Some families let out a lifetime of pentup anger and never speak again, others find they have nothing in common and drift apart, and others find strength in commonalities and strengthen extended family ties for themselves and their children.

It's an inevitable chapter of life -- becoming the next "oldest generation" and I lift my glass to my cousins, and for organizing this opportunity for us all to meet in Missoula.

Howard Creek Ranch - Mendocino County

2008-08-03T19:43:00.019-06:00

Like everyone else, this year we responded to the gas crunch and spent our vacation close to home. In miles, that is, but we traveled far from every reminder of our everyday lives.

We went to the northern Mendocino County.

First, I have to say that the California coastline is the most beautiful I've ever seen in the world. Highway 1 from Big Sur in the south to Mendocino (more recently to Ft. Bragg) in the north is sprinkled with wineries, Victorian Bed & Breakfast Inns, upscale restaurants, boutiques, galleries, hiking, biking, spas and anything else a discerning tourist could possibly wish for.

All of that pretty much ends at Ft. Bragg. The country north is rugged and sparsely populated, but equally as interesting. We made our base at the Howard Creek Ranch, picked at random on the Internet. Since we had no expectations we weren't especially disappointed to find out that the Ranch was not the typical Mendocino B&B. The Ranch and the surrounding land (60 acres now, but at one point there were about 2000 acres attached to the property) was once a prosperous farming and logging operation, but it eventually was abandoned and came into disrepair, reemerging as a hippie commune in the 1970s. Two of the commune members, Sally and Sonny, stayed on, purchased the ranch, and have operated it as a B&B once the commune dissolved.

The photo at the top shows the main farmhouse on a typical foggy morning. To the right is a photo of the "carriage barn" where many of the guest rooms were. "Carriage Room," where we slept the first two nights was on the top floor with views of the ocean and the mountains. It was beautifully restored in craftsman style, with a wood stove, lots of light and lots of space. I would be happy living in that room for the rest of my life. Then we moved to "Blue Balcony" on the first floor. This was less luxurious. The room itself was very small and the bathroom was squeezed between the bedroom and the common area. But we had a nice balcony and could visit with all the guests and staff as they crossed our paths.

Sally and Sonny, the innkeepers, are quirky, talented and very interesting, so much so that I'm dying to learn more of their story (OK, I'll admit it, I'd really like to do a book, or at least an oral history of their lives). We actually never saw Sonny, though evidence of his talent and love for the property is in every structure and throughout the land. Sally was present at breakfast and throughout the day, happy to regale us with stories of the property and her life. She has a green thumb, which she says is "just another way of saying you remember to water and fertilize" and her flowers are wonderful. The image at the left hardly does justice to the garden, but it's the best shot we got.

We are served a scrumptous farm-size breakfast of an egg dish, a meat dish, biscuits or French toast, three fruit dishes, coffee of course, and mint tea from the garden. All the guests eat together and breakfast was, at least for our crowd, quite a social occasion. (For the rest of the day, guests pretty much stuck to themselves.) There is a "food problem" for the rest of the day. Though rooms are equipped with a small refrigerator and microwave, there are not facilities for serious cooking, and the Ft. Bragg -- the center for restaurants or groceries -- is a good half hour away on winding, sometimes foggy roads. And everything about the place says " don't get in your car, don't go anywhere" but then we have to eat.

Jonathan, in his ever friendly way, solved the problem one night by sweet talking the staff into letting us use the farmhouse kitchen to cook pasta and salad. In return, we invited them to join us for dinner. A very interesting group: one couple had been transient for some time before bedding down at Howard Creek; another young woman was a physics major transitioning from college to the real world with hope of a career in solar power; another was a college student from Belarus here on a work internship.

The setting is the best part. The Ranch is about 200 footsteps from one of the most gorgeous segments of the California State Beach. In the mornings I walked down Howard Creek and under the highway to the beach, and then along the coast which has a path for a mile or two. Often it was foggy in the morning, and sometimes it cleared up, sometimes not. One thing for sure is that we weren't sizzling like the rest of the country.

It was a great getaway. More photos.

LETTER TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER

2008-01-26T10:10:00.001-07:00

Dearest Lyra, Welcome to the outside world. Doesn't your dad look proud!!

You arrived on January 21 right before midnight, I believe on a cold stormy night in the middle of winter. I understand your journey to the outside world was a little rough, but you are now in the loving arms of your parents, Michael and Jamie.

You are the only infant I know with a blog, and with parents like yours, your life will be filled with goodness.

