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First weekend in the city

My job sent me out to San Francisco for a conference in early May. I added a week of vacation time, so I could make a vacation out of the work trip.

My first morning in the city, Saturday, I was given a tour by my good friends, Lang and Yogi. We started with an excellent breakfast at Just For You Cafe in the Dogpatch section of town. In addition to the breakfast menu, the ‘Just For You Cafe’ serves beignets, which are pillowy donuts covered in powdered sugar. They taste exactly like the donuts my grandmother used to make. I thank Yogi for the treat!

A beautiful, breezy, day in the city, it was Spring for them (and still warmer than Ohio had seen to that point). Lang had stored a kite at his former roommate’s house, so we stopped by for a visit.
On the way to Bernal Hill, Yogi pulls over on a residential street, next to what looks like an abandoned, overgrown, lot. “We’re stopping here?”, I ask. We pass through an iron gate, and descend into the foliage down concrete steps. A short ways in, the path opens up so I can see an octagonal building, surrounded by all types of colorful plants. It is much like a rain-forest. Inside the structure, is a full grown palm tree. The building is supported by curved steel beams, and the intricacy of the wooden structure is amazing. This is the Sunnyside Conservatory. This building was once part of a large home, and is all that remains. The house, built in the 1890’s, occupied what is now three lots. After falling into decay and overgrowth, most people forgot completely about the buildings. Years later, when it was rediscovered, developers quickly moved to demolish the buildings, in order to make way for new housing. The neighborhood banded together and had the property designated as a park and conservatory. A glitch at city hall gave permission for the demolition, and they were mostly done when the city stopped the destruction. Only the octagonal greenhouse was saved. A renovation effort took place in 1986, and added reinforcement to the structure, cleared the weeds and took care of the plants. The Sunnyside Conservatory is an impressive hidden part of San Francisco.

Bernal Heights is one of the many neighborhoods of the city, and Bernal Hill is a city park. As we hiked up the hill, we noticed that the wind had picked up, and we would probably not be able to do any kite-flying. But the view of the city was magnificent.

After hiking around the hill, my ‘tour guides’ decided to stop for a treat at Mitchell Brothers Ice Cream. The line was out the door, but I was assured that the wait was worthwhile. They were not wrong. MMMmm…

Recharged, we drove over towards the Legion of Honor, on another hill in the city, west, and overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. To get to this area, we drove through El Camino del Mar, one of the most expensive sections of town, overlooking the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Many famous people have (or once had) homes in this scenic area. After leaving the residential section, the road enters Golden Gate Park, and there were several scenic areas. We stopped at the World Peace Monument, with an inscription in both English and Japanese, on the site of the peace treaty with Japan in 1951.

At the end of the road is the Legion of Honor, atop a hill overlooking San Francisco. We don’t have time to visit the de Young Fine Arts Museum inside, but walk around the grounds. They have a replica of the famous statue, The Thinker, by Rodin. There is also a huge sculpture made of thousands of pieces of yellow and colored glass. It is called “The Sun”, and was made by Dale Chihuly (I found out later, that Columbus, Ohio, has the world’s largest collection of Chihuly glass sculptures, found at the Franklin Park Conservatory).

We end up just north of the city, in Marin County, and that evening, Yogi takes us to an excellent restaurant, Max’s Cafe, for another wonderful meal. I am learning that Yogi knows the best places to eat.

The work week

During the work week, I have my convention to keep me busy during the day. In the evenings, it’s dinner with friends. Yogi takes me to the West Portal neighborhood for Polish food at Old Krakow (since closed… bummer). I was raised on Hungarian food, so it’s a real treat to eat authentic eastern European food. Just stepping inside the restaurant, the aroma reminds me of my grandmother’s kitchen. The portions are huge, and delicious. I’m really enjoying the Yogi Food Tour! Also during the week, friends take me for great food at Henry’s Hunan. It’s become a traditional stop for at least one meal.

The second weekend

At the end of the week, when my convention is done, I pick up the rental bike from Eaglerider’s for a week of riding!

