Mike got an unexpected day off so we loaded up the bikes in the back of the truck and went to the Benicia State Recreation Area. Just look at that sky.
This guy was browsing for lunch in the marshy grass. We're never sure if these are herons or egrets. Either way we enjoy watching them walk ever so slowly, or standing completely still, eyes sharp and on the lookout for the tiniest movement of a tiny fish or frog.
Blossoms are everywhere this time of the year and I decided to practice my skills with a macro shot. This is the best one I got. Mike is better at flower photography than I am. This next one is his shot:
Awww, he found a different pretty flower to photograph, ha ha!
This shot is from 9th street, looking toward Glen Cove. There's a boat launch here and also a nice little park here with play equipment for kids and a huge lawn that attracts migrating Canada geese like this pair:
Benicia is probably their favorite stop on their route.
Looking out over Lake Herman to the Suisun Bay and the reserve fleet, you can just see a few of the retired military ships in the upper right part of the photo. Beyond them, across the Suisun Bay, is Pittsburgh, just east of Concord.
Looking southwest, past Vallejo to the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge over the Carquinez Strait. C&H is the long low building to the left of the bridge, and above C&H you can see Highway I-80 snaking up into the hills, heading toward San Francisco.
We first saw him hovering over the grassy field hunting for his dinner. Amazingly, he landed on this fence post, within zoom range of my little camera. Even more amazingly, I managed to hold my breath, and hold the camera still enough, to get this clear shot.
Isn't he amazing? He's the smallest north american falcon. To think, just a short hike from our home, we can see wildlife like this thriving in suburbia. 
...and tucked away at end of Hospital Road in a southeast corner of Benicia is a small, and very old, military cemetery. As the name of the road implies, there used to be a hospital at this location as well, an army hospital, which was used between 1849 and 1854, and was the only army hospital on the West Coast. The hospital is long gone, but the cemetery remains.
The cemetery is known by a number of names, among them the Benicia Military Cemetery, the Benicia Army Cemetery, and the Benicia Post Cemetery. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Benicia Arsenal-Benicia Barracks Historic District. It is the oldest U.S. military post cemetery in the Pacific States.
When renovations were done and marble headstones erected in place of the wooden ones, many then had to be marked as Unknown.
Seven headstones mark the graves of German prisoners-of-war. These graves are in a far corner, away from the rest.
We found the lone Italian prisoner-of-war buried among the U.S. soldiers and speculated that by the time he died, 1944, Italy had become an ally of the U.S., thus explaining his priviledged resting place.
The cemetery burials date from 1849 through 1958.
The graves of the three dogs, complete with little American flags. These graves are in an area of their own, way off to one side. I wish they had dates on them!
A little later we drove by this building, recognizable by most Benicians; the Clock Tower. We paused to read the plaque out front which stated it was built in 1859 and originally had two towers. An explosion destroyed it in 1912 and when it was rebuilt it had only one tower, this time with a clock installed. We noticed that the clock does NOT keep the correct time!
We met this kitty by the art studios near the Port of Benicia. She was very friendly and let us pet her. Mike even gave her a little beef jerky. Her collar tag told us her name: Sunflower.
A raccoon!!
An Orinda, California, company called Goats R Us is wintering its herd here in Benicia. The goats roam and feed in the open spaces and Benicia gets free weed abatement. This is the second winter that we have "hosted" the goats.
I was surprised that just one dog could get them all herded together so fast, and no human in sight either, the dog was working alone. It was really amazing. You can see the dog in the second photo, on the left; he's black with a white ruff. Update on my dad-in-law: Good news; Art is doing great! I talked to Mike a couple hours ago. He and Betty brought Art home from the hospital yesterday. Today he's gleefully and soundly beating Mike and Betty in cards!
I'm tellin' ya, the guy's a rascal.
So one-half of the team who housesat for us last year during our 8-week sailing cruise, Mary (of Richard and Mary), is currently nearby in San Jose at a housesit there. Mary and I took advantage of being within 90 minutes of each other to meet halfway, in Dublin, CA., for lunch. It has been almost exactly one year since we saw each other and it was fun to get together and catch up on each other's lives.
I can't wait to knit with these yarns, they're so soft...I have plans for them but can't say what those plans are just in case I get an item or two done in time to give away for Christmas! Of course, my gifts-to-be-made list is soooo long, and there's not nearly enough time to do everything. Still, I'm having a lot fun trying. Oh, the yarn info is: blue/purple blend is by Teseo in Italy, 55% Wool and 45% Microfibre, the red/gray/black variegated is by Berroco in Uxbridge, MA., and is 41% wool and 59% rayon. (I don't like 100% wool as I find it scratchy against my skin.)
A fun new activity!! I just discovered Letterboxing via one of the blogs I read, Potted Frog. (This is why I love blogs!) Letterboxing is very much like Geo-Caching, except you don't have to have a hand-held GPS. Visit one of the letterboxing websites, letterboxing.org is one, and locate letterboxes near you, or in an area you are planning to visit.
The Peddler's Fair in Benicia was packed, as usual, but at least the weather was the coolest (aka nicest) that it's been in the dozen years we've lived here. I always enjoy going to this fair, even though I seldom buy anything! The prices are a bit steep for us; I have to absolutely LOVE something to pay the asking price.
