Transitions

I arrived back in Brookings late this afternoon, after a pleasant enough trip north from Napa. Being home feels really strange, after the week I've had. It doesn't really seem like home, but I'm glad to be here if for no other reason than that it's a base. My stuff is here. I'll come back to earth in a day or two, I'm sure. I haven't had internet access the past few days, so the blog needs a bit of updating on my adventures. We'll start with my day leaving San Francisco en route to Napa, which was really fun. Napa itself is deserving of its own post, so stay tuned for that one soon.

After I pulled myself away from that fabulous Russian Hill studio, I drove to my next destination, the St. Francis Yacht Club (better known to those of us who love her as the St. Frannie). As you can see, above, she sits on a prime piece of San Francisco real estate a stone's throw from the Golden Gate Bridge. I spent many a good year of my life in and out of this club, and the memories are beyond description. Sailboat races, parties, sailboat races, parties, over and over again. Priceless. The building you see here is actually not the building I knew. After I moved to Reno in late 1976 I heard a news report that the St. Frannie had burned -- and I cried. The people I knew in Reno thought that was strange, but they didn't understand my association with this place. I have been inside since it was burned and rebuilt, and it just isn't the same. In a way, I'm glad my memories are of the old building and all that history, although the thought of all that burned with it is just too sad. Paintings, photographs, trophies -- on and on.

I remember an evening there, probably after a race or as a prime event that was part of a big race weekend, when we went upstairs for dinner and found several huge tables piled with food. One had cold items, mostly seafood or maybe all seafood. Huge bowls of crab, shrimp, and I don't even remember what else. Another table held hot entrees, including great slabs of beef waiting to be hand carved to your pleasure. I have no idea what was on the other table. I was so enamored of the seafood that I piled my plate high with crab and shrimp, probably other things, and that's all I ended up eating. Trouble is, I ate so much that I was physically uncomfortable not only for the rest of the evening, but all night as well. I don't think I've ever eaten so much at any one time. And it was lovely!

Sigh. I can't even start to relate memories of this place. It would take all night. The good news is that while the building is 'new', the rest of the place has changed very little. This is the harbor in front of the club. See what I mean about location? Could anything be more lovely than this? The sailboat in the foreground, Ragtime, looked and sounded really familiar, but I couldn't place her exactly. I could tell from several clues that she's been to sea for awhile. When I got to Point Richmond and talked to Jim, I asked him about her and he said that yes, she'd been on the Bay when I was here, and that she'd been refitted and recently won some major ocean race. I need to Google that and find out more.

This is something else I want to Google. I've hung around this and other snazzy yacht clubs quite a bit in my life, but this is by far the largest yacht I have ever seen at any of them. I'm guessing it's about 100', but I could be wrong. If you can't read it, her name is "Fighting Irish". Not my style of boat (doesn't have sails!), but impressive nonetheless. I actually wondered how she managed to get into that marina, turn around and back into this slip. The marina is not all that big! (Update) Mr. Google tells me she's actually 145', overall, and could have been yours for a mere $16,900,000. She holds 11,600 gallons of fuel -- how'd you like to pay for that fill-up? But, I guess if you can afford to buy this puppy, you aren't bothered by such details.

Here's another place that has and hasn't changed. Point Richmond is what it is -- an old town with lots of charm. The old buildings are still there and still have the charm, but I must say the mix of stores is a bit updated and more sizzling than when I lived there. Lots of places, like the market with the blue awning and the Hotel Mac, are still going strong. I had a wonderful reunion here with my friend Jim and his daughter Pam. We had lunch at a vegan Chinese restaurant, which was a first for me. It was tasty, actually, although I didn't photograph it. Just broccoli and shiitake mushrooms in a sauce and a great iced Chai tea.

From here, I backtracked across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge so I could drive to Napa the scenic way, through Sonoma County. The drive took about an hour, past more and more memories and more and more new vineyards and wineries until I found myself at the top of a hill safely esconced in the lap of luxury in the company of dear old friends. It had been a good day. More were to come. Stay tuned!