Saturday morning, bright and early, Lang and Yogi show up on their bikes, and we take off north, across the Golden Gate Bridge. It brings back fond memories from a year earlier, when I got to be a passenger and get pictures of these two bikers riding in front of us across the bridge. This time, I am riding alongside them. Like most experienced riders, these guys are easy to ride with, and the curves are fast and fun. We ride up to Hopland, about 100 miles north of the city. We stop for lunch at the Blue Bird Cafe, which is, once again, another great place to eat.

They are taking me to see some old friends, Jon and David, that live in Booneville, California. I stayed at their house once, on my first cross-country trip in 2000. It is really great to see them, and sit outside under the redwoods, and catch up on stories and mutual friends. It became apparent, once again, that this is a very small world. These four friends, from northern California, know so many of the other people I have met on trips to Sturgis, New England, and the west coast. Over several hours, with many tales, and many names, there were only a handful of people mentioned that I didn’t already know. It was a strange feeling, since I grew up and live in Ohio. Small, small, world. Beef brisquets were grilled, and, very full bikers found places to sleep for the night.

Sunday morning, Lang and I leave Yogi, Jon, and David. We’re heading to Lang’s cabin, near Oroville, on the eastern part of the state. Our route takes us north, around Clear Lake, before heading down from the mountains, to the Central Valley. We take a break at a casino, and have a beverage.

As we continue on our way, I notice that my bike is low on gas (these ‘new’ bikes have gas gauges, but they aren’t very accurate, so I can’t tell how long the warning light has been on, or how far I can still ride). After about 15 miles, we find a small gas station, at the intersection of another highway. Lang had been through this way many times, but never noticed this gas stop. He tells me stories of a little bar, not far down this other highway. The ‘Butte Club’. We laugh, because the real pronunciation rhymes with ‘beaut’ (as in beauty), not quite how it looks. The gleam in his eye leaves as he tells me that the bar has since closed. With a bar name like that, I’ve got to have a picture for the calendar, so we drive by and park. “Did you notice the beer sign was lit?” Ha! The bar has been re-opened! It’s a good omen, so we stop in for a drink or two. The bartender tells us that she and her husband recently bought the Butte City Club, and were hoping the bikers would return. A good bar close to a scenic mountain ride: yeah, the bikers will return.

A hour or so later, and we pull in to the bar in Berry Creek. We take our drinks out to the patio, behind the bar. This is remote mountain country, but everyone here knows Lang. A few weeks ago, wildfires had been all over this area. A good number of homes in the area were destroyed. Everyone had a story to tell, and it’s obvious that the the fire left scars on more than the trees. Several homes are for sale, as many people don’t want to go through another close call.

Lang’s cabin didn’t get any damage from the fires, but he did have to pack up and take what he could. He talked about the strange experience of picking which items, and memories, to save, and which ones there wasn’t room to take. Hard decisions, and hard to leave a place that had been home for twenty years, not knowing if anything will be left when you return. He was lucky. Many neighbors went down into town to get supplies so they could pack their belongings, only to be told by the Sheriff that they couldn’t be allowed back up to their homes. Very difficult times.

The next morning, the temperatures were great, and Lang decided to take me up to Buck’s Lake, near the top of the mountains in this part of the Sierras. The roads are in great shape, and we can see down into the green valleys. We take a quick break at the Mountain House, the shell of what was once a restaurant and bar, and a stagecoach stop in the 1850’s. The famous Black Bart used the basement as his hideout, when he wasn’t robbing people on this, the only road across the mountains for many miles. During the Gold Rush of 1849, this area was full of gold mines. And this road was the way to get the gold to Reno, and east. As if a museum of old road side stops, across from the Mountain House is a former gas station, still recognizable, but it had been a long time since there was gas to pump.

Next to the old gas station was a sign, warning that roads were not maintained (plowed) during the winter. Well, this is May, so that won’t be a problem.

