-20 lb round up!

I am in tech this weekend so I figured I'd keep this short and sweet:

 This is me on Sept. 11, 2011.

This is me on Feb. 19th 2012.

23 Weeks = 21.8 lbs.  That's almost 6 months and a perfectly healthy +/- 1 lb a week weight loss. The wedding is in 18 weeks.  We'll see how much more I can loose before then.

Rituals...

 I was going to start this out with a few sentences slyly talking about ritual as performance and go off on the quotidian world but I just wrote 5 or 6 blog entries in 3 hours.  I think my head may explode.  I can't make fun of my theatrical education right now. I can never let this much time go before I post the East Bay Park Project blogs again. It's kind of funny though, I could have given up and yet I powered through and finished them.  I wanted to share the photos and stories about the walks. I don't think I have ever had a resolution that I have kept this long or this seriously. 

What is so different about this resolution?  It is not specifically about weight loss or exercise, and yet it is about both. It is positive.  I will go to each park and take a hike.  I will go with my friends.  I will get social interaction and conversation. I will go outdoors and see what the Bay Area has to offer. I will go on mini vacations away from my neighborhood and my work. I will write and take photos about it.  I think this may be my best idea yet.

The past few Sundays, I've been busy working on shows I am designing, or hanging out with friends and I have been rushing my Sunday morning Ritual.  I had to go to the early meeting and I would drive and arrive just in time to the meeting and leave right away. Today, instead of going to the early meeting just on time, I waited and walked to the later meeting.  I walked in and my leader instantly said "Hello, Stephanie!" She knows my name without my name tag!  I have a leader I like and she knows me.  No more meeting roulette for me.  It's amazing the difference that going to a meeting on the same day with the same leader makes.  I even introduced myself to some ladies who were close to my age and we talked until the meeting started.

 Afterwards, I went to the coffee shop and got a coffee to take home and made yummy breakfast. Then when I ate my breakfast I read the newspaper.  What a great morning.  Then I went for a walk and came home and wrote 70 blog posts.  I mean 5 or 6. 

I found this quote a month ago, for a blog topic that was forgotten. "Enough with the 14-day juice cleanses. If you want to lose a little weight quickly, eat less and exercise like crazy. If you want to lose a lot of weight slowly, do whatever Jennifer Hudson did." Via

You got it random quote!

Here is a picture of me from last week. I had a day where I was working from home and decided to get kind of dressed up.  As of today, I've lost 19.6 lbs.  Not too shabby if I say so myself. 

Here's a close up for fun. I bought new lipstick and I kind of love it.

Eastshore State Park (and Cesar Chavez in Berkeley)

Today, I went to check out Eastshore State Park and I went to Berkeley's Cesar Chavez Park too.  Normally, I don't have weekends off.  I either have a project that I need to work on at home or I am in the theatre working actively on a show.  Most of my friends work in theater and they work all weekend also.  This weekend, I didn't really have to work on any projects or work in theater.  It was kind of strange.  I tried to think of people I could hang out with who were not working and I didn't have too much success, so I decided to go for my first solo walk.

When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was go to WW.  I wore shorts and a t-shirt with a light hoodie.  I was not cold at all when I walked to WW, so I decided that I didn't need to change.  I felt totally fine about my decision until, I got out of my car and saw how many people were flying kites at Cesar Chavez and I saw people wearing pants, jackets and hats and scarves around their heads.

 First Video! Please ignore the people next to me talking and the strange music from my headphones.  The other video I took only had the sound of wind.

As someone who was raised 4 blocks from the other side of the bay, I really should know that it gets windy on the water.  I felt like everyone must have though I was a tourist. And I was very cold pretty much instantly.   But isn't the view something?  I can't wait to come back with proper clothes at sunset.  To the left is the port of Oakland, the Bay Bridge, sf and a tiny bit of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

I took this video of the view, I think you can kind of hear me talking through the wind.

Very pretty blossoming tree.

This tree was loosing it's blossoms. When the wind blew it looked like fake snow onstage.

I like these clouds. 

I had to walk not at the western part of the shoreline because it was way too windy.  I walked around the dog park to the Eastshore state park. I walked through the meadow and it was kind of boring.  I don't know if that was because I was alone and the scenery was not that interesting, or if I am spoiled by walking on the levee in Foster City or if it was because I was coldish the whole time.  I listened to a podcast but I would have been fine doing that while I walked around the lake.

One of my favorite parts about doing these hikes is that I love hanging out with my friends.  It's been so wonderful how many honest, real conversations I've been having. Most importantly, we are face to face. Often we are in places with little to no cell phone reception so I'm not checking my phone for e-mail or even really remembering that I have it with me. I love that this project has helped me to remember that I love my friends and I love just talking to them and being with them.

