Reminder--walk at Candlestick Point this Sunday!

WHERE TO MEET IN THE MORNING
We will meet in the southern end of the main parking lot, by "Windsurf Circle" at 9:30 am this Sunday, August 26th. There is a restroom right there, and water spigots. You'll see me, my husband, and our three year old, plus Anne Menneguzzi, a park ranger, and other folks undoubtedly. I'll distribute maps and all can go at whatever pace they like.

LUNCH RENDEZVOUS
We'll meet around 11 o'clock at the Jackrabbit picnic area, more or less, for lunch. If someone is having their birthday party there we can picnic down by the "mudflats" beach. Whatever works! :-)

See you tomorrow, and don't forget to bring a blanket and some snacks! :-)

Circle of Moms Top 25

Hill Babies has joined the fray! There's a little contest going on right now from Circle of Moms for blogs written by moms in Northern California.  I see it as a fun word-of-mouth kind of information dissemination.

To see all the blogs or to nominate a new blog before August 30th, the deadline, check out the link for  Circle of Moms Top 25.

10 Great Hikes Throughout San Francisco

I just wrote an article about ten places to hike in the City, covering one hike in each of the ten main districts. The compilation was a challenge, as there are so many places I like to explore, and there wasn't enough room to include even half of them. (Perhaps there should be a part two?) For ideas about where to wander with little ones in San Francisco, from Land's End to Telegraph Hill, from Alamo Square to the Visitacion Valley Greenway, please check out the link below to OnlyInBayArea.com.

Cheers,
Jess

http://www.onlyinbayarea.com/Article/Details/Best-places-to-hike-in-san-francisco-with-kids 

Grandview Park, aka Turtle Hill, of SF

Upcoming Hike for Kids and Caregivers!

You are invited to come for a walk at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area with friends, kids, and people newly met. I'm doing these monthly hikes just as a way to move my body, meet interesting adults, and let my kid play with a big old gang of kids the old fashioned way, outside. All ages welcome. Free and unsponsored.

Hanging on the beach at Candlestick SRA

WHEN

Sunday August 26th, meeting at 9:30 AM. Why so early? Because 9:30 am on that day is the peak of HIGH TIDE, and down by the water that means it's pretty special--extra lovely and smells wonderful. :-) 

WHERE TO MEET

Meet near the bathrooms at the main parking lot off of Hunters Point Expressway (it's actually a south of the indicator on the map below, FYI). You'll see the group. I'm going to make and Xerox maps for everyone, pointing out some local sights and where our picnic spot will be.

THE HIKE
The terrain is flat, and the trails are wide and smooth. If your kid rides a bike or a trike, that would be great way to explore. I'll be on foot, going at the speed of my three-year-old.

The hike is meant as a group thing, but with map in hand you are totally able to go at your own pace. One can always rendezvous for the picnic.

WHAT TO BRING
Food and water
Sun protection
Layers of clothing
Fun and optional: kites, bikes, trikes, rollerblades, skateboards

GETTING THERE

Parking is free (exit at Candlestick Park off of 101 and head towards the water, following signs towards Hunters Point Expressway). For public transport, see: http://tripplanner.transit.511.org 

Cheers,

Jessica

jericahahn@hotmail.com

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P.S.

OPTIONAL GUNG-HO HIKE

Anyone who wants a five-star hike could explore nearby Yosemite Slough, a tidal channel that has been polluted, but is now receiving a $14 million dollar restoration. The Slough is a fantastic place for bird watching come fall, and home to the endangered clapper rail.

One of the beaches at Candlestick SRA

Group Hikes in 2012

1        May—McLaren Park’s southern slope

   June—Bayview Hill

   July—Visitacion Valley Greenway

   August—Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

   September—?

Possible Future Hikes

Glen Canyon, Mt. Davidson, Lands End, Heron’s Head, Grandview Park (on the Green Hairstreak Butterfly corridor), Sign Hill in SSF, Russian Ridge, Rock City on Mt. Diablo! Basically SF and close by. Everyone is welcome.

