Photography

Apparently, It Was Lovely Here on Saturday

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As I write this now, it’s 5:30 am on Sunday in Bernal Heights… but I’m not in Bernal Heights. Instead, I’m sitting in a lounge at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, waiting for a flight that will take me back to… Bernal Heights.

I’ll explain more about what I was doing in Tokyo later — there’s a Bernal Heights connection! — but in the meantime, it was a treat to find these iPhone photos taken by Paul Wardein on Saturday.

What a nice reminder that as wonderful as my time here was, I’m lucky to have such a beautiful place to come home to.

PHOTOS: Paul Wardein

Even When Invisible, Bernal Heights Reigns

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Mr. Burrito Justice, the spiritual leader of the La Lengua separatists, posted this photo on his blog recently. It shows the summit of Bernal Hill emerging from a fog bank, as seen from the flatlands near St. Luke’s Hospital.

More importantly, the photo provides yet another reminder of how Bernal’s elevated supremacy so dominates the psyche of the poor La Lenguans, because even when our hill is shrouded in cloudy mist, the La Lenguans know — intuitively — that the hill is there, towering over them, awaiting an opportunity to reassert itself.

As Mr. Burrito Justice himself put it:

Out of a sunlit fog, Bernal emerges

… as it always has, and always will.

PHOTO: Burrito Justice

The Yin and Yang of Safeway After the Rains

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Sutro Yin and Yang

Walking out of the Safeway on Sunday afternoon, I felt the sun on my face for the first time in days, and I noticed that our Safeway’s familiar yin-yang mosaic was interacting nicely with the wet pavement — and Sutro Tower beyond.

It was so Zen. And in that moment, I realized that the universe is truly composed of opposites, such that there can be no One without the Other. No Sun without Rain. No Good Life Grocery without a Safeway nearby. No Sutrito Tower without a Sutro to aspire to become. You get the idea. Ommmmmmmmmmm.

Then, upon my return home, I looked to the north, and found Rainbow Enlightenment:

Rainbow Enlightenment

UPDATE:

My friend @lbm was taking at walk on Bernal Hill when the rainbow appeared. Check out this full-spectrum amazingness:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics, @lbm

A Celebration of Last Night’s Superb Sunset

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Reader Winston just sent this along to the Bernalwood hotline:

Yesterday my partner and I decided to take an impromptu, post-nap, sunset stroll up Bernal Hill, and we were rewarded with an amazing sunset; I thought Bernalwood citizens might enjoy if they missed (even though I’d been to groggy to grab my dslr, and just had my iPhone cam).  We sat on the west slope of the “peak” to watch the actual sunset, and then the first two pics of Bernal Hill and the amazing “Titian”-hued skies were taken from the lower, eastern slope.

The great thing about last night’s sunset: we were serenaded by two separate “troubadours,” one young man facing southwest, and one young woman singing to a young man on the northeast, both quite good; you can actually barely pick out their tiny silhouettes in these pics, the man to the left of the trees, and the woman right under the tree at right.  I’ve also included some pics I’ve played with to give an “oil painting” feel to highlight the amazing color yesterday evening.  Enjoy!

So great, and you can click any of the images above to embiggen. Fool that I am, I was in my garage around sunset, so I missed the whole thing. Doh!

PHOTOS: Reader Winston


Fat Albert Loves Bernal Hill

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Eye to Eye Fat Albert

Okay, let’s tell it straight: Bernal Hill isn’t a great place to watch the Blue Angels during Fleet Week. Sure, it’s comfy if you want a wiiiiiiide perspective, but most of the action happens near Fisherman’s Wharf, so the Navy’s F-18s look like little bugs zipping across the skyline. Plus, Bernal is so far south, we don’t even get many good flyovers during the airshow. (PRO TIP: F-18 flyover aficionados should try taking in the spectacle from the green on Treasure Island. Whooooosh!)

Yet for fans of “Fat Albert,” the lumbering C-130 transport plane the Blue Angels deploy to haul their gear, Bernal Hill is a prime viewing spot. Fat Albert uses Bernal Hill like a giant pylon as it loops around the City, and that means lots and lots of dramatic flyovers. In that respect, despite the fog that cut the airshow short on Sunday afternoon, Fleet Week 2011 did not disappoint. Hi neighbor!

Hello Albert

Here’s Fat Albert with that mysterious giant shrub thingy on the northeast part of Bernal Summit — together at last:

Fat Albert over Bernalwood

Oh, just in case you’re wondering what it’s like in the cockpit of Fat Albert as it zooms around like it does, this video should satisfy your curiosity. Just buckle in and follow the bouncing hula girl on the dashboard:

Hey Hey Hey! See you next year…

PHOTOS: Top two images, Ben Buja. All others, Telstar Logistics