The Verdict: I totally want to go to the Albany Bulb, as that is where the sculptures and the wave organ are and maybe even the Emeryville Crescent to check out the tide stuff. I don't think I would go back to the Berkeley Meadow again.  Unless, I brought my friends with the dog or a frisbee and a bunch of other people. Maybe if I wanted to fly a kite.

Garin and Dry Creek Pioneer Parks

This week, I went to Garin/Dry Creek Pionner Parks  with my friend Leslie.  We had so much fun!  We made the best decision ever to get sandwiches from Genova and eat them on a log. 

 I though this sign was funny.  Leslie said that if I fell in while taking the picture she would not rescue me.  I was careful and did not get stuck.

This is the pond.  There were ducks in it.

We walked along the Dry Creek Trail, which had a surprising amount of water in it considering how little rain we have had this year.  We walked from Garin to Dry Creek and to the Ridge Trail.  There were all these strange one person size bridges crossing the creek. (I think we walked on 3 or 4 of them.)  I didn't take any pictures of them. At the time I thought maybe they were cost saving, but now I wonder if they are so that the horses and cattle don't go across them?

View from the Ridge Trail.  Check out the fog.

 Man was it hot.  Leslie took off the bottom part of her convertible pants and I rolled up my jeans. I think I may have to acquire some convertible pants.  I used to have them for traveling, but I realized that you really look like a tourist when you wear convertible pants, so I got rid of them. Who cares if you look silly when you are hiking?

The other side of the ridge trail.

For the first time on a hike I would have drunk all of my liter of water, except I was nervous so I was rationing the end of it.  (Ever since I saw Meek's Cutoff, I have been a little paranoid about water.)

Meyer's Ranch

 We walked down to Meyer's Ranch.  I was hot and tired, so we sat on a log in the shade and ate sandwiches.

View from our lunch log.

Also, the traveling was fun. We drove down Mission Blvd in Hayward to get to and from the park and we were kind of transfixed.  There were tons of businesses with cool 50's-70's signs and a bunch of dive bars that looked rad.  We drove past an awesome bowling alley, which had a restaurant that never closed and a place called Ranch, that had a giant sign with a bull's head on it.  I felt like I was on vacation, as I normally wouldn't go to that part of Hayward and discover all those cool signs/businesses. Also, we drove past cemeteries.  Can anyone tell me if Hayward is to Oakland/Berkeley as Colma is to San Francisco?

The Verdict:  Yes, Yes, Yes, I would come back.  There is an apple festival in the summer. Also a place called Gossip Rock. And a newt breeding ground, and a cottage and a garden and even a peak that we didn't see.  Hilly and not a ton of shade on the ridge trails, however the dry creek trail has a lot of trees. Although, the trail markers were not super clear and we got a bit confused, but we just kept walking and eventually figured out where we were.

Point Pinole

After no walks for two weeks, I tried to pack in two in the same week, so the day after I went to Pleasanton Ridge, I went with Octavia to Point Pinole.  It was another beautiful sunny day in the Bay Area.  We walked on the Bay View Trail from the parking area down to the point and the fishing pier and had a wonderful, honest conversation.

 There are a lot of eucalyptus trees, which smell so nice. 

 Check out scenic Marin County from the trail.  We decided to stick to the trails and not walk along the beach.  I was waring my awesome nike shoes which are not super fabulous for walking on gravel, as I feel every stone. 

We found this strange grouping of old buildings or walls or something?  Anyway, I took a picture of them.

 This is down near the fishing pier.  I bet this is the remnants of the old one.  The little white flecks are some of the refineries in Richmond.  I saw an awesome egret, but it was too far away to get a good picture of.

 This post was near the pier, I love the colors of the wood as it has been weathered.


The Verdict: I would totally come back for a picnic and a hike. I bet it's fun to walk near the shoreline when the tide is out, so you can see all the shoreline birds. The trails are all pretty level and there is a big paved road down the middle to the picnic tables, so it's very accessible.  There is even a playground to entertain the kiddies.  

Hawks and Hills

After two weeks of no walking and no socializing because I was in tech for two nights of one acts in rep and working on a plot at the same time, I made plans on Feb. 2nd to go for a walk with someone who I had not seen for a while, mostly because she lives far-ish away.   I picked one of the more southern parks, Pleasanton Ridge so that we could meet in the middle.  I got arrived about 15 minutes early and thankfully so, because the directions that my phone gps gave me were crazy wrong.  I was told to drive up a gated private road, funny how that didn't work out too well. With the help of a map I figured out how to get to the parking area.  I called Amanda, to tell her where about the gps being weird and she was kind of lost thanks to her gps telling her to go a differently weird way, so I got her going in the right direction.

Check it out! A Cattle Gate.

While I waited for Amanda, I walked around the parking area and took a few photos:

Oak trees.  So pretty!

Artsy Oak Trees.

 

 

 

 

 

I sat at a picnic bench with the map, thinking about trails and I started to notice all these hawks flying around.  When I was little I lived close to a little natural history museum where they had local live animals and they would do demonstrations.  I loved the live hawks because they were so pretty and soft.  Yet they were hyper aware of their surroundings and they were dangerous. The handlers had to wear heavy leather gloves to protect their hands from their sharp talons.   Even more exciting was the time that we got to dissect the pellets that they pooped.  They were full of little bones, but so clean. 

Can you see the hawk? (Funny how my phone won't zoom in far enough.) I think I probably saw 10 different hawks just in the parking lot. They would take off from the oak trees, fly around and then fly back to the oak trees.

I love the way the hawks find the air flows and just float around without moving their wings. 

View from the trail. This park is hilly.  Thankfully, we met a nice man who told us to go on the more gradual inclined trail rather than the steep switchbacky trail we were going to hike on.  The weather was amazing. Both Amanda and I had to take off our layers and I was thankful I brought my sun hat to protect my face from the sun.

 There are cows grazing at many of the regional parks right now.  Such a good use of the land and helps with the fire preparedness.

 

 More cows!  We were so close to these guys.  I was a little nervous that they would be hostile, but they just walked away and stared at us as we walked by.  We walked along the Sycamore grove trail and the Oak Tree trail.

A storm knocked over this giant tree. 

I love how this park felt totally different than the other parks I had been too and Amanda and I had a great time catching up.

The Verdict: I would totally come back.  There were a ton of trails we didn't walk on, including walking past the olive grove, or up into the Ridgeline trails.  Plus there is a huge section of the park (where I think the gps was trying to take me), that we didn't even get into where there is a creek.  Plus the hawks were awesome.

Miller Knox Park

On January 13th, my friend Emily and I went to Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline  .  We decided to walk along the shoreline and around the pond rather than walk on the trails that are up in hills to the east.   We walked south first and found this:

 It's left over from the days of the railroad.  I think they would take the train cars and drive them right on the boats or the other way around.  I love this thing. It's falling apart.  You can walk safely next to it on a pier that you can fish off of too.  If I was a set designer, I would totally use this as inspiration for a false proscenium for some show.

Can you see the Bay Bridge? The view was gorgeous and it was so sunny!  We walked down to the swimming beach, which was nice and protected and then back along the railroad tracks towards the pond and back to the car.

On our way home we drove through Point Richmond. Point Richmond is adorable. If I had be more proactive and it hadn't been quite so early, we probably would have stayed to have lunch and look at the antique stores.  I do want to go back and hang out there. 

The Verdict: I would totally come back for the Model Railroad, which was closed and also to hike the hilly trails.  I bet the views there are really pretty.  I might even swim down there when it's warm, although I would probably want to swim for a while. Also, there is a motorcycle headquarters in the park.  Well done Richmond!

Tilden Part 2-Picnic and a walk around Lake Anza

 Tilden Park Part two of our Tilden Adventure.
I'm going to start with a confession, I may have had a little bit too much to drink the night before which slightly hampered my planning skills.  Normally, before I leave my house I look at the directions to the park and kind of decide what trails I want to take, so I have an plan of what to do. This time I kind of looked at the directions but not really and I way didn't plan a route once in the park. I was running late so I got to my friend Robyn's house a little late and got nervous that we might need cash for park admission/ parking, and Robyn wanted to buy a bottle water so we went to the Walgreens near her house. The Walgreens is next to the best Italian deli in Oakland, Genova Deli.  I decided we might get hungry (as it was now later than we had wanted to set out) so we got a sandwich to split and some snacks.

We couldn't decide which way to get into the park and once we got in, we couldn't find any parking lots or trail heads so we wound up going to Botanical Gardens first.  Then we found a map and a trail head and went to walk around Lake Anza.

 Here's me at Lake Anza.  Next time someone offers to take my picture I need to try to look more natural. (See part 1.)

Rocks and water!
 

When we got back to the car we ate the sandwich and had snacks in the grass.  I love sandwiches. Especially ones from good delis.  This was fabulous and a highlight of the park for me.

The Verdict:  Oh Wow are there more trails and areas to explore.  This park is huge.  I will definitely come back for a picnic and maybe even for camping in the Tilden Nature Area or a car trip up to Inspiration Point. I do worry about the popularity of the park, so maybe I'll try to come weekdays or during less peak times or just embrace that it is crowded.  We saw a lot of people on a nice day in January.