We took a short walk on a long pier

The Berkeley Marina has this crazy-long pier that looks like it goes all the way to San Francisco (but it doesn't). It used to be three miles long but I guess it's just a quarter of a mile now. Still, it was so windy, foggy and cold, we couldn't even get to the half-way mark before turning around and heading toward the little beach cove nearby. There, it was warm, still and sunny. A complete micro-climate 100 yards away. We then headed to the boat-launch dock, another 100 yards away and flew our kite in the rediscovered wind.

Diablo Taiko plus Bonsai

Summer's almost over but the memories are sweet. Here's an excerpt from Diablo Taiko's performance at the Annual Diablo Japanese-American Summer Festival. I completely pigged out at this festival. I love Japanese food. The udon was really good. I also learned a lot about traditional Japanese flower arranging (Ikenobo ikebana) from master flower-arranger and first-class charmer Hideko Metaxas. This artform is like making very focused sculpture using natural elements.



The bonsai from the Shikishima Bonsai Club were exceptional. Apologies for the low contrast in these photos. Everything was nicely shaded making it hard to light on the fly.

Stow Lake - Golden Gate Park

A paddle-boat ride with Richie and Jackson. This time around we got to meet the captain of the boathouse (he's not really a captain--I just think of him that way) who happens to be an avid record collector. He and Richie talked shop and we got free organic juices. A fine trip, as always!

Mt. Diablo from Mitchell Canyon Park