The Spiral of Potrero Hill

“What is art /
 But life upon the larger scale, the higher,
 / When, graduating up in a spiral line
 / Of still expanding and ascending gyres,
 / It pushed toward the intense significance
 / Of all things, hungry for the Infinite? / 
Art's life—and where we live, we suffer and toil.”

---Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (1856), Book IV, line 1150

Child walking the spiral of Potrero Hill

Fifty thousand years ago humans began drawing spirals, beautiful and simple, a curve drawn from a central point, looping around and around a center point. They have an archetypal resonance, something deep and ancient, although they are found in commonplace things--the cross-section of shells, flowers petals, seed clusters, birds soaring on thermals, or water going down a drain.

One day my child and I found a magical spiral made of stones in a hidden spot in San Francisco.

The Spiral of San Francisco

We had been visiting my mom on Potrero Hill, and went to my favorite childhood open space, where I used to ride down grassy slopes on cardboard. My friends and I called this place “The Field,” but now it's known as the Starr King Open Space, a protected environmental area thanks to the organization of contemporary neighbors. It's three and a half acres around Carolina and 23^rd Streets, De Haro and 24^th Streets, and where Carolina intersects with Wisconsin Street.

 It was late summer and the grass was dry, the poppies golden, and the views from the serpentine outcroppings incredible and clear, sweeping across the valley that the City appears to be. We wandered up the hill, past the grove of eucalyptus trees rattling in the wind, and towards the back part.

In the far southern end of The Field, almost at the fence that borders neighboring yards, a large circular pattern of serpentine-looking stones appeared in the grass. It was a spiral, maybe fifteen feet in diameter, much like the labyrinth of rocks in McLaren Park, both having great artistic value and a spiritual nature. I followed its path curving in, then followed it out. 

Meditative Aspect

Walk the spiral any way you like, but if you do it in a meditative way the experience is only better, in my opinion. Humans impart meaning, and many believe the spiral symbolizes life, death, and rebirth through its motion. One might focus inwardly when walking towards the center, and focus on expansion when walking outwards.

Final Note

As with any spiritual place, care and respect ought to be given to this spiral—perhaps by adding a stone to its walls, or finding something out of sync that has blown in, like a candy wrapper or a broken branch. Enjoy it while it lasts in this ever-changing city of hundreds of thousands of people. It is one artistic and spiritual destination, a contemplative space in the midst of frenetic energy. And blessed be. 

Relevant Links

Starr King Open Space

Spiral Zoom: an interactive site coveringspirals in nature, myth, and culture

At a serpentine outcropping, facing southeast

Fairies in Oakland? Fairyland at Lake Merritt

As one who prefers trails of dirt to those of concrete, and outdoor wonderlands made of trees and caves and creeks, I was a snob about visiting the Children's Fairyland in Oakland.

Then I visited and now I repent my snobby ways.

THE WORTH OF A VISIT
Children's Fairyland is the best man-made children's park I've ever been to, seriously, and blows doors on any modern playground or amusement park. I also happen to be a lover of myths, legends, and fairy tales, so this was a treat for me too.

I was afraid the setting would be hot, literally baking like most playgrounds constructed of artificial things in the middle of a city, but most of the play structures were under enormous oak trees, redwoods, and along a meadow. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and the place felt cool and refreshing.

I came for a play, but fell in love with the place. With forty different fairy tale and nursery rhyme settings, how could I see all of them? Then there were puppet shows, a hill to slide down, farm animals (I only saw the two donkeys), rides, a day camp, overnight possibilities, and more.

REAL-LIFE CHARACTERS

Blossom the Possum

We met some interesting characters there, and not just from fairy tales. There was a couple of my parents' generation: a visiting wizard named Oberon and his fairy-wife, Morning Glory, both sweet as can be, carrying a gentle opossum named Blossom in a knitted bag. (As an aside, they run a wizardry school, GreySchool.com, worth looking into if you like magic)

HISTORY
I love history and old places, and Fairyland opened in 1950, when my mother was a little girl and long before Disneyland existed (there is a rumor, or truth, that Walt Disney was inspired when he visited this park). 