Here's an exception. I'd definitely have bought this if I could afford it ($695.00, oy!) because I did LOVE it. It's a full-size bedspread made of white cotton and hand-embroidered entirely in redwork. Beautiful!!! And it was done in 1895, so it's very old, and it's soft and delicate. Oh, would I love to have it, but not at that price. The lady in the booth kindly let me take a photo but she drew the line at letting me unfold it very much. She didn't want it handled any more than necessary. Isn't it gorgeous?
There were tons of fun items to browse, including this collection of matroyshka dolls . . .
. . . spinning wheels . . .
. . . old magnifying glasses . . .
. . . and colorful dishware.
There was even a booth where we got our blood sugar and blood pressure checked -- free!
We also shopped the yard sales on the side streets and, as in years past, that's where we scored. I have admired these old leaded-glass windows for years and saw some at the Fair but they were just too expensive. At a yard sale on J Street we came across a guy selling three of them. Two had panes of glass missing and I wondered how hard it would be to get them repaired. The third, pictured above, had all its glass (one pane has two cracks), and was just very dusty and dirty. I asked the guy how much he wanted for it and he said "make me an offer."
We had a great day sailing on Saturday. Here's Mike at the helm of the Chat de Mer, near Angel Island. The weather was typical for summer in the San Francisco Bay; partly overcast, partly sunny, with a nice strong breeze. It was Mike's and my first time sailing the catamaran and, although the sails are harder to put up and bring down than on our old boat, Mirage (because they are so much bigger), she handles beautifully. I got a chance at the helm myself with Leo intructing me through a number of tacks as we headed toward the Golden Gate bridge. The feel of this boat is certainly different than the Mirage, but we're getting the hang of it. Leo said I did well.
Here is a photo of the Chat de Mer in the Richmond harbor. Next time we go out I'll get some pictures of the roomy inside. For now here are a few more pictures of some of the outside amenities:
Here is the netting that many catamarans have in the front, stretched between the two hulls. It's a popular place to hang out and watch the water below, especially when there are dolphins playing in the waves under the boat.
This is for you, Mom! It's the dinghy, attached to the aft end of the boat, and it's a big dinghy. Not like the little one Mike and I had aboard the Mirage, that had to be inflated with a footpump and rowed with oars, this one is large, permanently "inflated," can be automatically lowered into the water at a moment's notice, and has a nice big engine. Easy escape in case the boat sinks!
A nice feature of catamarans is the swim step on the aft end of each hull. The bottom step is right at the water line and then there is that silver ladder that can be lowered into the water for very easy reboarding.
Here's a view of Alcatraz. It looks empty because very few visitors come to this side of the island; they are all on the other side where the boats dock.
A small sailboat, the "Missy B," heeled over in the strong afternoon wind. These sailors are in full foul-weather gear, a good indication of the both the day's temperature, and the possibility of water splashing aboard.
The city of San Francisco.
It was obviously a great day for fishing. Look at all the party boats! The seagulls follow the fishing vessels waiting for the filleting of the day's catch to begin. They then swoop and dive on the scraps that are thrown overboard. The Golden Gate bridge is in the background.
More fishing boats. Look at all the fishermen lining the sides. The waves are from the high-speed ferry that just went by.
Leo, at the helm, and Gordon. There were five of us aboard; Leo, Mike, me, Gordon, and Jerry. It was a great day! Our next trip is scheduled for the first weekend in August, when we will take an overnight trip to Half Moon Bay.
Tuesday evening I went to Jazzercise Benicia, as usual, for the 7:15 p.m. step class. The instructors always recognize and announce milestones in class attendance as each person reaches them. Toward the end of class our instructor, Jennifer, announced that I had reached the level of 25 classes. Twenty-five classes in SIX months???
And I'm off to a good start.
Benicia, California. On Main Street, looking toward the Carquinez Strait. One of the views that explain why I love living here. I often say that I won't leave here unless it's in a pine box. Look at that delish Benicia breeze bending the palm fronds. That breeze allows many of us to live here without A/C in our homes, which works out great....except when there's a heat wave, like right now! At the moment I would adore A/C but, in a few days, when the weather cools, I will again enjoy being able to live closer to the seasons. And greener, 'cuz we can use less electricity.
This photo looks out on the entrance to the Benicia Marina. We always include the marina on our walks or bike rides downtown. Mike loves boats and water, and I love water and seabirds, and we get treated to all three here. Many times we've watched boats coming in or out of this waterway. We brought the Mirage here, from her berth in Alameda, a couple of times. Now we no longer own her, and her new owners berth her in Richmond. It's weird, not owning a sailboat anymore, even for me. Mike is the one who has always been the avid sailor. But I miss her, too.
Something else I love about my little town. The architecture of the old buildings. This one is on the corner of 1st and West J. I mean, you just don't see windows like this on anything being built today. If I could afford to, I'd have a little office in one of these old buildings, for my little digital scrapbooker-for-hire business. What a boost to creativity. My favorite quilt shop, the Patchwork Cat, is housed in one of the old industrial buildings near the docks. Old, scarred-up wooden floors, high ceilings with exposed pipes, windows overlooking the Carquinez Strait - what could be more inspiring?
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