Go Directly to Jail - Tourist Part 2

Meredythe wanted to spend two days in San Francisco touring a long list of places. So the first day, I suggested we take the Caltrain up as parking and driving in the city is NOT fun. Now, if you don't know Meredythe, let me fill you in on some of her endearing qualities. She LOVES to sleep. We discussed BEFORE she came out that she wouldn't see much if she slept the entire time she was here. So she made a tremendous effort to be up and ready to go at a reasonable hour most days. Unfortunately, our day to San Francisco by train was not one of those days. So we didn't get to the city until 1pm. We hiked over to Powell St and caught the cable car at the start of the route that goes through Union Square and over the hills to Fisherman's Wharf. I suggest that if you ever want to do the cable cars, do it this way. The line at Fisherman's Wharf is HUGE. We toured and tasted at Ghirardelli Square (delicious!) and walked through Fisherman's Wharf (pure kitsch!) and then hiked up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. And, yes, we saw and heard the parrots. And yes, we rode the creaky old elevator to the top of the tower to see the views. And yes, we admired the 1930's WPA murals on the walls in the base of the tower. And then it was time to jump on a bus and head back to the train station for the return to San Jose.
To complete the still-long list of places-to-see in the second day (and because we were staying in the city for dinner and a show), we drove. I dragged Meredythe out of bed, poured coffee into her and stuffed her in the car. We had tickets for the 11:30am boat out to Alcatraz and we had to find a place to park. So I wanted to get to the pier area early. We made it on the boat with time to spare. As you cross the 1.6 miles of cold windy water, you are greeted by empty derelict buildings clinging to the windy rocks. Alcatraz was first a military outpost to protect the bay. It was then used as a military prison until 1934 when it was turned into a federal penitentiary. It was closed in 1963. It also has the oldest lighthouse on the West Coast (which still functions today). As part of your entrance ticket, you get an audio tour with former prison guards as narrators.

Walking through the corridors of cells - which are VERY small - and seeing the narrow cot, metal fold-down table and seat, and toilet and sink was a bit unsettling. It is hard to imagine spending year after year in such a small space and having guards watch you sleep, read, and go to the bathroom. It made the Mouse House look very spacious and private. On the tour, you hear about the 1945 or 46 big shoot out - prisoners tried to escape, overpowered the guards and took several hostage. The Marines were called in and dropped tear gas and other explosive things (the narrator tells you to look at the cement floor in the space between the 2 corridors of cells to see the damage to the cement caused by the explosions). And you look into the cell where several of the guards were held captive by the prisoners. One prisoner started shooting into the cell and killed one of the guards. His photo and a vase of flowers are displayed inside the cell where he died. You also hear about the only "successful" escape from the island. In 1962, 3 prisoners made dummy heads, tucked them in their beds and crawled out the vents in the back of their cells. They made it over the roofs and to the beach. They planned to swim the 1.6 miles to the city. But they were never found or heard from again. The water temperature and very fast currents make the swim almost impossible.

Just when I thought that life for the prisoners was pretty bad, we arrived in D Block. These sets of cells were used when prisoners misbehaved. The bottom cells could be closed up so that they were completely dark. One prisoner stated that he would tear a button off his shirt, drop it on the floor and then hunt for it in the dark. When he found it, he would drop it again. The Birdman of Alcatraz was often housed here as he was very rowdy and hard to control.

While the cells were a bit depressing, the grounds were lovely. Prisoners were allowed out in an exercise yard. From this space, you have an amazing view of the Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco. It must have been hard to see and occasionally hear all the life and freedom and not have any. Some prisoners were allowed to create gardens. Along the western side of the prison, the space from the prison to just above the water has been turned into beautiful terraced gardens. The prison also had a library and prisoners could earn privileges allowing them to have books, paints and other recreational materials.