Fairyland in the Fifties. Photo from alamedainfo.com 

As I wandered around, following my daughter as she went from carousel to toadstool to crooked house to rabbit hole to the belly of the whale to pirate ship, I thought about the generations of children who have explored this place. There's a cool retro style to the place, a real Fifties vibe. 

Fairyland in the Fifties. Photo from alamedainfo.com

HIKE AROUND LAKE MERRITT

Fairyland is right against Lake Merritt, a tidal lagoon that continues to draw enormous flocks of birds and resident Canadian geese. The walking path around the lake is a little over three miles, and there are boats one can rent, plenty of food places, and easy public transportation, like BART, nearby. 

DRAWBACKS TO FAIRYLAND?
One drawback to Fairyland is the price, $8 per person (everyone 1 and older), but that's not so bad considering entrance includes unlimited rides (carousel, train, Ferris wheel), and the place is a nonprofit organization where you can volunteer in lieu of payment. Membership only allows those people named on the card to enter (meaning no loans to friends or babysitters). Free passes can be obtained, according to Fairyland's website, but I don't know how easy they are to get.

LAST NOTE

The next time I come, I am going to pack a picnic (there's food to buy and an espresso bar, FYI), and maybe bring a book or two of children's fairy tales, plus a Mother Goose nursery rhyme book. Maybe a big ol' floppy hat too, since it's always so much sunnier in Oakland than SF.

Related Links:
Fairyland, Official Website
Bay Area Children's Theater

the ancient donkeys of Fairyland

Anansi the Spider's Ferris Wheel

SPECIAL SUMMER TRAVEL: BATTLE ABBEY, 1066

THE SITE OF THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS IN 1066 AD

A mash-up special posting by Sara Kerry, Tiki Stew, Laura Waters,

Marshall Hahn-Taylor and Jess 

On a lovely summer day in southern England, a group of adult friends and three kids  (ages 2, 6, and 9) decided to explore a new place for all of us: Battle, just outside of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Not only was it a majorly important site in British history (in 1066 AD, William the Conqueror and the Normans battled King Harold and the English here), but there were trails, a ruined abbey, an interactive museum, and a meadow where the pivotal battle occurred. The site of the Battle is a rough field, shrouded by undergrowth and trees--rendering reenactment perhaps impossible. :-) There is a very good visitor centre with some artifacts, audio and a short film about the battle that help to bring the site to life. On the ride home, we agreed how  everyone in our group loved the place. 

The six-year-old loved the interaction---the audio guide, the way he could pick up the Norman shields in the museum, the grass hopper he caught in the field, and that there was nothing restrictive about the place. Everything encouraged him to use his imagination, especially when he ran amok, exploring the ruins of the old abbey (that William the Conqueror built after his success).

The nine-year-old loved the independence---that she could go on her own down the trails and in the abbey, listen to the audio guide instead of hearing adults yammer at her, and the chance to order a piece of cake and a cup of tea at the cafe. She also appreciated the short movie in the museum.

The two-year-old loved the sensory experience---handfuls of fresh blackberries that she picked along the trail, running through the meadow which was the battlefield, and chasing the other children in the old abbey.

HISTORY

Battle marks the site of the last successful military invasion of Britain. The Normans were originally Vikings who settled in northwest France in the 900s eventually creating a powerful state - Normandy. In 1066 William, who had a claim on the English throne, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and was crowned King on Christmas Day. A new alien aristocracy was imposed on the English population. The Normans dispossessed many Anglo-Saxon landowners, pressed the peasantry into service on their feudal territories and treated their subjects with contempt but they also taught better farming practices, developed the economy and built fine stone cathedrals and churches.

The abbey was founded by William the Conqueror in thanks for his victory and in penance for the bloodshed. The altar of the abbey is said to be located on the spot where Harold died. The abbey was prosperous and during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Tudor times it was given to Henry VIII's Master of Horse who demolished the church, cloister and chapter house and converted the rest into a country house. The west wing is today a private school, while the fragments of the old abbey are very atmospheric and good to explore.

Related Links:

Vist 1066 Country

Battle Abbey School

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