San Francisco - Haight District

Haight street in San Francisco has the distinction of being the centerpoint of hippy culture in the 1960's.

With the beat generation (1950's) going to North Beach the lower rent area of Haight, because of a proposed freeway, attracted the people that would become the centre of the "Summer of Love". Lots of influential rock bands started here.

After the decline of the hippie movement it became a hard drug and crime ridden area from 1968 to the early 70's. It then became the proving grounds for famous comedians then for the punk and dance music scene.

Currently it is a mix of all the above things and is great fun to walk around. For those who like used clothes shopping, there are vintage stores of many eras and stores that sell clothes of fictional vintages, like steampunk. Amoeba records is a premiere place to find music, movies and memorabilia. Here is an article from SFGATE on the Haight area and suggestions.

San Francisco - Street Views

On the streets of San Francisco were great examples of architecture. Take a gander!

San Francisco - Japanese Tea Garden

The Japanese Tea Garden, nestled in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, is a delightful oasis in a busy city.

What I noticed were the multiple hues of green that were present.

The water was only disturbed when the large koi fish broke the surface. Even though there was a lot of people in the park, everyone quieted down and enjoyed the surroundings.

I really like the woodwork under this archway.

We would have gone to the tea house, which was priced very reasonably, but we had other places to go.

San Francisco - Stinking Rose

The Stinking Rose is a tourist and local staple in San Francisco for many many years. Even though i'd been to San Francisco multiple times before, I never went here before.

First was the Bagna Calda, basically garlic, butter, olive oil and a little anchovies. Delicious and spreads on the focaccia like room temperature butter.

Then I had the rabbit with garlic, tomato sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and a bit of olive oil.

Everything was delicious and hearty. I'd come back again.

San Francisco - Two Wineries around Los Gatos

One of the things my wife wanted to go to on our trip to the San Francisco area was a few wineries. In this case she wanted to revisit Thomas Fogarty and Ridge.

Thomas Fogardy was the fellow who invented the embolectomy catheter for vascular medicine. He also liked wine and started with a few acres in 1979. Now at over 300 acres with 25 devoted to vines, you can enjoy this oasis off the Skyline Boulevard. I found the wines tasted quite good.

The land Ridge is on was used for growing grapes for wine since 1885 but the Ridge winery was founded in the 1960's. It wins world awards for its wine and placed highly in the legendary Judgement of Paris in 1976, where established French wines were blind taste tested with California wines. It also won in a recreation with the original vintages for the 30th anniversary. I found the wines very very good and some are recommended to age for several more decades to get more out of them.

Below is a view from Ridge.

There are many more wineries in the area. Why not give Sonoma a break and try something different when in the San Francisco area and looking for wine.

Postcard of the Interwebs - 19 August 2014

Skulls Shows gradual Human Sidestep into a Neanderthal: Interesting find in Northern Spain's "pit of bones" could have found the evidence of an evolutionary sidestep from Homo Sapiens to Neanderthal.

Earth Sized Diamond: Approximately 11 billion years old, this star has collapsed to a white dwarf and is believed to be mostly carbon. This hard to find object was estimated in size by using how much it bent light from a nearby pulsar. Cool!

Titan Older than Saturn: OK. First Titan is evaluated as being older than Saturn, the planet it currently orbits (due to nitrogen 14 to 15 comparisons) but it also has a different nitrogen than Earth, meaning two different creations of these planets. Wow!

Colonizing Venus: A very interesting and novel way of colonizing Venus...with balloons!

Radio Burst from Beyond the Milky Way: One observation from one observer is unproven but this recent detection by two radio observatories is significant. Could it be a stellar event or another civilization, long dead...who knows for now.

Potential Cure for Diabetes: From the Salk institute, mice were injected with FGF1 protein and had normal blood sugars for at least two days. Could be developed to correct human's levels for longer. Of course we need to change people's diets so we don't need to get this treatment in the first place...

Religious Children more likely to believe fiction as fact than Secular children: Interesting. A study that shows how teaching children that things they cannot ever perceive is real somehow skews their judgement of whether other things are real or not. Hmmmm.

Maritimes - Pearl Resteraunt

The Pearl Resteraunt is a fantastic resteraunt and the best place I ate at during my stay in the Maritimes. Its located in North Rustico just East of Cavandish.

The place is a converted barn and has lots of quirky art and decor.

For an amuse bouche they served a philo pastry with goat cheese and cranberry compote. Delicious!

Next came the lobster bisque with shrimp, chives and creme freche.Very nice and smooth.