THE FOG OF SAN FRANCISCO

2008-01-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Such an evocative description of San Francisco by Jeffrey Eugenides, from Middlesex, p. 468. For images to heighten the mood while you read along, check Frederic Larson's wonderful photography

Every morning a great wall of fog descends upon the city of San Francisco. It begins far out at sea. It forms over the Farallons, covering the sea lions on their rocks, and then it sweeps onto Ocean Beach, filling the long green bowl of Golden Gate Park. The fog obscures the early morning joggers and the lone practitioners of tai chi. It mists up the windows of the Glass Pavilion. It creeps over the entire city, over the monuments and movie theaters, over the Panhandle dope dens and the flophouses in the Tenderloin. The fog covers the pastel Victorian mansions in Pacific Heights and shrouds the rainbow-colored streets of Chinatown; it boards the cable cars, making their clanging bells sound like buoys; it climbs to the top of Coit Tower until you can't see it anymore; it moves in on the Mission, where the mariachi players are still asleep; and it bothers tourists. The fog of San Francisco, that cold, identity-cleansing mist that rolls over the city every day, explains better than anything else why that city is what it is. After the Second World War, San Francisco was the main point of re-entry for sailors returning from the Pacific. Out at sea, many of these sailors had picked up amatory habits that were frowned upon back on dry land. So these sailors stayed in San Francisco, growing in number and attracting others, until the city becaume the gay capital, the homosexual hauptstadt. (Further evidence of life's unpredictability: the Castro is a direct outcome of the military-industrial complex.) It was the fog that appealed to those sailors because it lent the city the shifting, anonymous feeling of the sea, and in such anonymity personal change was that much easier. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether the fog was rolling in over the city or whether the city was drifting out to meet it. Back in the 1940s, fog hid what those sailors did from thier fellow citiaens. And the fog wasn't done. In the fifties it filled the heads of the Beats like the foam in their cappuccinos. In the sixties it clouded the minds of the hippies like the pot smoke rising in their bongs. And in the seventies, when Cal Stephanides arrived, the fog was hiding my new friends and me in the park.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 27 - TRAVEL

2007-06-14T22:27:00.000-06:00

Today we fly Vienna to San Francisco, retracing our tracks but this time following the sun. We leave Vienna at 7 a.m. and fly about 16 hours to arrive in San Francisco at 1:30 p.m. I'm not ready to come home, but that's ok. My life is so rich and full of sensations and experiences from this trip that I can carry with me all my life, and share on this blog, that it is just ok to be back home.

In fact, when I arrive, I drop everything to spend a few hours puttering in my garden.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 26 - VIENNA

2007-06-13T21:51:00.000-06:00

Today is our last day in Europe. How can I best savor it? Jonathan is still under the weather so I set out on my own. I try to touch bases with all the landmarks that have guided me here. I walk past the Swiss clock near our hotel, then over to St Stephensplatz for an espresso. Then behind the cathedral to Mozart's home to pay homage one more time. Now down the Kartnerstrasse to the Graben, Newmarkt, and over to our first hotel near the Staatsoper. I think about the night we arrived almost 4 weeks ago, google-eyed and jet lagged. We set out for a late dinner and got lost going only one block away! Now I feel so comfortable moving through Vienna.

Later in the day Jonathan and I set out in a different direction, wandering somewhat aimlessly. And surprise! we come to an entirely unknown part of town, just steps away from our hotel. It's the oldest part of town, near the Danube, and to a church that was first constructed in the 1100s. This is also an area for young and hip Viennese, with jazz clubs and bars.

I'm happy to know that there is yet much to learn and do and experience in Vienna, and plenty of reason to return. But for now, it's home and packing for a 3:45 a.m. wake up call.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 25 - VIENNA

2007-06-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

Vienna. Jonathan stays in our hotel to nurse a respiratory infection while I head out to explore Vienna on my own.

Time for early 20th century art. I trace the path of Gustav Klimt, my favorite Viennese artist. First I find a shop on the Kartnerstrasse which sells reproductions of his works on cloth, posters, coffee cups and the like. Don't know how they skirt the copyright. Then on the the Museum of Modern Art, and finally to the Belvedere Palace, where the largest collection of his works lives. Funny, when I see Klimt's works for real, I'm less impressed instead of more. I was actually more impressed with the works of his student, Egon Scheile, who created enormously powerful works before he died at the age of 28.

I walk home through the city streets thinking about how rich and wonderful this travel experience is -- how much we've seen and done and thought about and shared. I hope I can carry this feeling with me for a very long time. Two more days before we return to San Francisco.