Well, not for a few miles, anyway. We pass a few sections where there is some snow off the side of the road. Then a few spots with a pile of snow in the road. Then we come to the place where snow covered the entire road. About a foot deep. In May. Wow. There were tracks from trucks that had passed through here, and some evergreen branches in the snow for traction. We’re not going to be able to make it to Buck’s Lake on the bikes. We had a brief snowball fight, but the melting snow was very wet.

We turned around, and went down the mountain. Lang took me to Bald Rock, which is pretty much what it sounds like: a huge rock, with few trees. Geologists call this a ‘pluton’, a smooth plate of molten lava that cooled under the earth’s surface. Over many years, the covering washed away, and the bare granite rock is exposed. The native Indians claimed that this was the home of the spirits that watched over the Sacramento Valley. It’s a magical place. Huge boulders are all around, thrown here from Mount Shasta, a few hundred miles away. Some of the boulders have been carved by the wind, and have unique shapes and swirls. The few trees that manage to grow from the rock have been twisted around and around by the same winds. Looking out over the valley, all you can see are trees, and a few small lakes. It’s a spectacular sight.

The next day, Lang has to head back to San Jose, and I am off to visit a friend in the city of Brentwood. We ride together towards Sacramento, and stop for a drink at the ‘Virgin Sturgeon’ restaurant; floating in the Sacramento River. The ramp to the barge is covered boarding ramp from an airport. We toast to a great trip, and head in separate directions.

Visiting Brentwood and Yosemite

During the planning of the trip, Brentwood was going to be one of the highlights of the trip. I had been looking forward to seeing my dear old friend, Brian. When he lived in Columbus, we were always having fun. He had moved to California with Mike, and they enjoyed living there. I had visited them for a few days, back in 2003. But, just two weeks before this vacation, Brian had died in an accident in their home. So, this visit to Brentwood was a very sad occasion, to visit with Mike and to provide some comfort, and to be comforted, as well. Mike and I shared many stories, laughed a lot, and cried, as well. Just remembering Brian’s laughter still makes me smile. There was always lots of laughter around Brian.

Mike and I decide to head to Yosemite National Park. I have seen pictures, and heard great stories about Yosemite, but in all the times I had been to California, this was my first time to the park. May was the perfect time of year to visit the park. With the mountain snow just melting, all of the waterfalls in the park were flowing at full speed. We were able to walk up to several of them, without really needing to hike. Of course, the park had many visitors, and we were not able to stay overnight. We decide to drive back to Brentwood. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Third weekend

My next destination is back to Hopland. Many of the folks I know from Sturgis have a campout each Spring, and it is usually held right about the time of my conference. To get there from Brentwood, I decide to avoid the city, and ride back roads through Napa Valley. Wine country. The wineries are everywhere along the highway, and I am amazed at the number of names that are familiar. There are many visitors to the area, and the traffic is moving slow, and the temperature is high. I’m not a wine drinker, but I do manage to find an old gas station conveniently situated next to a bar. There are several other bikes here, and I meet several folks over a cold beer. As much fun as I am having, there is even more fun waiting down the road.

It is my third time to the Hopland camping weekend, and by now I know almost everyone at the event. There is always excellent food, and a big fire, a few people playing music, and much laughter. And sitting around the fire, the ‘woofa’ appears. It’s an old empty glass 5-gallon water bottle. After swirling around bit of denatured alcohol, a grill lighter is lit near the top. When lucky, the alcohol fumes will ignite, and the blue flame will move up and down inside the bottle, sucking air, making a sound like ‘woofa, woofa, woofa’. After each lighting, add air (an air mattress pump works great!) and flame. It has all the ingredients of a good time; alcohol and flame!

After another weekend of fun, I ride with friends back to the city, and I return the rental bike. Yogi gives me a ride to mail my camping gear back to Ohio. The entire time I’ve been in San Francisco this time, and I have not had sushi! Yogi realy likes the idea, and we head back to West Portal to Fuji. We sit at the counter, a real treat is watching the chef create your meal. We experiment with several rolls from the specialty menu, and each is very unique and tasty! Enjoying food with Yogi was really a highlight to this trip.