In 1969, after the prison had been closed, American Indians took the island over and held it for 19 months. They were protesting the treatment of Native Americans by the Federal government. This take-over is credited as the start of several other successful protests that led to the beginning of reform.
The island is now a national park and bird sanctuary. We were not allowed access to several places on the island as it was nesting time. The gulls, cormorants and egrets use Alcatraz as a major breeding site. We came across many nests in the areas we were allowed to go. The gull eggs were a beautiful green with brown spots. But, most interesting of all, was learning that the prison guards' families lived on the island with the guards. Apartments with utilities included were cheap and wives could take the boat into San Francisco making this a popular place to work. Children took the ferry to the mainland for school every day. And with the way the island is divided, the families had no access to the prisoners. When asked, families said that they felt safer here than in the city.
When the audio tour was complete, I looked for Meredythe (we got separated as her audio tour equipment wasn't working properly). I found a sunny bench and sat enjoying the view... and watching the birds..... and looking at my watch..... And then using the great modern invention of the cell phone, I tracked her down. She was able to join a group touring the upper floors of the prison where the hospital was. Apparently Al Capone had third stage syphilis and was very ill and very crazy. He spent quite a bit of time in a cell in the hospital ward. She finally showed up and wanted to see ALL the out buildings. So off we trudged to the derelict building where inmates had worked.... and the newer industries building where inmates worked.... and the social hall where families could go bowling and have a soda..... and the warden's house which is just a shell as it burned down..... and I looked at my watch and noted that it was 5:30. I suggested we head to the dock to catch a boat back. And as we headed there, we HAD to investigate the old military parts from the mid 1800's and look down the hole used as a jail and check out the cannons and take a picture of that amazing tree and wait - what about that building over there? And as we got to the dock, we watched the boat happily heading back to the city. Oh well. The last boat is still left.
I learned something more about Meredythe. She is a THOROUGH tourist. And keep the list of things to see VERY short. And pack a lunch and water and any other survival gear you might need. It could be a long day.

Tour DAY California - Here They Come

Living in San Jose allows you to experience many unique and exciting events.... like the Tour of California. Now, if you are not a bicycle nut like Mark, you may not KNOW what the Tour of California is. It is becoming the US equivalent to the Tour de France. And there are some BIG names that ride in it.... like Levi Leiphammer and David Zabriskie and Lance Armstrong. You get it - REALLY important bikers. The tour started in 2005 and this hosted 16 teams. The race lasted 8 days and covered 800 miles. And...... Taylor St. (just 1.5 blocks from our house) was part of Stage Four! Isn't that AMAZING!! So, of course we HAD to walk down early to be sure to get a good spot to see the racers ride by. We were very lucky as our section was part of the warm-up before the riders ACTUALLY started racing. So Mark said that they would be going by slowly. Good. I put my camera on fast speed and got ready. We arrived on Taylor St. and there was no one there...... well, just the police blocking traffic and one race marshall's car. But no spectators. Now, we were 30 minutes early. But we wanted to be READY with the best photo spot and best view and chatting with the crowd about our favorite cyclists and all that other important stuff. And then, the person in the marshall's car got a message on his walkie talkie - the racers would be by in SIX MINUTES. My heart started racing. I would get to see Lance and all the other famous riders! We stared down the road waiting and waiting..... and then I saw something! Look dear! They're coming..... no, it's just more police cars..... and police motorcycles..... and official race cars with important people in them..... and more police cars. I began to think that this might be a great time to rob someplace in the other end of town. And finally! A wall of bicycles appeared in the distance moving towards us........

Oh My! Where's Lance? I quick started snapping the camera.... which didn't QUICK take the pictures...... and the riders were right here.....

And I was trying to make the camera snap quicker.... and then they were past and I never even saw ANY of them. But I did get some great pictures of cops and cars and more cars!

And NEXT year, I'll be better prepared..... I'll leave the camera home!

