they call it China Camp

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photo by Donald Kinney

Volunteer Oats are a very good thing to peer at the distance through.



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photo by Donald Kinney

In 1955, parts of the John Wayne movie Blood Alley were filmed at China Camp.   I was going for a bit of 1955 black-and-white moodiness in this photo.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I wouldn't wait to be served -- it might be a while -- the cafe at China Camp is pretty much perpetually closed.

Best chances for a beer (((and maybe a hot dog))) might be the big Heritage Day Celebration on August 29 -- all sorts of interesting things will be going on at China Camp that day.



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Frank with a net.   I retreated to a safer position when I thought he might be getting ready to throw that net over my head and pesky camera.


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Frank Quan at China Camp

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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, I've mentioned Frank Quan before, the last remaining resident of China Camp.   This area, on the western shores of San Pablo Bay -- the northern thumb of San Francisco Bay -- once supported hundreds of Chinese immigrants.

Netting Bay Shrimp was one of the few occupations allowed a Chinese man.   CLICK for previous posts on Frank Quan and China Camp.



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The big annual Heritage Day Celebration will be held this year on August 29 (((which just happens to be my brithday))).   See you there.

The Grace Quan, a recently built Chinese Junk named after Frank's colorful mother, will be on display at the dock.   Rumors are flying that The Alma, a historic sixty-foot scow schooner, will be visiting from the Hyde Street Pier.



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Frank Quan still goes out and sets his nets, but he would like to be catching a lot more Bay Shrimp.   Over the years the salinity of San Pablo Bay has risen causing shrimp populations to fall.   Fresh water that would normally flush San Pablo Bay is now largely diverted for agriculture in the Central Valley.



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If you love metal that screams rust -- and who doesn't;
and weathered boards that have seen it all,
and strings of old funky wiring that you hope they never use
-- then you're probably going to love China Camp.


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it's colorful in San Francisco

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photo by Donald Kinney

Certain sections of upper Market Street are livelier than others.   A bold splash of yellow always cheers away the blues.



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photo by Donald Kinney

It's a fair claim that San Francisco's alleys and narrow streets are a bit more colorful than those of the typical American city.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I just didn't have the guts to snap this colorful couple head-on from the front, plus it looked like they were going someplace and I didn't want to slow them down.   I was having a hard time keeping a straight-face anyway...   Didn't want to push anyone's buttons.



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Doesn't get any more colorful than gold gilding on a wrought iron lamp.   Our Nation's Capitol?   Nope -- San Francisco City Hall.



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I'll be looking forward to October when S.F. Mike will probably review Gaetano Donizetti.   Not much chance I'll decide I want to attend, but I like to keep current on our colorful city.


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area of the Civic Center

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photo by Donald Kinney

The George Cassar sign has outlasted the business by several decades, but if you needed your tinkle-tinkle piano hoisted through the window of your fifth story apartment in the Roaring-Twenties, George would have been the Hoister to hire.



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Nobody stops to marvel at how the City is electrified.   It's amazing!

And fresh water is squished through pipes -- some pipes safer than others -- and foul waste-water is mysteriously flushed to what was never officially named; the George W. Bush Sewage Treatment Plant at the end of Ocean Beach.

If you've ever wanted to feel like a sardine in a can, just climb on MUNI at rush-hour.

San Francisco has two snazzy underground transit systems, one local and another an underwater train tube to Oakland and beyond.   San Francisco has three bridges, or seven -- depending on how many fingers you want to use.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I always rely on S.F. Mike's reviews on current happenings at the Symphony Hall, Opera House and other Civic Center venues.



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And while homeless people go hungry and un-tended,
and businesses pull out of the City and State in droves because they cannot afford to do business here,
at least San Francisco looks pretty...


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industrious character

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photo by Donald Kinney

You can only get a glimpse of this character's arty-and-crafty home and shop as you whiz past on Highway101 -- you don't get the full effect until you stop long enough to spot the Wrangler equipped with a Sidewinder missile evidently intended for errant drivers.



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A little noisy on a rainy day, but not much beats corrugated steel for durability.   Those Stonehenge-like pillars are recycled styrofoam.

For you locals, this place is just off Highway101 in Larkspur, at end of Lucky Drive.  A good reporter would have rung a few doorbells and asked a few questions (((God knows there are a few to be asked))) but it was early, and there's a rumor that this character keeps Alligators as pets.



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This water-wheel isn't connected to any sort of grinding stone or power take-off, and I don't think it's water source is connected either.   Evidently a work-in-progress.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I'm not sure if those corrugated pipes are blooming or exploding, but I think the craftsman's/artist's mind was definitely working overtime.



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Watch out.   Sharp teeth.
"My master has a missile on his Wrangler"...


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The Book of Life, Mission District

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photo by Donald Kinney

Well, I knew the Book of Life had to be someplace -- didn't expect to find it in a little alley just off Valencia, though...



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photo by Donald Kinney

Seems like Mom went through more than a few sacks of Alber's.



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You can get awesome hot-cakes at the old cafe next to Grooves on Market St.

CLICK for last Wednesday's DailyDUO of the eye-catching "Grooves" sign.



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As I remember, grooves of several songs were stamped on a flat vinyl disc in a long spiral fashion.   A record player was then used to track vibrations produced by those grooves -- which I believe is where the expression "groovie" came from.



