Feeling Fortunate

Despite the depressing state of the global economy that has us all concerned, here on our island, we decided to focus on some positives and had a remarkably interesting and relaxing weekend.

Saturday, I scooted over to the Makai Pier that sits on the coast in view of the Makapu'u Lighthouse.


From this pier, there is a direct view out to Manana Island (Rabbit Island), which is a wildlife sanctuary. A whole cast of Hawaiian monk seals congregate on its shores on a daily basis.


Best of all, perched on a lanai located on the pier, there is usually a wonderful man named DB Dunlap (aka The Seal Whisperer). He and his high-powered telescope keep track of all the local seals and their comings and goings on the island. He is so amazing that he can identify each seal by its markings and movements, even at that distance. He's also a veritable font of information with a great sense of humor. Watching all the seals and learning and laughing while talking to DB in that beautiful setting, was a wonderful way to spend a gorgeous morning.

As I was leaving, I couldn't resist the color of the water off the pier:


Sunday, in light of the Chinese New Year celebrations of the Year of the Ox, we decided to go visit the Princess TaiPing, which is docked at Ala Wai Harbor until early February.


This is a traditional 14th century Chinese warship built according to original instructions dating to the Ming Dynasty. So it has no nuts, bolts or screws, and is built and decorated, as much as possible, from the same materials used to build the ancient ships. It's been sailing all over the Pacific for the last several months on a goodwill voyage.


We met two of the crew members, Hsiu-Ying Chao, an energetic and interesting Taiwanese artist who lives in South Africa, and Hugh Morrow, an easy-going yet sharp and witty American from Iowa who lives in China. Both were obviously on the adventure of a lifetime and, happily for us, eager to share their experiences and lots of information about their beloved and beautiful ship.



Among other things we learned that TaiPing means "peace" or "peaceful", and the whole purpose of the voyage was to travel in peace to faraway places and share knowledge of the almost lost ancient art of Chinese shipbuilding and Chinese maritime history and culture. Another fascinating factoid, we learned that the original rope used on these ships was woven from hemp, as it is today, but with a core of woven human hair, for its natural proteins that gave it extraordinary strength and resiliency.

All twelve animals of the lunar calendar are incorporated into the parts of the ship, the snout of the pig, the ears of the rabbit, etc. And this little lion is a symbol of good fortune.


In the spirit of the Princess TaiPing, peace to you all and Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Waving At Whales

So I went walking up the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail, one of my favorite places for obvious reasons. As you can see from the summit photo above, it was an incredibly clear day, sunny and mild, and best of all, it's whale season!

There were numerous humpback whales making their annual migration through the channel, playing in the water and providing quite a show, with the green hills of Molokai clearly visible in the distance. At one point, one of these beautiful beasties was gliding along on its side, repeatedly lifting one flipper in the air and slapping it down on the water. It looked like it was waving at us.

Not only can you see whales galore, but if you listen you can *hear* them. That otherworldly and unmistakable whale's wail that carries over the channel and echoes off the cliffs. It's amazing!!...beyond beautiful.

I managed to snap the following photo of a humpback whale breaching in the channel. I don't have a telephoto lens, but I did a zoom and crop, so you can see the distance in the first photo, and a closer look in the second cropped view (as always, click the photo for a larger view):



Doesn't do the experience justice, but still pretty cool as a memento to share.

Aloha and Happy Dr. King Day!!

The Same Idea

Fellow shutter bugs at Sunset Beach last night...

Jack London's Beauty Ranch

As promised, here are some photos from my recent visit to Jack London State Historic Park. This park holds lots of lovely memories for me, as I spent a great deal of time here over the many years I lived in Sonoma Valley.


The park is only a portion of the original property that comprised what London called his "Beauty Ranch", but still quite large. It has two sides full of hiking trails. One side with trails leading to the House of Happy Walls which now houses a museum, the Wolf House ruins, and Jack and Charmian London's gravesite up on a little knoll in the woods. The other side has the stables, the Summer Cottage where London did most of his writing while there, the Pig Palace, and hiking trails all the way up Sonoma Mountain, with beautiful stops along the way, including the little man-made lake once used for swimming, and The Meadow, a gorgeous clearing up on the mountain.

Sadly, it was a very cold day during the holidays so the exhibits were closed, and I was short on time, so I took only a short sojourn up to the Summer Cottage...






But I love the Summer Cottage. Recently restored and open to the public only a few years ago, it has London's wonderful woody arts & crafts style office, and the enclosed porch which he and Charmian so loved. Its walls are also lined with photographs of Jack and Charmian London, but these are different than other photos of the era. Despite some of London's views and ideas that I don't agree with now, I love this little house and these people, not only for their abundant creative gifts, but simply because in every photograph, they're laughing. Goofing around, posing and smiling broadly; obviously two people with an unabashed love of life. At a time when showing it was generally considered bad form, they relished their smiles and laughter and shared them with the world. The fact that the large main stone house was named the House of Happy Walls, really sums up their outlook on life.

In any case, it's a lovely spot on the planet, and very special to me.
Hope you enjoy the photos...








A couple distant views of the Pig Palace, aptly named. It's an extensive little circular stone village of pig stables with its own silos...




More prettiness...






Aloha, and stay tuned for photos of the gorgeous sunset at Sunset Beach this evening. It was otherworldly wonderful, as usual.

