California Part 5: Friday, February 26, 2010 – The East Bay

April 13, 2010, 6:15 pm
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California Part V: Friday, February 26, The East Bay

Dedicated readers will recall my first day (Tuesday) in San Francisco began in a downpour. For the next two days, the weather gods smiled on me; it was sunny and sixties in SF—as good as it gets. (Here is a photo of Golden Gate Park taken from the De Young Museum.)

On Friday, a huge storm front swept in from the Pacific drenching the Bay area, but blanketing the Sierras with two feet of snow. The Yin and the Yang.

I boarded BART mid-morning on Friday and thirty minutes later it had whisked me under the bay and dropped me off in Oakland.

At the station, my old high school friend Mike Conner was waiting for me. Mike and I go way back. He had moved out to the Bay Area in the early 1970s and since then had (mostly) graciously put me up in his various hovels. From the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco to the arid pastures of Pleasant Hill (about forty mile inland beyond the Coastal Range), Mike had homesteaded in the Bay area before settling down in the Oakland about 20 years ago. A writer, band member, and now computer geek (I have no idea what he does to earn a living), Mike had managed to lead an eclectic life while siring four children with his first wife. (Here is a photo of Mike torturing his first grandchild.)

Conner drove me back up to his home. Despite its reputation, the East Bay boasts a number of wonderful neighborhoods, many of them wedged into the hills overlooking the Bay. Berkeley, Piedmont, and Oakland Hills are lovely areas. Along Telegraph and Piedmont Aves, there are superb restaurants—including a Burmese restaurant on Telegraph Ave where I had a delicious meal. But I get ahead of myself. Mike (and Lisa’s) home was nestled within the city of Oakland just below Skyline Blvd. Above it stood Redwood Regional Park and Joaquin Miller Park. The walking trails there are formidable and afford splendid views of the Bay.

After a monsoon-like storm, the weather turned quite pleasant. I took a quick walk up the road (there is no level in the Oakland Hills) for much-needed supplies: granola bars, pop, and sunflower seeds. Later that afternoon I returned to my missives. It was during that time that I became a full-fledged blogger as Conner badgered me into creating one. Although he had never created a blog before, he was a master in the ways of the internet and had no trouble directing me through process. Thanks, Mike.

Later that evening Lisa came home. Lisa Seitz and Mike Conner were married in 2002. As I heard it, there’s had been a true rock and roll romance. Lisa had been a follower of The Naked Barbies–the band Mike was playing in–and attended most of their concerts.

(Here’s a photo of the Naked Barbies playing at Mike and Lisa’s wedding, with Mike’s Best Man, Pattie Spiglanin on vocals and guitar. Note Mike, attending to his guests, playing keyboard far right.)

Thrown into one another’s company, Mike kept hitting her until she relented and went out with him. Their wedding affair on the shores of Lake Tahoe was a wild affair attended by several of the old Benilde High School gang, some of whom can barely remember the event. Their names, Brian/Steve Mundy, shall remain nameless.

Lisa is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. She worked for former Governor Jerry Brown during his successful bid to become mayor of Oakland. A marvelous blend of progressive and realist, Lisa can take a nuanced view of events while remaining optimistic. Lisa and I spent most of that evening talking politics. She was much more upbeat about the possible passage of the health care bill (at a time when the bill appeared all but dead) and about President Obama’s performance. We talked into the evening as Mikey whipped up dinner. (Here is a photo of Mike and Lisa at the de young museum a few year’s ago.)