Glamorous Scenes from the 2012 Bernal GT

May 25, 2012May 25, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

The pictures tell the most important parts of this story: Last weekend a few motorheads from the Bernal Dad’s Racing Team organized the third running of the Bernal GT road rally, and it turned out to be a winning day for vintage cars and the children who love them.

Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter joined the rally for her first time. We are pleased to say that she took to it like a true natural, as the Bernal GT convoy of smile-inducing cars threaded the twisty-curvy roads between San Francisco and Pescadero (and back again). Good clean fun.

If you’re in the mood, motor along for the full photoset:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Fleeting Moment of Perfection Yields Best Part of Entire Day

May 15, 2012May 14, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

When I got home from work last night, Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter announced that she wanted to go for a bike ride.

So we made a quick trip down the block. Then, as we were returning home, the sun dropped low above Twin Peaks, the trees began to shimmer with color, and the Cub Reporter glowed in golden sunlight as she cast a long shadow on the sidewalk.

A neighborhood really doesn’t get much more perfect than this.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

A Special Photo for the Hill People of Bernal’s West Slope

May 9, 2012May 9, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

Last weekend Neighbor Isaac captured one of the most awesome and unusual photos of Bernal Heights you’re ever likely to see: It’s a supermongotelephoto view of the area where the La Lengua Autonomous Zone meets Bernal’s west slope. The perspective is surprising, because the photo was taken from (wait for it…) Twin Peaks!

For reference, that green patch in the center is the Colridge Mini-Park, with the Esmerelda steps running up the hill behind it.

The view you see above is nice, but for the proper mind-blowing experience, don’t miss the fully embiggened version of the photo. Wow!

PHOTO: Isaac Hepworth

Bernal Heights Looks Magical from International Space Station

April 25, 2012April 25, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Fellow Bernalnauts, here is VERY unusual view of our glamorous neighborhood. This photo was taken two days ago by European astronaut André Kuipers, who is currently living aboard the International Space Station, roughly 224 miles above the summit of Bernal Hill.

The photo was discovered yesterday by an analyst from the Bernal Aeronautics and Space Agency. The full image is stunning, but unfortunately the resolution is… not so much. So when we zoom, crop, and enhance to take a closer look at ourselves, the quality is lacking. Here’s what we see:

PHOTO: André Kuipers via European Space Agency

Wake Up! Bernal Resident Captures Fabulous Colors of Sunrise

April 25, 2012April 24, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

Over on the Instagram, the south side’s Neighbor Anita (aka @marriedwithdinner) has been taking a glamorous series of sunrise photographs — presumably from a window of her home.

Taken as a set, I love the variety of colors on display… as well as the fact that I slept through every single one of these magical moments.

PHOTOS: marriedwithdinner

Metachert: Photo of a Photo Captures Essence of Bernal Hill

April 20, 2012April 21, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

Check out this fabulous Instagram pic posted by Keith Weaver yesterday. It’s a one-image executive summary of everything you need to know about the geology of Bernal Hill.

Yesterday’s Weather Report: Heavy Downpours with Periods of Exceptionally Bright and Shiny

April 13, 2012April 12, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

You probably noticed that yesterday’s on-again-off-again rainstorms featured two very special guest stars: Mr. Thunder and Dr. Lightning.

But during the day, the interplay of light, sun, water, and Bernal Heights created some beautiful scenery. I took these phonecam snaps on my way to work in the morning.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Photographer Makes 280-101 “Spaghetti Bowl” Look Delicious

April 12, 2012April 10, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

Photographer Toby Harriman has taken what may well be the definitive photo of the 280-101 Spaghetti Bowl in southeast Bernal. You can see it above: A crisp, long-exposure shot taken last week that animates the flow of traffic in vivid arterial detail.

When I see this photo, I also gain a new appreciation for why “Spaghetti Bowl” is such a perfect name for this interchange. Admittedly, I’m a pastaphile; but to me this picture looks like perfect strands of al dente spaghetti threading through an endless river of tangy marinara sauce. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Toby’s photo triggers a Pavlovian response whenever I look at it. Yum.

Equally delicious, if somewhat less Pavlovian, is the ultra-crisp and sparkly photo Toby took that same night looking north from atop Bernal hill:

Really, you must look at the photo in supersize to appreciate how much texture it contains. (HINT: The street in the center of the image is Alabama.) This view is familiar to us all, yet this perspective reveals details you probably have never seen before.

Bravo, Toby, and thanks for sharing your glamorous images with Bernalwood.

PHOTOS: Toby Harriman

Bernal Heights Is for All-Weather Lovers

April 11, 2012April 11, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

We know that Bernal Heights is all about the love, but our romance is not just a blue-sky phenomenon. Andrew Curry took this wonderfully atmospheric photo during yesterday’s rainstorms, and he rather brilliantly titled it “Lover Cover.”

Monday’s Sunrise Was Apparently Quite Lovely

April 10, 2012April 9, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

I wasn’t awake to witness it, but Neighbor Anita was, so she captured this tasty photo of yesterday’s sunrise.

Fallen Tree Limb on Anderson Generates High-Tech Koan

April 5, 2012April 4, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

If a tree limb falls on Anderson Street but no one is there to tweet it, does it still make a sound?

Quite honestly, I have no idea. But if a tree limb falls on Anderson and Angel Cervantes finds it, at the very least we get an excellent photograph out of the deal. Angel tweets:

Broken tree limb on Anderson, but Bernal Heights survives Windpocalypse 2012.

PHOTO: Angel Cervantes

Neighbor Chuck B. Goes on a Thoughtful Bernal Photowalk

March 30, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

Bernal neighbor Chuck B. is the keeper of the lovely My Back 40 (Feet) blog. He’s both a horticulturalist and a shutterbug, which is a winning combination. Recently, he went on one of his occasional photo-strolls through the neighborhood, starting on Bernal Heights Boulevard:

I love that we still have dirt roads around here. Alabama Dead End. It’s like a Lucinda Williams album cover.

He’s right! Your Bernalwood editor took some artistic liberties to complete the thought:

Later, Chuck B. discovered the mysterious wonderland that is Precitaville:

Precita Park. In all the years I have lived in San Francisco (on and off since 1989) and in Bernal Heights particularly (continuously since 2003), I have never been here before. But I drive by a few times a month. This is sooo north side. I am very south side. We can be friends, but we can’t be best friends.

Then he wandered west, fearlessly, into the wilds of the La Lengua Autonomous Zone.

I know hipsters were buying Dickies and trucker hats at Arik’s at least as far back as the 1980s. There was a different kind of hipster back then.

He paused to (wisely) appreciate the architecture of the 3300 Club building:

I love the building above it. San Francisco has a finite number of these beauties and everytime we lose one in a fire a little piece of my soul dies with it.

Then he discovered a superb street garden on Coleridge:

What an inspiration this is for making a big impact in a small space. I have a planter like this and went big with the spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis) and a ground cover of redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana). It’s nice, I like it, but this is fabulous. I had to back up to capture the whole thing for you.