CROATIA TRIP - Day 24 - TRAVEL

2007-06-11T21:10:00.000-06:00

We arrive in Rijeka promptly at 7 a.m., before even the industrious Croatians are up and about. With 4 hours before our train to Vienna leaves, we check our baggage and search for the interesting part of town. Finally we find the central part of town which has been redesigned as a pedestrian mall.

But Rijeka is an industrial port city of about 150,000, not a quaint tourist city. It's right on the border of Austria and Italy, so very closely connected to northern Europe, and it was hardly affected by the Yugoslav war.

I enjoyed our stroll and our time in the cafe, but was not disappointed when it was time to get on the train. I love train travel, and was quite happy to spend the next 10 hours traveling to Vienna.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 23 - TRAVEL

2007-06-10T19:57:00.000-06:00

Today is travel day. Janja makes us a special breakfast, we take photographs, zip up our suitcases, and sadly leave our sweet Dubrovnik home.

We booked passage on the Jadrolinja ferry from Dubrovnik all the way up the Dalmatian Coast to Rijeka, a 21 hour trip.

The Jadrolinja is very nice, and entirely different from any of our other nautical experiences. We have a cabin to sleep in, but spend all our time on the deck as we cruise up the coast. We stop in Hvar, Korcula and Split, destinations of our Arburat trip, but this time we arrive as a big cruise liner. Almost everyone spends time on deck (and those who don't have cabins must stay on the deck), so there is plenty of time for people watching, chatting with strangers and taking photos.

I can't help thinking about the last time I took this trip on the Jadrolinja, in 1990, and we hit a tropical storm in the middle of the night, that rocked our boat despite its size, so that water was splashing all over the deck, people and furniture were thrown from one side to another, all the while the rain was drenching us all. On this trip I was a deck passenger, so I managed by finding bench that was built into the ship and holding on for dear life.

Then, as quickly as the storm came it passed. And by the time we arrived in Rijeka the sun was shining and the water was still.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 22 - CAVTAT

2007-06-09T19:41:00.000-06:00

Today is our last full day in Dubrovnik and Jonathan says it's up to me how we spend it. I chose another trip to Cavtat. That will entail a) two more boat rides (to and from), b) a stroll through the old town to the old harbor, c) leisure time in Cavtat away from the crowds to explore the Roman ruin, relax in a cafe at the Cavtat harbor, and enjoy a leisurely afternoon meal at a fish restaurant we discovered on our last trip.

So off we go. We walk to the south this time, and discover a hotel nestled away from the main city. Evidently there is a peace conference meeting there now, and we meet folks on the trail who have come all the way to Cavtat to work for peace. What an appropriate setting!

The photo is of Jonathan at the fish restaurant (outdoors, of course, I forgot to mention that all our meals were outdoors!) with the Dalmatian coast looking north in the background.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 21 - DUBROVNIK

2007-06-08T19:21:00.000-06:00

Another relaxing day close to home. Jonathan sleeps while I explore the hills behind our house and do some errands. As I return, Janja, stops me to invite us for lunch. We've become friendly with Janja living under the same roof for 6 days, but this is our first formal invitation. Our common language is German, but for all of us it is a classroom version, and about 40 years ago. We communicate well enough, with language and body language.

Janja prepares the most delicious little fish, lightly fried; with beans, potatoes and bread. Very simple, but exquisitely prepared. This is my favorite meal in Dubrovnik.

In the evening we go to a performance of Lindjo, the Dubrovnik folk ensemble. I'm especially interested because I've danced and performed and made costumes for these same Croatian dances and Jonathan has played music for them. The dancers, the musicians, the costumes and the choreography were superb. Here are some more photos.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 20 - MOSTAR

2007-06-07T18:56:00.001-06:00

Today we take a tour to Mostar, a city in Bosnia (the Hercegovina part) famous for its Stari Most (old bridge), and for the war that destroyed it. The bridge was built by the Turkish occupiers of Mostar in the 1500s, and has since then has been a magnet for tourists and photographers.

More recently its existence, destruction, and restoration symbolizes to the world that, literally and symbolically, bridges can be repaired. I learned later, that when war broke out in Mostar, the river literally divided the two sides -- the Bosnians stayed on the left band of the Neretva River, and the Croats on the right. If you were living on the wrong side of the river when the war broke out, your life was absolutely in danger.

I had imagined Mostar as a quaint mountain village with this bridge and not much else. But not so. This is, -- rather was and soon will be again -- a thriving industrial city of over 100,000. The war has taken a terrible toll on the city, and completely changed the demographics. It will take a long time to recover.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 19 - DUBROVNIK

2007-06-06T18:44:00.000-06:00

This is our day of rest. We stayed in our room most of the day reading on the patio, napping and taking short walks.

