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9th Oct 2005
Berkeley, Ca
Sunday, 9th October, 2005
It dawned a beautiful day, once again, sharp and clear and sunny.
We decided to check out the town a bit, grab some breakfast and then recce the Art Museum in preparation for the panel discussion this afternoon.
As it turned out, once we had the bags packed and the rooms cleared, we then discovered a flat tyre. There was sufficient air to be able to crawl the 50yards down the road to the garage and review the situation. A quick check revealed a large screw sticking out of the tread and leaking slowly. Option A which was by far my preferred way forward - involved someone fixing it, but sadly was a non starter due to it being Sunday … Option B; simply change the tyre while C seemed intriguing. I’d always fancied trying out one of those aerosol cans full of stuff that repairs and inflates your tyre all in one go and as a can was available for $5 it was the obvious way to go.
Rummaged out the leatherman and unscrewed the screw from the tyre, shook the can, hitched it up to the valve and pressed the button. The instructions are then to drive immediately for 3 to 5 miles. We jumped in and did exactly what it said on the can! And navigated ourselves out of town, back in to town and ended up at a parking space at the top of the town near the museum and went in search of breakfast …which had now become lunch.
Strangely there was nowhere very appealing and after a wander round, we opted for ‘Café Milano’ on the basis that it was the only one that was hooching with people. Inside we discovered it was a student venue; lots of studies going on at tables alongside juices and cokes, earnest discussions over text books and a general buzz as people came and went. Its odd to note that this is Sunday … is before midday … and that these are students. Not making any judgements here … but the Americans are certainly studious.
Strolled in by the art museum on the way back to the car, found our way into the Yosemite in Time exhibition and were able to have a good look around it. Two guys breezed in as we were doing so and I identified them as the photographers Mark and Byron. They were deep in conversation, discussing the set up and I resisted introducing myself at this stage … but it was nonetheless rewarding to eavesdrop.
We did hook up for a chat before the programme started, which was useful.
There were several things very noticeable about the afternoon. The presentations were slick, the equipment worked and the venue was first class and the subject matter was, of course right on the mark.
Rebecca Solnit, the author of the book kicked off and handed on to Mark who introduced Third View with support and clarifications from Byron. To follow, someone gave a presentation about the changing perception of Yosemite, explained through early paintings and photographs which was interesting. Finally, someone else delivered what seemed to be a bit of a rant about John Muir and his early perception of Indians; it seems he formed an opinion, widely quoted and not altogether complimentary … but equally in the context of the time, it was not offensive. I suspect that this additional demonstration of the passage of time and change was not missed by everyone.
I managed to record the whole thing on the iPod which was a major achievement and having checked briefly … its all audible!
Reception and book signing afterwards … and very good nosh it was too ! Arranged to meet up with Byron again later in the week – probably Thursday and with Mark at the end of the month in Tempe, Arizona.
Outside, the tyre remained in tact and the afternoon beautiful. We decided to leave town and get ourselves down to Santa Cruz. It all went fairly well and we only ‘hitched’ slightly in SC itself, when we couldn’t find our way to ‘Downtown’. We eventually took directions for Boardwalk and found good, cheap lodgings on the way. Our promenade out on the wharf and into a couple of bars met with the same answer … ‘Sorry, we’re closed’ … well, it was after 9 o’clock and this is America.
We finally found an beach front bar who agreed to serve us with beer and ‘Skins’ (jacket potatoes) which filled the gap well.
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Diary Photos
| 9th Oct 2005 |
| Lloyd's tyres, Santa Cruz 1940 and 2005 |
| Yes, I know it happened tomorrow but i only have some boring pics of the exhibition so I'll put this up with the Berkeley text |
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