This was at Drake’s Beach early one foggy morning. I’d walked to the end of the beach and when I started back, I saw that these deer had come down an arroyo. From a pretty long distance away, they spotted me and turned to face me, ears splayed out like sonar detectors to pick up sounds. At this point I was maybe 200 yards away from them, and they scurried back up the arroyo.
R-e-s-p-e-c-t. The tide was high. Just after I shot the above, I may have got a message from the ocean, I don’t know: shooting the “respect” wall (below), this wave hit the breakwater and soaked me up to my waist. Hmmm…
“Sea otters gather in a yacht harbor in Moss Landing. Scientists were pleased to see the population increase after a decrease was observed from 2009 to 2010. Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle / SF”
These guys just crack me up, the way they lie on their backs. Relaxation. In the ’50s, there was one at the Wild Hook surf spot in Santa Cruz who would come right up to us as we sat on our boards. We called him Sammy the sea otter.
Sunday afternoon on my way home I stopped off in Santa Cruz at Verve Coffee, and who should walk in but my son Will. He had his 16-year-old niece-in-law with him and they were carrying skateboards. After coffee, we went out and skated along East Cliff Drive, from 41st down to 30th or so. “Do you realize Dad, that you’re skating with someone 60 years younger than you?” Ulp.
Then, on the way up the coast, I stopped off at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., got a beer, and listened to blues singer Pamela Rose, with a very good band. Here were a couple of vehicles parked outside.
Yesterday was one of the most extraordinary days of my life. I had agreed (after some reluctance) to give a talk at the funeral of my college buddy Richard Zanuck in front of 500 mostly Hollywood people in a Beverly Hills Episcopalian church. I got there early and got a program. There were a total of 5 speakers and they were, in this order:
Dean Zanuck
Tim Burton
Sherry Lansing
Clint Eastwood
Lloyd Kahn
Holy shit! I started to hyperventilate. Vision immediately popped into my mind of a singer going to his gig and upon arrival learning that Otis Redding is the opening act.
Well, a fuck of a lot happened yesterday, every bit of it good. In a nutshell: the family told me to tell the real stories, and I let it rip. True tales of 2 punk pranksters in the ’50s pedal-to-medal in pursuit of pure fun. Trips to Baja and Mexico, surfing, our exploding car at Malibu Colony, fights, practical jokes of fiendish intensity, the pure F-U-N of it all. Once I started with the stories, they were with me. Channeling fer shure. They loved hearing about this side of him. This was a much-loved guy. It was a sweet spot in time.
More later. I’ve got to digest it all. What a day!
I am so loving Southern California.
*Title of George Greenough in-the-curl surf film
“Date: 2012-07-08, 10:12AM
THIS HOUSE IS ON THE BEACH OF THE SEA OF CORTEZ OVERLOOKING 19 BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS. LAUNCH YOUR BOAT FROM YOUR OWN BEACH. WINTER TEMPERATURES NICE AND WARM AT AROUND 85 DEGREES.
THIS SALE IS A TURN KEY SALE WITH ALL HOUSE HOLD FURNITURE IINCLUDED. DIRECT TV AVAILABLE AS WELL AS COMPUTER ACCESS. THIS HOUSE HAS A SHOP THAT HOUSES A 19′ BAYRUNNER BOAT WITH A NEW 115HP EFI FOUR STROKE MERCURY OUTBOARD WITH A 25HP MERCURY KICKER. AS WELL AS A FORD BRONCO FOUR WHEEL DRIVE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, ALSO INCLUDED IS TWO HONDA QUADS, ALL FISHING POLES, REALS, LURES AND THE SHOP IS FULL OF EXTRA PARTS, OIL, ETC. THE COST OF THE LEASE ON THIS HOUSE IS $1000 PER YEAR.
I BUILT THIS HOUSE 15 YEARS AGO. THE HOUSE IS MODERN WITH HOT AND COLD RUNNING WATER. KITCHEN HAS MODERN APPLIANCES. A DECK SPANS THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE WITH LOUNGING FURNITURE. MORE DETAIL AND PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. TELEPHONE 541-608-8864
Location: BAHIA DE LOS ANGLES BAJA MEXICO. https://bend.craigslist.org/reo/3126235481.html”
From Lew Lewandowski
On Sunday I took my little (12′) aluminum boat (15 hp 2-stroke Evinrude) up to Tomales Bay to go clamming. A couple of near disasters: Backing up with a trailer has always been a problem for me; you have to turn the truck in an opposite direction from from your instincts to angle the trailer correctly. So after much travail and embarrassment (all the other boat launchers did it perfectly), I got my boat trailer down the ramp and boat in water. After parking returned to find 6″ of water in the boat. Forgot to put drain plug in. Estúpido numero dos. Bailed it out, headed for clam beds. The bay is beautiful, sandy beaches reachable only via water.
Sign made of license plates on Grandi Building in Pt. Reyes Station
This was my first foray with my clam gun, and I ended up getting 7 horse necks and one Washington. The gun is a piece of 4″ PVC pipe with a handle and plunger that pumps mud out and gets you down to the clam without doing a lot of shoveling. This week I’m gonna practice backing up trailer in a parking lot. I’m upping my intake of food from the sea (including seaweed) these days.
Left: nifty door latch of plumbing parts in Fertile Grounds coffee shop this morning in Berkeley