Here is a photo of our room with Jonathan learning how to use his new cell phone. He got a new phone especially for this trip, and was able to call England or the US or anywhere in the world except Croatia! Finally he got it working.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 18 - DUBROVNIK

2007-06-05T18:25:00.000-06:00

Today we stay close to home, and explore the old town. In the morning we join a walking tour , which led us through the city from the lens of its war torn recent history. It's hard to believe that only 15 years ago Dubrovnik was held siege for over a year by Montenegran and Serbian militias, but indeed evidence was only slightly beneath the the happy tourist facade -- in buildings unrepaired AND too many buildings with new roofs; as well as in the hearts of the people. It was fascinating and sobering.

After relaxing in a cafe, a long lunch and a nap, we decided to circumvent the city wall, a must for every tourist to Dubrovnik. This photo is taken from a battlement in the wall, looking south towards the old harbor

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 17 - MONTENEGRO

2007-06-04T17:41:00.000-06:00

Today we go to Montenegro. I'm so excited! I've been drawn to this little country for as long as I can remember, to stories of tall, handsome men who will kill their neighbor for honor; the towering peaks and sparkling streams; and all the myth and legend surrounding it. Montenegran soldiers were partly responsible for the Siege of Dubrovnik in 1991-1992, so relations between the two countries are not the best. We avoided talking politics. We are going on an organized bus tour out of Dubrovnik.

Our first stop is Kotor, a walled city on the Bay of Kotor. Then the bus heads up famous windy road, the Ladder of Cattaro over the mountain the Cetinje, which is the historical (but no longer) capital of the country. On the way we stop for lunch at a mountain rest stop for sandwiches of locally cured ham and Montenegran beer. Cetinje doesn't have the charm I had hoped for, but still interesting. Our final stop was Budva, a port city they are trying to develop as a touist center.

Montenegro gained independence from Serbia within the last year, so there are many changes now and in the future. If you want to read more, I recommend Starling Lawrence's Montenegro: a novel (London: Transworld, 1998); Zorka Milich's A strangers supper: an oral history of centenarian women in Montenegro (Prentice Hall, 1995); Edith Durham's Through the lands of the Serbs (1904); or Milovan Djilas' Land without justice (Harcourt, Brace, 1958). The new James Bond film, Casino Royale, is set in Montenegrom (but actually filmed in the Czech Republic.)

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 16 - DUBROVNIK

2007-06-03T22:56:00.000-06:00

Today is Sunday, a good day for taking it easy and getting to know the area we will be staying for the next week. Of course we head for the Dubrovnik's old town, the Stari Grad, which is just a few minutes down the hill from our room. It is, indeed, the jewel of the Adriatic, with its own long and complicated history, including the siege in 1991-1992, within easy memory of everyone we see on the streets. If you are at all interested, follow the links or read some of the many books and articles on the subject.

But today the city is restored, and looking like a jewel. We walk down the stradum, through the narrow side streets, and over the the old harbor, the stari luka, to catch a ferry to Cavtat, a 45 minute ride south. As I write, there isn't enough content on the Internet to do this village justice -- the culture, the modern and ancient history, the geography, and the proximity to Montenegro -- hopefully that will change soon.

Here is a photo of Jonathan in a cafe in Cavtat.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 15 - DUBROVNIK

2007-06-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

We land in Dubrovnik shortly after breakfast. After a week together on the boat, the 10 of us will go our separate ways. Stipo and Daniela will take the boat back to Split to pick up another party of tourists. Matthew will return to Omas, to his young family and fishing business. Our Australian friends have booked an apartment in Dubrovnik and soon they will go their own separate ways -- Steve for another week of travel in Croatia, Katrina and Sean immediately back to London and to work, Brett and Ailsa a few days in Dubrovnik and then back to London and to work.

Jonathan and I have booked a room in a private house near the old town -- we know nothing more about it. When the taxi drops us off at the appointed location, Janja Katic, our new landlady is there to greet us with a smile. She takes my suitcase and guides us up the path to her lovely and clean home, and to our room on the second floor. We couldn't ask for a better situation. The room is clean and spacious enough for us with a modern private bath, separate enough from the family, and with a deck and a view of the Dubrovnik Stari Grad to die for.

The room was 50 Euros a night, and can be booked through Janja's English speaking daughter, Goldi Nodilo, gnolidilo@hotmail.com.

This photo is of Janja and Jonathan on the deck.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 14 - ELAPHITE ISLANDS

2007-06-01T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today is our last full day on the Arburat as we approach Dubrovnik. Now we are traveling closer to the coast through the Elaphite Islands -- now land, now sea, such an interesting coastline. The weather has improved and we spend our time out on the deck. Sometimes I fell like I am in paradise. We read and talk quietly. Now we are old hands at cruising the Adriatic.

We dock on the island on Sipan, the largest of the populated Elaphite Islands. It's late in the day and a perfect time to walk around this little settlement. We walk above the town and watch folks puttering in the garden or on small building projects. We suspect this is an island of second homes for Dubrovnik residents. It is also an island of olive groves -- some active by many abandoned. We meet a fellow who tells us in sign language about the importance of olive trees here throughout history. He directs us to the local market to sample and buy some of the local oil, which we do.

This is our last meal together and the seven of us cabinmates meet at an outdoor restaurant for a yummy fish dinner and the best Croatian wine I've ever had, Dingac, grown from grapes on the Peljesac Peninsula. The photo shows us at dinner.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 13 - MLJET

2007-05-31T21:13:00.000-06:00

Today we travel to the island of Mljet. We're all delighted that Matthew wants to take us there directly, so we'll have the whole day to explore. (Usually we arrive at our destination towards the end of the day.) Mljet is a small island (population about 1000) with a long history, which you can read about in the Wikipedia article in the link above. We docked in the village of Pomena, which abuts the Mljet National Park.

Jonathan and I walk through the park and take the ferry to the Benedictine Monastery, while our cabinmates go swimming and rent motor scooters.

Our full day on the island is punctuated by a midday break on the Arburat for lunch, so this is a good time to talk about food. Our passage included breakfast and lunch, and I expected coffee and bread in the morning and ham and cheese in the afternoon. But nothing could be further from the truth.

In the morning we have coffee (brewed or espresso) or tea and fruit juice; fresh bread from the market; a main dish which includes eggs, meat and/or pancakes; fresh fruit and sometimes an extra special goodie. Lunch usually consists of a pasta dish, a salad usually fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, a cooked vegetable, fresh bread, a main dish of fresh fish and as much wine as we can drink. We had a different main dish every day, for example, octopus, squid, shrimp or flat fish.

This is prepared in the tiny ship's kitchen and served to us on ceramic dishware, up a steep flight of stairs from the kitchen. I have no idea where the fresh fish, vegetables and bread came from, it just seemed to appear. The food was always served with grace and good cheer.

The little critter in the photo was our lunch one day

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 12 - KORCULA

2007-05-30T20:19:00.000-06:00

Today we move forward to Korcula. I'm especially interested in Korcula because many of our San Francisco friends are from this island, and because I visited it ever so briefly on my 1990 trip to Yugoslavia.

Korcula City is a wonderfully restored walled city, and the alleged birthplace of Marko Polo. We were there late in the day, when the sun appeared from above the cloud cover, right before it set into the sea, to give an incredible luminous light to this magic city.

The first photo is of me in a bar on top of a tower on the city wall. You can't tell, but we had to climb up a narrow ladder to get there. The second photo is of Jonathan standing against the city wall at sunset.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 11- HVAR

2007-05-29T19:46:00.000-06:00

Today we travel around the island of Hvar, to Hvar City. The sea is choppy, and we are not permitted to dock at the city harbor because of the weather, so we must dock at a private harbor nearby and take a water taxi to town. All part of the adventure.

Our third day at sea, and I start to pay attention to the yachting culture that surrounds us. The water taxi is filled with yachtspeople. Many Brits, a good number of Germans, and a lesser but significant number of Scandinavians. Since the weather is bad I notice a lot of sitting around, a lot of drinking and a lot of eating. I suspect that within this culture, there are groups and subgroups, little caravans of yachts that form and make their way from one port to another.

Yet another subculture I know nothing about.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 10 - HVAR

2007-05-28T19:15:00.000-06:00

By this morning the wind has calmed down enough to travel, but barely. Matthew tells us we need to skip the island of Vis, and will go directly to Hvar. I remember Hvar from my 1990 trip to Croatia, when I saw entire side of the island covered with lavender (I came home and covered my garden with lavender plants). More recently, I hear about Hvar as the new Italian Riviera and the place-to-be-seen if you are a movie star or a wannabe.

We didn't experience any of this.

Our first stop is Jelsa, another charming village, but much more "lived in" than Milna, that is, we saw ugly new apartment buildings, busy roads, and a subdivision of tourist homes, as well as walking paths in among vineyards and along the beach.