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There's that tuba player from the other day.   This shows him allowing kids (of all ages) to depress his keys while obligingly puffing away.



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I left before the San Francisco Symphony was ready to play -- I would have had to wait an hour -- but Dolores Park was thick with people not really concerned about the time.


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The wide Petaluma at Lakeville

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photo by Donald Kinney

Whether the wide Petaluma is a creek, a river, or not much at all -- depends largely on the tide actions of San Francisco Bay.

Yet the Petaluma Creek has been a navigable waterway for over 100 years, shipping out hay and produce and bringing in building materials and other goods.   All it takes is precisely timing the tides by a Captain who can stick to a tight schedule.



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O.k., if I had to guess I'd say it's a '48 Dodge.   It's probably been resurrected more times than everybody in the Bible...



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photo by Donald Kinney

And there's probably some more life in that window if you don't go slamming the door.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I imagine that at one time this truck had a bit of chrome on it.   Looks like someone copped the overhead windshield wipers long ago.



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Keeping up on the latest technology isn't easy when they keep changing the future of broadcasting every fifteen minutes!


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Green Gulch Farm, part 2

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photo by Donald Kinney

At Green Gulch Farm visiting dignitaries can start their journey at the prayer temples and meeting halls of the Zen Center, then take a walk outside -- down through the flower gardens, continue by the vegetable farm, past a few horses, and along a short path to Muir Beach and the Pacific Ocean beyond.



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photo by Donald Kinney

If I had to take a quiz in flower identification later on today I would flunk 'fer sure, thumbs down...



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This fellow has been propagating seeds for a while now, and he has the technique down.   I'm pretty sure he was planting lettuces.



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Backside of a flower and backside of a bee...



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And I thought, since I showed a photo yesterday of her on a brief break, I would show a photo today of her being highly industrious.


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Green Gulch Farm, part 1

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photo by Donald Kinney

Green Gulch Farm is tended by the strong and willing backs of young people with a common interest in the Buddhist faith and religion.

Buddhism includes, but is not limited to -- ethical conduct and altruistic behaviour, devotional practices, ceremonies and the invocation of bodhisattvas, renunciation of worldly matters, cultivating continuous mindfulness, meditation, physical exercises, study, and the cultivation of wisdom.



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The boxes may say Broccoli, but there's actually Chard inside.

Green Gulch Farm organic produce is available seasonally, from May through October.   Marin Organic coordinates distribution for the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market in San Francisco, and other markets here in Marin County.



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One of the workers was puttering nearby and I complimented him on his very artistic cabbages.   He told me this is Radicchio.



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If I had wanted a taste and had taken a bite I wouldn't have had to worry about a trace of pesticides, only the scorn of three Buddhist farmers on a slightly higher level.



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I'll have more photos of Green Gulch tomorrow -- some from the gardens of flowers that are better smelled than munched...


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a Mission District sweep

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photo by Donald Kinney

On Sunday afternoon I was walking around the Mission District and stumbled on the San Francisco Symphony giving a concert outdoors in Dolores Park.   This tuba player was giving tuba demonstrations to kids of all ages.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Call me a pig -- or compliment me on my fine taste in women -- but I noticed a lot of very pretty and apparently unattached young ladies at the park.   Too bad I'm so shy...



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Wish I could have stuck around to hear these guys strike up a tune someplace on Mission Street, but I had some more streets to cover.



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Everybody loves a dog, and every dog loves everybody...



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photo by Donald Kinney

There's a variety of slightly hidden artists lofts and little businesses tucked away on side streets of the Mission District.   I haven't a clue what Koo-Koo makes or does, but I bet it'd be fun working there.   No need to leave my mind -- I've never had one to leave...



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When I spot a Girafa I try to get a shot, then check the Master Data Base of Girafas produced by our good friends Plug1 and Plug2.   I thought I might have discovered a new Girafa, but no, Plug1 already snagged it when it was parked down at Pier 27 on the Embarcadero.

I've shot the van before myself, about three months ago when it was parked down by Fort Mason.

On Sunday the van was parked on Woodward just off 14th, ((( photo above ))) in the Mission.   Girafa gets around...

CLICK to see another photo of Girafa -- Girafa behind bars -- I found on the fringes of the Tenderloin a week or two ago.   I scooped Plug1 with this one, but of course I've already given him the heads-up on the Girafa Tip Line.


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Lets mosy over to Bolinas

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photo by Donald Kinney

Bolinas is a secret town out on the coast, just on the other side of the San Andreas Fault.   People arrive in Bolinas and stay for years, or at least come back the next year and the next if there is any possible way they can make it out to California.

I spoke briefly to the owner of this fine bicycle one day -- I complimented him on his fine bike hanging there -- his face lit up, much like those colored lightbulbs must do when he plugs them in.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Usually I stand up on top of that ridge and look down on Bolinas, but here we're looking right back at what you see from up here.



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There is a wide assortment of God-worshipers in Bolinas, among them; -- Heathens, Satanists, Old Hippies, even older Beatniks, Ragae Lovers, Cool Dudes and Dudesses, and even cooler drugged out Lunatics...   Bolinas has it all...   Even Surfers...   Even homeless people who camp on the beach year-round.



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Hope springs eternal...


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