Slept a full 8 hours last night, a first in a long time. The day was already in full effect, and we were hungry. Pulled out some leftover green beans, mushrooms, onions, cheddar & parmesean and whipped up a quick and light frittata. Throw in some tomatoes from the garden, squeeze some oranges from our tree (said hello to the treekeeper), add a couple slices of prosciutto and in 20 minutes we have a wonderful meal to start our day!
San Francisco never ceases to entertain, inspire and surprise me. We spent the long weekend dining, drinking, riding ferrys & tandems thru the fog and hiking Mt. Tam.
The Bay Bridge was closed, but it still looked pretty...
view from the Ferry Building, after a memorable dinner at the Slanted Door
...but the LADWP can only think of raising water and electricity rates. For years, they've ignored the aging infrastructure lurking all around us. Only concerned with guaranteed yearly pay raises, generous pensions and maintaining an iron hand grip over city politicians, the DWP forgot they actually had a job to do. Now we're all facing the serious consequences, even firemen!
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / August 31, 2009)
Smoke from the Station fire over the Angeles National Forest as seen from a helicopter.
A non scientific survey of watching fires raging on the evening news tells me that for the most part, Southern California relies primarily on helicopters for aerial firefighting. Planes can typically carry much larger loads of water and retardant, though they might be less maneuverable and precise as helicopters. Still shouldn't we have more fixed wing aircraft to fight the fires we know are coming year in and year out? We even go so far as to lease 2 highly effective "Super Scooper" planes from Canada every fall.
What if California had its own water-scooping giant airplanes and kept them year-round? Wouldn't it make a tremendous difference in the ability to knock down a wildfire quickly? Wouldn't they seriously cut down on the loss of life and property?
I think it's time for our elected officials to answer this question. Is there a preference for purchasing helicopters over fixed wing aircraft? Is this preference justified given the vastly greater capabilities of fixed wing aircraft?
The Bay Bridge was closed, but it still looked pretty...
mural in the mission
rooftop @ SFMOMA
Where's Waldo? View from SFMOMA
A wonderfully intoxicating beverage by Beretta
Riding a tandem bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, wrapped in fog
Our gracious hosts
Cozy tandems!
eating wild berries
A perfect day on the bay
passing by the other famous prison
starting out early in the lowlands
golden fields bathed in sunlight
making our way on the trail
just when we thought it couldn't get any more scenic, we entered Muir Woods
7.5 miles later, we're back at Stinson!
A jump in the ocean followed by the best milkshake ever!
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / August 31, 2009) 