We experienced a sudden storm (thank goodness we were safely in the harbor and under cover). The skies just let loose and dumped everything they had into this little village. We were sitting in the patio of a pizza house under the cover of an umbrella, but the rain was so strong it bounced off the pavement and got us and our food all wet. As a result, all of us outdoors folks had to double up at tables with the indoors customers, and shared a table with a very interesting Swiss couple who organized ski trips in the winter and mountain climbing and sailing trips in the summer.

This photo shows Jelsa right before the storm.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 9 - BRAC

2007-05-27T18:49:00.000-06:00

Milna, Brac: An interesting turn of events: this morning Matthew announces it is too windy to travel. We must alter our itinerary and spend the day docked in Milna. Since none of us know the least thing about the islands we would travel to, or at this point could possibly tell one island from another, we were quite satisfied to stay safe and sound in this charming village.

As for me, I fell in love with this village, and, first impressions notwithstanding, no other village except Cavtat, captured my heart so much. We spend a lazy day walking through the village, and up behind it into the agricultural area, imagining what it must be like for folks to live here .... and what it would be like for US to live here...

Something about the weather: We experienced less than perfect sailing weather throughout the trip. Matthew said he has never seen so much rain at this time of the year. We also had some extremely windy times. We spent more time than we wanted inside the cabin of the boat, and had to certain adjustments in our itinerary because of the weather. Most disappointing to Jonathan is that we never -- not even once -- go to raise the sails and go sailing.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 8 - ARBURAT BOAT

2007-05-26T17:42:00.000-06:00

This evening we leave on our 7 day cruise, but we still have a day in Split to explore. We spend some time doing laundry, picking up some seasickness medicine (which we didn't need), and going to the bank -- always an adventure in a foreign country. Then we hang out near the harbor, checking out the boats and wondering when ours will pull up.

Finally it does, and we meet all the folks who will be our companions for the next 7 days. Stipo is the boat owner, and the guy generally in charge. Originally from Bosnia, he's a teacher turned boat owner, a lover of Dalmatian folk music, and most important he is a chef to match all chefs. More about the food in following entries, but suffice it to say here that I've never had such consistently marvelous food and he made this magic in a boat kitchen about 4 x 6 feet.

Matthew is our skipper. He is young, handsome, smart and 100% Croatian. Matthew lived many years in the US, where many members of his family have emigrated, but by choice has returned to his family village of Omas, Croatia. When he not skippering tourist boats, he owns are operates a fishing trawler.

Daniela is the third member of our crew. She is quiet, competent, and very sweet. She also is in charge of the wine, which just kept flowing.

Our passenger companions are a group of 5 Australians. Sean and Katrina currently live in London where Sean has a job in IT. They spent a year at UC Santa Cruz so know all about the SF Bay Area. Brett and Ailsa are also currently living in London and working in IT. Steve is the only one in the group who is actually living in Australia. These thirty something folks were the best of companions -- intelligent, lively, interesting and respectful of our older folks' needs.

Our 1st destination: Milna on the island of Brac - -about two hours from Split, so we arrived by sunset. Read on to see how lucky we were to have made this short trip the first night.

The first photo is the Rivas in Split; the 2nd photo is our group as we set out on our trip. You can click on the photos to blow them up to full size.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 7 - SPLIT

2007-05-25T17:16:00.000-06:00

Today is our layover day in Split, famous for Diocletian's Palace.

Diocletian was born nearby and built this as a retirement place after he abdicated from the Roman throne in 305. The area called the palace is really constitutes the old town, or Stari Grad. The interesting thing about the Diocletian Palace area is that it is not architecturally or culturally intact. It has been used, misused, abandoned, and restored by whomever came along in the past two milennia. Which is what makes it so alive and interesting. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.

We spent most of our time in the Palace area or on the Riva (walkway along the harbor.)

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 6 - VIENNA TO SPLIT

2007-05-24T16:55:00.000-06:00

Today is travel day. We left the hotel at 5 a.m. to catch an early train that would take us through the absolutely most beautiful country in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia all the way to Split, on the Dalmatian coast. I noticed subtle changes as we crossed national boundary lines, for example, the Slovenian farms seemed slightly smaller than the Austrian ones, and every one had a vegetable garden, and the pattern held as we continued south into Croatia.

We had a layover in Zagreb the capital of Croatia, enough time to walk around the train station, get a bite to eat, and to purchase strawberries from one of the almost 50 vendors selling them. Between Zagreb and Split is one of the areas most deeply affected by the war. In fact, we went through Knin, where it is generally agreed that the whole thing started. We saw abandoned fields and homes an area of industrious people and fertile soil, but I didn't know enough about the whole situation to make a direct connection. Now I know more, and wish I could go back to make a better connection between what I saw and when I know to have happened.

The photo is a scene from Zagreb -- part of our European streetcar series.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 5 - VIENNA

2007-05-23T16:25:00.000-06:00

Today we visited the Schonbrunn Palace. I had visited many years ago, but wanted Jonathan to see this example of conspicuous consumption, and to experience it myself through older and more cynical eyes.

The Schonbrunn site and some form of this "summer cottage" was in the Hapsburg family since the 1600s, but Empress Maria Theresa gets credit for its current look and feel. Maria Theresa was really something else -- not only a great head of state, but also a kind and generous person, a lover of art and culture, a loving wife, and the mother of 16 children. If you are interested, be sure to read the article in the link above.

Since photos of the Schonbrunn and Maria Theresa are all over the Internet, I'll post a photo of Jonathan eating torte mit schlagg at the Schonbrunn Kaffee. We had a lot of fun sitting in the cafe people watching and tempting the birds to come eat off our plates.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 4 - VIENNA

2007-05-22T15:54:00.000-06:00

Today we did more exploring. In the morning we took a cultural detour and went to an exhibition of the Chinese Terracotta Army. Wow, did that emperor have an ego!! We saw a few lifesize replicas of the soldiers and a miniature model of the entire tomb. Really amazing. Then back outside into a Vienna heatwave.

Most of the city is dominated by Hapsburg structures -- massive, substantial, colorless, and somewhat unimaginative (we saw the same buildings throughout Europe wherever the Hapsburgs placed their footprint). However, here and there are examples of the Vienna Secession Movement architecture, much more to my liking. My favorite is the Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station, near our hotel. It was designed by Otto Wagner, and if I remember correctly, he faced some opposition to the design, as being too radical.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 3 - VIENNA

2007-05-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

We wake up in Vienna surprisingly free from jet lag. Our charming little hotel, Wiener Staatsoper, is centrally located at the foot of Kartnerstrasse, just a few blocks from the opera house.

Vienna sure knows how to appeal to "culturally inclined" tourists, and I suck it all in. The Kartnerstrasse -- a pedestrian only strasse -- has scattered cobblestones dedicated to the famous musicians who made their home in Vienna -- Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, and the list goes on and on. Such a thrill to be walking in the footsteps of these greats. To push this cultural tourism to an extreme, there are young students planted around town who are dressed up like Mozart. They are selling tickets to a Mozart concert in the Weiner Musik Verein, a grand music hall built by Franz Joseph in the late 19th century (as are a great number of other Viennese structures.) I bought us tickets and enjoyed the concert (and the setting) very much, though I think Jonathan thought it was a little too much show and not enough Mozart. Here is a photo of the inside of the Musik Verein.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 2

2007-05-20T15:21:00.000-06:00

We land in London the next morning, but of course for us, it's 9 hours earlier, in the middle of the night. Just enough time in Heathrow to spend my leftover British pounds on a cup of espresso and the Sunday Times. It's six years since I've stood on European soil, but that same smoky indoors smell brings back all the wonderful associations. Indoor smoke is everywhere, but somehow this Smoking Kills display caught my attention and is our first European photograph.

Then back on the plane for a few more hours travel to our final destination in Vienna.

CROATIA TRIP - DAY 1

2007-05-19T15:11:00.000-06:00

We fly today! I'm so excited. Awake at 5 a.m. and must find some way to fill the next 8 hours -- I go for coffee. I go for a run. I repack and double check my documents. Still not time to leave, till finally ....

It is! We decide to take BART to the airport. So convenient!! and $6 instead of $40. Jonathan is detained at security because of the metal buttons on his overalls; and I lose my sunscreen, but we are in such a good mood it matters not at all.

And before we know it we are in the air!!

Adios, Molly

2007-03-13T00:10:00.000-06:00

Molly,

I miss you. I miss your rip-it-away spirit to tell us who we are. Left or right, rich or poor, you never let us get away with our high moral stance - we is what we is. You took your Smith College education to the the Texas dives, to sleuth out the real stuff, then you churned it up with beer and bar-b-que, then spit out to all of us, the American public, but ESPECIALLy to your own folks, the Texas public. Bill Clinton paid you the greatest compliment when he remarked that he appreciated your praise, but he especially appreciated your insightful criticism.

Molly, wherever you are now, up above us, or in that place below -- more likely in your own special heaven -- that's where I want to go.

Keep fighting and keep laughing,

Yours forever,
Nancy

More on Molly:
John Nichols remembering Molly
Mother Jones obit
New York Times obit

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: MacArthur Corridor

2006-08-09T23:15:00.000-06:00

This series highlights great things about the San Francisco Bay Area that cost little or no money

I never thought I'd write about the MacArthur Corridor in Oakland as one of those special Bay Area gems but here I am doing it, thanks to Patricia, who conceived and carried out an amazing photodocumentary project of hiring professional photographers to capture images of a down-at-the-heels neighborhood who caught the life between the cracks.

Patricia wrote eloquently about it in her own blog, and even won the blog of the day prize. Check it out!

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Berkeley Kite Festival

2006-07-31T23:20:00.000-06:00

This series highlights great things to do in the San Francisco Bay Area, that cost little or no money.

The Berkeley Kite Festival. What a great way to spend a sunny summer afternoon down at Cesar Chavez park in the Berkeley Marina. And it is absolutely free!. This is the 20th annual festival, but the first one that I've known about. You can see in the picture how extravagant most of the kites are. And read more ... These guys are giant octopus', but there were equally interesting ones in the from of geckos, ghosts, trilobytes, and of course the old fashined geometric shapes, like the one Jonathan bought recently.

The highlight of the day was the "kite ballet," whereby six master kite flyers did a real choreography of kites, with music, rhythm, and all the elemets of a real ballet. Unbelievable.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: San Francisco Bay Trail

2006-07-29T22:17:00.000-06:00

This series features great things to do in the Bay Area that cost little or no money.

One of the wonderful things about the Bay Area is our park and trail network that weaves its way through cities, along the coast, and out onto the EBMUD lands in the Bay Area hinterlands. Most trails and parks are well maintained, used but not crowded and the park staff even try to establish trailheads near public transportation.

The trail system that has intrigued me for the longest time is the San Francisco Bay Trail, a 400 mile trail which connects the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay and goes through 47 Bay Area cities. I've dreamed of walking this entire trail, bit by bit, and soaking up the wonder of this great body of water, also bit by bit.

Today was the first dayin fulfilling that dream. My good friend Vivian and I have decided to hike these 400 miles together, to walk and talk, spend more time together, and enjoy the fresh sea breeze. Today was the first leg of the trip, and we chose the Oyster Bay Trail (so marked on the map), an 8.5 mile walk along the bay shore from San Leandro to the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center off highway 92.

This shoreline was originally home to Ohlone Indians. Later, much later (1950s) it served as a landing for local commercial boats ferrying people and market goods from across the bay. In 1854 salt harvetsing began when the entrepreneur John Johnson leveed natural salt pools and created a salt empire which was purchased by Leslie Salt in the 1930s. This last acquisition comes into my personal memory, since my grandfather was friendly with one of the head hanchos of Leslie Salt (this was in the 50s!), and he enjoyed so much driving us around the red/pink/rose salt beds that were testimony to his friend's success.

And so it goes. But today I didn't want to think about history, cultural conflicts, environmental disasters. I just wanted to enjoy the sea breeze, the conversation with my friend, and to feel my body come alive with some serious activity.

I'm pooped right now, but in that wonderful knowing-you'll sleep-like-a-log-and-wake-up-refreshed way, and am headed for bed. But I'm all ready for the next leg of the trip. We need to get out maps out very soon!

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA SECRETS: Mary Sano

2006-07-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

This series highlights wonderful things to see and do in the San Francisco Bay Area that don't make it into the guidebooks and don't cost much money.

My friend Mary Sano is a dance and performance artist with a stunning studio space in the heart of San Francisco. Mary is made of style -- in the way she moves, the way dresses, the way she responds to her surroundings. But her work and her life are also serious study and a passionate call for universal peace and understanding. As it should be, since Mary straddles Pacific Rim between her native Japan and her adopted city of San Francisco, both in her life and in her art.

This week she is hosting a Noh Seminar Series, featuring master artists from Japan. I went to one of the performances on Friday night, a Noh interpretation of an ancient Japanese legend. As all Mary's performance, which happen three or four times a year, she converted her studio into a salon-like performance space, so the audience and the performers are very close.

I rarely miss an event, because I can be sure to be surprised and moved by whatever creative work Mary is up to at the moment. I also love to watch the audience -- and international mix of interesting faces. .... whom I can get acquainted with at the wine reception after every performance.

Mary is pictured here (center) with two of her collaborators: Moira Roth and Shonosuke Okura.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

2006-07-03T13:52:00.000-06:00

Christiaan and Nancy

Austin was great, but now I'm home, back in the groove, with no time to reflect and write about my trip. Ahh, such is life.

This is a picture of Christiaan and me taken from his new computer, which is also a webcam. (!!)