Glen Ellen

Ah, Glen Ellen! Glen Ellen will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first place I lived in Sonoma Valley when I first moved there at the tender age of just twenty. It's beautiful, up in the hills on the slopes of Sonoma Mountain, sprinkled with wineries, with a tiny little downtown of old historic buildings. Here are some photos of my recent visit:

The little bridge over the Sonoma Creek downtown...


Jack London Lodge, named for the novelist who called Glen Ellen home, with the Wolf House Restaurant, festooned for the holidays...

A view from the new Glen Ellen Village Market across the street to the little historic building where it used to be, the restored old historic Chauvet Hotel building to the left, and the winery directional signs pointing in almost every direction...


From there I ventured up London Ranch Rd to Benziger Winery, which is on the way to Jack London Park. I love to stop at Benziger, even just to walk the grounds. It's such a beautiful property, and the Benziger family are dedicated farmers and gardeners. They love what they do and it shows. Here's a photo or three...






As mentioned above, Glen Ellen is also where Jack London settled and lived and wrote and is buried on his Beauty Ranch, now Jack London State Historic Park. That's up next...

Aloha!

Under A Perigee Moon

Windward today in Kailua with a friend, we came out of Champa Thai after a yummy dinner and looked toward the sea and there it was, the brilliant perigee moon beckoning through the trees. So we went to Kailua Beach, inexplicably empty, and walked beside the water with its glimmering trail of light sent down by the huge glowing orb above us. Lovely!

All I had with me was Kevin's point and shoot camera. I managed to get some shots, but they came out phenomenally grainy and almost sepia-toned. So I decided to get artsy-fartsy and have some fun working with what I had. The results are Seurat-esque, kinda pointillist with a nod to Maxfield Parrish. They look more like paintings than photos, which is kinda cool. Standing under that gorgeous moon on a deserted island beach felt like a dream, surreal, so why not have the image reflect that feeling?

Here's another frame in several iterations, variations on a theme.






I'm a cornball, I know, but I love the thought that we're all under the same sky, the same moon; connected in our hearts and by our humanity no matter how far apart we are.

Aloha pumehana...

Sonoma Holidays

During our vacation in California, I drove back to Sonoma from Sunnyvale. As I drove up into the southern end of the valley, there was this huge rainbow sitting right over the city of Sonoma...

So I decided to drive right up into town to the plaza and take some photos. Here's City Hall and the historic Sebastiani Theater and "Mission Hardware" buildings...



These sit on the plaza along with its cozy shops, and all its history, tied up with some of mine.

Here's the Sonoma Hotel, which has always been one of my favorite buildings in town. It has a gorgeous Victorian lobby, warm and cozy with lots of wood and velvet and glowing chandeliers. It also houses The Girl and the Fig restaurant. Note the door on the side of the building, second floor, that leads out to...well...a long way down. I love that door...


Then there's the Mission San Francisco Solano, of course. The northernmost Franciscan Mission, it also now has a memorial to the Native Americans who helped build and sustain it, and who are buried beneath it and the streets beside and behind it. When I first moved to Sonoma in 1984, I joined the Historical Society, and this was their goal at that time, to memorialize these forgotten contributors to Sonoma's history. The fact that they were buried beneath the street and the courtyards trod upon by so many tourists, with no memorial, no mention of their existence, was disrespectful and shameful. Especially since there were detailed records of all the burials in the Mission archives. You would not believe the opposition to this memorial!! From all directions, the powerful conservative arm of the community, the city, the state. Seems to me by that point it was more out of a desire to sweep their own shame under the rug, than admit the dishonor and correct it. In any case, it took until 1999 - that's fifteen years, peoples - for this memorial to be installed. Much better late than never, imho...

As always, click the photo for a larger view to read the inscription...


On a lighter note, here's a shot of Mary's Pizza Shack, where Kevin and I have shared many a delicious meal and lots of laughter and fun with family and friends.


Sonoma Plaza is full of all sorts of disarmingly pretty nooks and crannies, including this one. A little alley leading to an old courtyard that's been turned into shops, offices and restaurants surrounding the historic little Vasquez House, which is a historic landmark with a tearoom. The alley tunnels through a historic stone building, and that passageway has been lighted with chandeliers and painted with fields of golden poppies.




And of course, some more of our favorite little shops and historic buildings, including The Chocolate Cow, with its fabulous homemade candies, ice creams, gellatos, and shave ice...

And then there's this new addition...Ben & Jerry's!!...OH yeah!

Sign of the Bear, a wonderful kitchenware and table linen store. Sign of the Bear happens to be housed in the historic Ruggles building where I used to work for Dan Ruggles way back when the southern portion of the building was home to Ruggles Music & Art.

Kaboodle, which is a sort of "overstuffed" aesthetic you just have to experience to understand...

Another view of the west side of the Plaza...

The old Feed Store building is another old Sonoma fixture. It's also the site of a wee memory of mine. I was passing the old Feed Store at about 7 AM one morning years ago and who should turn the corner in front of me but Robin Williams, who lived in Glen Ellen at the time. I must've had a stunned look on my face, because he appeared to actually blush as he shoved his hands in his peacoat pockets, twinkled his bright blue eyes, and grinned at me in bemused greeting...

Anywho, that's a little trip around Sonoma Plaza, in glimpses of how I see it, for anyone who cares to look.

Next up, Glen Ellen and one of my favorite spots on the planet, Jack London State Historic Park.

Aloha!