Being a Tourist - Part 1

There are always places in my home town that I never visit.... until someone comes to visit. And this past week, Meredythe was here from Maine. So we became tourists. And in San Jose, one of the more intriguing places to visit is the Winchester House. This Victorian "home" was built and owned by Sarah Winchester, the wife of the guy who sold the Winchester rifle. After her husband died, she became very superstitious. A psychic told her that the spirits of all the people who had been killed by the Winchester rifle were angry with her. To prevent her death, she must move from CT to the West and build a home. As long as she continued working on the home, she would not die. So in 1884, Sarah began construction. The work continued every day for the next 38 years until she died in 1922. The house rambles and has many wierd quirks - like stairs that go up to a ceiling, doors and cupboards that open onto walls, and unfinished spaces. Now, I must explain that Meredythe is a very thorough tourist. She must see what is behind EVERY door and in EVERY cupboard. In a house like this, that can be a problem. We took the Mansion tour - 65 minutes of walking up and down narrow twisty stairs and through rooms and hallways. The Victorian architecture, wallpaper and exquisite Tiffany stained glass windows alone are well worth the tour. Mrs. Winchester, being a superstitious person, had a seance room that only she could enter. At midnight EXACTLY a servant would ring the bell in the tower in the middle of the complex of roofs. The bell's rope could only be reached by climbing over the roofs and using ladders or by a secret tunnel that only the one servant knew about. Mrs. Winchester would don one of thirteen robes kept in her seance room and commune with the spirits. The spirits would then tell her what they wanted her to build in the house next. She would jot the directions down on paper and in the morning give the note to her foreman who would then instruct the building crews. After being trapped in her bedroom in the front of the house after the 1906 earthquake, Mrs, Winchester decided that the spirits didn't want her to work on the front of the house anymore. The front 30+ rooms were shut up and never reopened again. Many elements in the house have 13 parts - chandeliers, windows, ceiling panels. And all the support posts were installed upside down (on the porches). The original estate had acres of fruit orchards and an 18 acre walled garden next to the house. Mrs. Winchester had 2 ballrooms, many guest bedrooms and bathrooms but never had any guests. She did not like visitors and even refused to see President Teddy Roosevelt. After her death, the house was sold and became a tourist attraction. It was almost torn down in the mid-seventies to make way for I-280. But a local family bought it and had it designated as an historical landmark. I'm glad they did. It is an amazing place.

More Wino Parties!

Yes, it does seem that we are overdoing it a bit. But now that we live so close (2 hours is better than 2000 miles), we just can't help ourselves. So we attended 2 more events this past month. First was the Rutherford Tasting Weekend. And then it was the Joseph Phelps 2009 Insignia Barrel Tasting. We have received notices of this event for years. And now at last we could attend. When you arrive, you must park at the bottom of the property.... I mean you must leave your car with the VALETS who will park your car at the bottom of the property. Then you climb aboard a comfy little bus for the ride up to the winery. When you step off the bus, you are greeted by Phelps staff who hand you the cutest clear plastic plate with a corner especially designed to support the stem of the glass of Sauvignon Blanc that they have poured for you. You then start the "cocktail party wander". That means that you aimlessly wander around looking happy and interesting while you REALLY are scoping out where the best snacks are... like the CHEESE table with several very tasty local cheeses. Or the sliders table with little baby hamburgers and salad. Or the pate and french fries and skirt steak table.... oh, I could go on and on. Oh, and yes, you are sipping wine as well... LOTS of wine. They were pouring Le Mistral and Insignia and Merlot and another Insignia and Le Mistral. And don't forget the barrel stuff. Yum. The live music was a violin and guitar gently playing in the background with a crowd of beautiful people milling about under the tents in the sunshine and cool breeze. That is, they were gently milling when we first got there and it wasn't too crowded. As the afternoon wore on, the "gently milling" became "assertively edging in front of" and then just plain pushing to get to the tasty bits. When I was completely full and yet not too tipsy to drive - I always remember to be responsible - Mark and I crawled back on the comfy bus and were whisked down the hill to the valet station. I joked with the very cute and very young valets until they arrived with our car and eagerly stuffed us in. Oh well. Mark then reminded me that we had to stop at Honig because.... OF COURSE! We had wine to pick up. And when you pick up wine, you don't just keep the engine idling while you run in to grab a bag. You must TASTE some wine. So another glass in beautiful surroundings with more lovely people and then we could finally head back home. I think that all the wine events are over..... until Fall when it starts all over again. I can't wait!

Joseph Phelps Party     

Rutherford Wining

Because we belong to several wine clubs, we get invitations to all sorts of events. And now that we live near Napa/Sonoma, we can take advantage of them. Sunday, we headed up to Napa for the Shop Hop (see quilting blog) of Wine Tasting. Sixteen wineries opened up tasting rooms for participants of this event. Several of the wineries don't have tasting rooms and aren't usually available to the public. We were assigned to start at Honig where we collected a "passport" that was then stamped at each winery. We were given tastes of whites and reds and also had delicious nibblies at each place. Mark, the CACorkDork wrote about all the wines. I'll just fill you in on the fun. When you get to the winery, you are directed to the area set aside for the Wine Hop participants. You hear the spiel about the wine, swirl/sip/swish/swallow, look studious as if you are thinking about all the flavors and aromas you have just experienced and are rating this wine against your vast knowledge of this varietal. Then you nod slightly making some small comment about the wine as the winery person stands by watching you and holding the bottle half raised as if to toast. If the comment you mumble is not sufficiently exuberant, they will look worried and lean toward you hoping for more information. If you feel guilty, you will immediately loudly declare that the wine is more than "not bad".... it's actually "quite good". You continue with the comments until they lean back and look relieved. Phew! You passed that taste. Then they pick up the next bottle and looking at you covertly, they lean in to share a secret... this wine is the special library reserve select limited edition red that won all these awards and is ONLY being tasted by participants of this event.... You swirl and study the glass and maybe swirl a bit more. You know that alot is resting on the mouthful you are about to consume.... So you stick your nose in the glass and sniff a bit making a few mumbling comments about the amazing bouquet. Then it is time for the taste. A small sip flows into your mouth.... your swish it around a bit - not like Scope and a good morning gargle. Then if you REALLY want to impress the crowd, you suck a little air through your partly opened lips and closed teeth. This passes air over the palate allowing for a more complete taste of the wine. But I recommend that you practice this at home because you can suck the wine into your windpipe or it can dribble out of your mouth all of which would spoil the impression of a great wine connoisseur. Then you tip your head and contemplate what you have tasted..... a hint of blackberry... or is it blueberry... what did she say you should be tasting? Some berry. You swallow and look up. She is standing with bottle in salute position leaning forward. You smile and say something like, "excellent" or "delicious" or just make a yummy noise. She bursts into a huge smile and seems very happy. You have made it through a tasting. Then she stamps your passport and you buy a bottle or two and off you go to the next winery. The trunk begins to fill up and I begin to feel the wine, so Mark drags the snack bag out of the back seat. We learned after the last Napa trip that you MUST bring water and a snack bag. After every winery, I drink a bunch of water and eat some bread and cheese. This enables me to make it safely through the day. One of the wineries we stopped at was the Rubicon Winery (see photo). The estate, begun in 1879 was the Inglenook Winery. In 1975, it was purchased by Francis Ford Coppola. It changed its name to Rubicon and produces both white and red wines. The location is beautiful, the house amazing, the wine..... so so.
Another part of the Winery Shop Hop was visiting with other tasters. When you get to the winery and are shown to the special area, there are several other people standing or sitting and tasting. At the Sullivan Winery, we were seated in a lovely outdoor area with a couple from a nearby city. Not only do you share the usual who-you-are-what-you-do stuff, but at a wine tasting, you also share wine info. What clubs do YOU belong to? What wines do YOU like? Have to been to the Up-In-The-Hills Winery? It is absolutely fabulous. I wanted to know which wineries on the list had the best snacks..... what can I say? We have another event next week.... another dinner in Monterey...... I'm practicing my suck-air technique and looking up new expletives so I will be ready.