The main was roasted and braised lamb with roasted asperagus, mixed vegetables, quinoa with fruit and beans, and a mint dressing. Hearty without being too filling.

For dessert I had the homemade ginger ice cream with shortbread.

Funnily enough, the owner's daughter works in Victoria, BC so i've been asked to say hi to her when i'm downtown.

This is also the last post for my Maritimes trip. Hope you enjoyed it.

Maritimes - Almost Dead Attractions of PEI

With the downturn in tourism, some fringe tourist attractions of PEI have shut down with a wimper. Some places, like the one above, I thought was closed but after coming back home discovered it just looked that way. Above is the Fan-Tas-Ma-Goric Museum.

I dimly remember this one, Jurassic Bart's, which is owned by the same fellow and for sale but also still open. It has a hodgepodge fossils, plaster like large dinosaurs, astromomy and a space shuttle. Yup, a space shuttle (see below).

Just goes to show that if coming here when it is not tourist season (July to August) its very empty of people but most things are closed. If you are interested in revitalizing these attractions you can see the fellow's website here. From the reviews I've read online, they are great for the kids but not for adults.

Maritimes - Brackley Drive In

I had not gone to a drive in for a few decades. When planning my trip to the Maritimes I was looking forward to this experience. I was not dissapointed. The Brackley Drive In was a fun experience. They provide double features and with a cupon it works out to seeing two movies for the price of one. Of course you get bit by mosquitoes around sunset when going to the washroom or for snacks but you can roll up the windows and tune into the theatre FM transmitter to get full car surround sound. I saw "Edge of Tommorow" but did not stay for the Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore film. Not because I don't like them but because I was tired.

Maritimes - Dunes Cafe

The Dunes Cafe is quite the odd duck on PEI. Although there are many artists, there has not been an attempt like this in my memory of PEIs past. It is odd for PEI but cool too.

The gallery does have a lot of non-local art but many of those non-locals are actually set up on site. As I said, odd but cool. It feels very chi-chi inside but they're artist so just act calm and interested and you'll be fine. Reservations for eating here are strongly suggested for tourist season and suggested for other times of the year.

For my supper I started with the curry mushroom soup with cream cheese dollop. Very delicious.

For my main I had the seafood linguini which had mussels, scallops, shrimp, salmon and other white fish. Excellent and very filling. If I wasn't going to a drive in afterwards I would have taken the rest home.

There is a gallery of outdoor art to view during the day or after a meal to digest in the back.

Maritimes - PEI Beaches

The beaches of PEI are fantastic sand beaches. They have delicate grasses holding the upper dunes together so be careful and don't pull them out or trample on them.

Also be careful at sunrise or sunset. The mosquitoes and bugs will eat you alive, but otherwise enjoy!

Maritimes - Cavandish Bosum Buddies Cottages

Cavandish Bosum Buddies Cottages is a great place, close to the beach and all the attractions and places to experience on PEI. I stayed in Allan's one bedroom cottage, which is privatly owned but managed by the Cavandish site.

The sitting area is appropriatly furnished and includes a television with many stations. I never turned it on as I was busy with other things or reading.

The kitchen is set up with everything you need and has a large refrigerator. If you want to BBQ there is one available on the deck. If you want to cook lobster or shellfish they have an outdoor burner as they don't want the cottage smelly. I enjoyed cooking local eggs and processed baloney for breakfast, balanced by granola and yogurt. Yummy!

The view is not fantastic but its a short walk to the beach, along the telephone/power poles, about five minutes.

Maritimes - Cows Ice Cream

Cows ice cream is a Prince Edward Island institution. Thier unique flavors and excellent taste sets them apart from other ice cream chains. They also sell funny cow themed t-shirts and other items. Thier cheddars, especially thier Avonlea cloth bound cheddar, is delicious.

Maritimes - Highland Villiage Museum

The Highland Villiage Museum is a great place to learn the history of the Highland Clearances of Scottish tenants to Canada in the Cape Breton area.

On this site you walk from building to building learning the timeline of Scottish peoples in the area.

The first building you get to, after the gift shop, is the traditional 18th century Scottish tenant farmer's home.

Inside were two delightful ladies who were really in character. The home felt very nice and lived in.

After the clearance, they were settled based on the area they came from.

Here is the typical home that they bui8lt after arriving in Cape Breton.

And here is the inside.

They had other buildings that incorperated the changing styles in Cape Breton, including a school and store.

 

So if you have a few hours and are in the area, its great for young and old. Another good museum nearby is the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck.