By Evan Kahn (last week)
Along one stretch of road are shrimp farms. They have ponds, raise shrimp, and serve them at outdoor tables. What a great concept. Locally raised protein, no transportation fuel or costs, served right next to the source…4-5 big wind generators, white blades, turning slowly in morning breeze…traffic along North Shore (Sunset Beach, Pipeline, etc.) is horrific. Haleiwa packed with turistas, but if you look close enough, some of the essence remains…like San Francisco: for years I bitched and moaned — no more a port, the Ugly Transamerica building, the difficulty for natives who did something other than manipulate contracts, stocks, or digital data for a living…but one day, I thought, stop bitching, it’s still the most beautiful city in America, there’s still North Beach and The South End Rowing Club, Ocean Beach, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, new hip districts like out at the beach (46th & Judah), steep hills and clear vistas, a city surrounded on 3 sides by water…so here, in Haleiwa, a tourist-inundated area, there are pockets of soulfulness, of things that attracted so many people in the first place; am seeking them out…I start getting sucked into negativity on this blog on occasion, and have started writing the occasional boilerplate letter for critics: here’s what I think about your opinion, whether it’s not obeying the Rangers or printing books in China…and now I’m getting on with it…this isn’t a forum, I’m a broadcaster, don’t want to get slowed down in debates…to tell the truth, the criticism is sometimes thought-provoking, but hey…
My life is so rich right now I can’t get more than a hint of it here. Left HKG Monday night 11 PM, after harried stopover in Guam, arrived Honolulu 5 PM Monday night; go figure. Got rental car, headed for North Shore, where I’m going to stay with friends for a few days. I remembered Haleiwa as being a soulful little town, and sure enough: Breakers restaurant: local beer on tap, pulled pork sandwich w/good fries, loud, raucous good surfer vibes, bunch of healthy people, reggae (what else?), these are my people! Made me think of how I essentially left the beach life in 1957, that is, I got into other things, and for some reason at this time in my life, I’m coming home to the beach. Cowabunga!
There were a bunch of women having a very happy birthday party, thrown by Keri (at right with her daughter) it was Anna’s 55th, they were calling it the “speed limit” birthday. Keri’s a dynamo, a force of joy and good vibes. Blurry photo, but you get the idea.
Been giving people here the mini book, they love it…they get it.
In all the various communication stuff I do, I love it when people get it.
Heading out to see what I can find to do in this land of friendly people and warm water.
One of my favorite Bob Marley songs. I like it-a-like this…Don't Rock My Boat by Bob Marley & The Wailers on Grooveshark
At left: crab snare; you toss it out with a fishing rod, wait 15 minutes and reel it in. It snags crabs in the loops.
Yesterday I went on a 3-hour tour with Kirk Lombard on the shores of San Francisco Bay. He demonstrated catching crabs with crab snares, how to throw a net to catch herring, and how to catch eels. Kirk is passionate about the ocean, sustainability, and getting your own food. He leads tours of various types, takes people clamming or herring-catching, and has a seafood subscription service. He says there are numerous small fish in this area — smelt, sand dabs, herring, sardines — that are overlooked by commercial interests and perfect for the get-it-yourselfer.
I’ve poked around on the local coast all my life and come from a family of fishermen — all sport fishermen except for my grandfather, who had a bait and tackle shop in SF around the turn of the century — but I learned a ton of things. There’s a 300-foot deep channel under the Golden Gate Bridge carved out in old times by the Sacramento River. You can make a pudding from a type of seaweed. Fish that is touted as “local” often comes from boats that spend over a month at sea, with 65-mile long longlines.
There were two 12-year-old boys in the group and he was the perfect teacher. He got them reeling in crabs, throwing a herring net correctly, and poke-poling for eels. If you’ve got kids in the Bay Area,this is a wonderful learning experience. If you’re a city-dweller interested in bringing in some of your own fresh seafood, check him out. 6-star.
https://www.seaforager.com/
Friday night I took my kayak up to Tomales Bay and put in from a beach near Nick’s Cove. The purpose: to observe the bioluminescence, which I’d read about. It’s a phenomenon in waters hereabouts where luminous plankton glow on dark nights. I’d first seen it several years ago while walking on the beach barefoot on a dark night at low tide. I would kick some water and when it landed, flashing spark’s danced around on the water’s surface. Holy cow! Then I took my hands and threw water on some rocks, small pinpoints of brilliant light cascaded down the rock—ping, ping, ping.
I paddled over to Hog Island and hit it lucky, sunset-wise. As the sun started going down, flocks of cormorants sailed overhead, going to roost in the shallows of the island. When it finally got dark, I took my paddle and splashed some water, and there were sparkles. I didn’t see a lot of luminescence other than that, maybe because there were a few lights shining on the water from across the bay. Maybe you have to get in a darker part of the bay, like down around Marshall, to see fish swimming in a green glow.
I loved being out there in the inky blackness of night; no wind, the water glassy. Something about being totally alone in the dark of the moon is exquisite.
Thursday I hiked, hopped, jumped down a steep canyon… The entire west coast has rivers and creeks that run down to the ocean. Anywhere from Washington down to San Diego, it’s the same, clear water heading to sea, running perpendicular to the coast. In Baja, it’s arroyos…This canyon, with a good water source running even in this drought, isn’t much traveled; it’s makable, but not easy…so beautiful…at one point I slipped and fell down a slope; luckily hit no rocks…gotta be more careful.