Will Bike for Food

Ever since we purchased the tandem, the goal has been to do a REAL bike ride. We have only taken one training ride. And as the stoker in the back, I'm not sure that we are ready. But when Mark suggested that we join the ACTC's (that's the local bike club) BREAKFAST ride on Saturday, I began to weaken. "How far?" I questioned. That was a very important consideration. "Only 7 miles to the restaurant..... and then back...... but it's flat and the group is a 1L (that's bike club lingo for VERY slow and VERY easy - aka for the young and out of shape)." And the restaurant serves GREAT breakfasts. So I agreed. Now this great ride started in Campbell which is VERY far away from our house in bike miles. Mark suggested we ride the tandem to the light rail, take it to Campbell and then meet the group there. OK, I can do that. So as I waited for Saturday, I began contemplating the appropriate attire one should wear on a tandem breakfast ride..... NOT spandex - it might restrict how much I could eat at breakfast. And besides, I have gotten a bit too lumpy. Shorts? Then I would have to shave and my legs are like white asparagus. And besides, I don't have sneakers and cute socks. So I guess I'll have to wear jeans this time (put on shopping list "cute tandem outfit preferably matching one for Mark"). Saturday arrived. In order to be at the meeting place by 8am (these bikers are serious!) we had to leave the house at 7am. Luckily, there was very little traffic on the way to the light rail stop near our house. Now, the VTA has set up their trains so that four bikes can be easily hung from these racks in the center section of the train. But there is no place to hang a tandem. So we tried to be out of the way and not impede the flow. We got to the starting point and joined seven other people. One of the group members was a young lady of approximately middle school age who was riding with her VERY fit mom. Another member was Brenden, age 9-ish, who was riding with his dad and little brother Morgan, age 6-ish. Morgan's bike was tandem-esque as it was a little kid's bike but without a front wheel. Instead, it was attached to Dad's bike. So Morgan could peddle - or not - and keep up with the group. We headed out down the Los Gatos trail which runs along the Los Gatos river. Now remember Mainers - everything out here is packed tightly next to something else. So parks and trails are unique in the area. This trail is paved and has a yellow line down the middle so people can stay on the proper side. And it is heavily used..... even at 8am. Before we started out, we watched MOBS of runners/walkers start off. It must have been some special group. Our leader suggested we ride part of the way on the opposite side of the river to avoid the crowd. Mark was very happy to do this as his Captain Tandem abilities were a bit shaky. I decided to try to be more relaxed and just go with the flow. I got on as commanded by my Captain, set the peddles, gripped the handlebars and on THREE, began peddling like hell. Wobble, wobble and we were off. I tried not to watch the road/path as it would only make me tense up. So as Mark weaved around joggers and walkers, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and lovely day. Oh, you want me to peddle too? Sure, I can do that. We were getting the routine down on the straight parts. And we even began to be coordinated on the down-and-up parts too (OK, we will coast down until we are almost to the bottom and then start peddling..... OK COAST). I was keeping my feet on the pedals and humming to myself and ...... peddling a bit. Then we left the trail and started on streets. My anxiety level began to rise..... If we wobble at the wrong moment, we could be flattened by a car or that BIG truck coming up. And Mark likes to ride almost in the middle of the road and I can't do a thing about it - where are the reins for this thing? And I'm getting hungry and we must have gone AT LEAST 17 miles. And it's getting hot and I'm in jeans. Whine, whine, whine. All of a sudden we are there! And there is coffee and great waffles with fresh fruit and crispy bacon and I can sit down and NOT peddle and it is cool. Life is good..... And then we had to head back. So we get BACK on the bike -Stoker on, Captain. And Mark begins to work off all that breakfast as we peddle through Los Gatos to watch a Criterion bike race. There are VERY fit cute young men in spandex racing around and around a one mile course through the streets of a charming Los Gatos neighborhood. We stand at the fence holding our tandem and wearing our bike helmets (looking SOOO part of the scene) as the racers fly by. Now they are REALLY pedaling. Finally it is time to get back on the trail and ride back to Campbell. Brenden rides up beside me and starts telling me jokes - what do you get when you cross a parrot with a centipede? A walkie-talkie! I'm laughing and laughing and Mark suggests that I peddle a bit.... Oh sure dear. When we get to the trail, it is PACKED full of VERY slow walkers with thousands of dogs on long leashes that are running back and forth across the trail. I can feel my Captain tense up.... so I start to REALLY pedal. "NOT SO FAST!!" he hollers. His knuckles are white.... we weave around that mutt and this mutt hollering "On your right!" "On your left!" Where is my bell when I need it? (Add to shopping list - BIKE BELL) We have passed the leader and every member of the group. Mark says it is easier to control the bike if we have some speed. So he has charged on ahead. I don't think this is proper group bike ride behavior, but I'm just the Stoker. We finally reach the end and when the rest of the group joins us, we shake hands and thank everyone. Then we take off for the bike store near by to buy a bell - and some other stuff Mark wanted. We find the light rail stop and when we get on the train this time, we are one of 6 bikes on board. It is very crowded in the bike hanging area and we try not to block the doors to the car. Consequently, several bikers are all squished together. Now, you can't take a tandem anywhere without people commenting. It's like pushing a set of twins around. And of course, people have to sing to you too..... "Daisy, Daisy give me your answer true...." or something like that. Now I REALLY wish I had planned my tandem outfit with more thought! We chat with a young man from Sunnyvale who is a computer programmer who graduated from Stanford. He came down to Campbell to ride the Los Gatos trail too. Normally, I will ride the light rail and never talk to anyone. But when you are walking a tandem on board....... Chat, chat, chat. When we got home and were enjoying a cool glass of water on our deck under the gazebo, Mark asked if my legs were sore. I proudly announced, "Not at all! That was fun and much easier than I thought!" He suggested next time I might pedal ALL the time. Spoil sport.

Loquat Wha?

One of the special things about living in NoCal is the ability to grow exotic fruit trees in your back yard. Now, this isn't OUR back yard as we are renting. But our landlord kindly planted (many years ago) some interesting specimens. Like our loquat tree. I never even knew what a loquat was before living here. We enjoyed the pretty clusters of white flowers and watched the tiny green pea-sized fruit develop..... slowly...... VERY slowly. And finally, we began to see some color. I figured that the loquats were ripe when I saw the birds pecking away at the fruit. While we were waiting for the great day, Mark and I did some research online to learn about loquats.  And because the tree was so large and it looked like we would have LOTS of loquats, we began researching recipes. I found an interesting one for Pork Loin with Loquat and Strawberry Sauce. And another for Loquat Cobbler..... sounded yummy. So I took my bucket and headed out back. The only problem was that all the really ripe fruit was at the TOP of the VERY tall tree where only the birds could go. I decided to give it a try. Now, I have to back up a bit and tell you about the condition of this tree. A few weeks ago, we had "bad weather" - it rained heavily and was very windy. In the storm, a HUGE branch from the tree split off - well, it really cracked down the center of a divide in the trunk. And when we cut up the "branch" to put it out for pick up, the smaller branches were VERY HEAVY mainly due to the fruit. So as I looked up.... and up.... toward all that ripe fruit near the top of the tree, I began to wonder if those thin overweighted branches could even hold a little bit more weight. We don't have a step ladder here. So I went in the house and dragged out a chair....... not very tall. Then I looked in the garage and found an extension ladder...... hmmmm........ So I dragged it out, propped it against the THICK portion of the main trunk and climbed up. Now, for those of you who don't know me well, I have a balance problem. So climbing UP on things is not always easy or wise. But wisdom has never gotten in my way. As I teetered on the top step and stretched up toward the little golden globes, the wind picked up and the tree started to sway..... and I started to sway...... and the bucket started to sway...... So I decided that I had enough loquats for my recipe. As I was preparing for dinner, a friend called and asked if she could spend the night on her way to the coast. I said sure and warned her that she would be a guinea pig for the loquat test AND for the new loft bed test. She is a spunky person and was happy to be the victim. We sat down to dinner and began to sample..... Now, when you are in NoCal, you HAVE to have wine with this kind of dinner. So Mark chose the perfect wine to drink with loquats. He has begun blogging at CACorkDork.blogspot.com (yes, my geek is now a dork). Click here to read his blog and learn all about what wine YOU should drink when YOU fix a loquat recipe. I have decided not to add loquats to my list of favorite fruits. The taste in not memorable and picking them is a challenge. Now the OTHER tree in our yard IS worth it. Our fig tree has a fine crop of figs on it. And every day I go out and gently squeeze the little figlets to see if they are ripe yet..... a bit like the old witch in Hansel and Gretel who wanted to feel Hansel's finger to see if he was fat enough to eat. My fig tree is teaching me patience as the fruit is not ready yet. But soon.... and this time I'll be ready. I bought a fruit picker at Home Depot with a VERY long reach so I won't fall out of any trees.