Half Moon Bay

Samuel is visiting us on his summer break from college and we decided to take him on an afternoon drive to the City of Half Moon Bay, about a forty minute drive northwest of Mountain View. After leaving the parched hills of Silicon Valley, it was nice to enter the moist and green terrain of the coast. We passed cherry stands, vineyards and greenhouses. The biggest industries here are fishing, floriculture and tourism. We parked downtown on Main Street, then walked the mile to the beach. Good thing, as the parking lot at the beach was full.

In addition to the sign that warns you not to wade or swim (the waves break very close to shore), the City of Half Moon Bay has come up with it's own clever masking admonition I have not seen elsewhere: "Unless you're a whale, cover your blowhole." Samuel stands by that sign, maskless. (Don't worry, he's not violating any rules. And California is lifting its mask mandate for vaccinated folks in two days.)

The beach was engulfed in fog, apparently a summer constant. Samuel and I dipped our toes in the ocean, and confirmed it was cold.

No one was swimming, but there were a fair number of fisherman, and everyone was enjoying the wide stretch of sand.

Back on Main Street, we stopped at a bakery established in 1906, simply called the Half Moon Bay Bakery, and loaded up on Half Moon chocolate chip cookies. Can you guess the shape?

San Francisco - Japantown

What should you do in Japantown, that compact rectangle of all things Japanese, wedged between Haight Ashbury, Fillmore and the Tenderloin? Well, if you're the Chesslers, you have three Taiyaka ice cream cones, filled with Matcha or Black Sesame ice cream, and maybe a little nutella sauce and poky sticks all nestled in a waffle cone shaped like a fish. And you have those cones, dripping a bit, by the five story concrete pagoda (a gift from Osaka) in the Peace Plaza, on a sunny day in June. You do this after enjoying a delectable Japanese meal (sushi, ramen, Udon, etc.) at the Kui Shin Bo Shushi Bar and Restaurant, to celebrate Steven's birthday.

And if you're Betsy, you fit in a little shopping. Some vintage kimono fabric and painted porcelein bowls from Asakichi in the West Mall, and a build-your-own cute paper puppy kit from the origami store in Buchanan square.

New Orleans epidemics

I was in New Orleans at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic when I learned New Orleans is no stranger to epidemics. There have been yellow fever outbreaks in Louisiana since 1769. Between 1817 and 1905, over 41,000 people died of yellow fever in New Orleans, a swampy breeding ground of the mosquito that caused the fever. When things were bad, the pharmacy in the French Quarter would display red water in all their showglobes. It was a warning to be careful, there was fever about. The Pharmacy Museum, housed in the first licensed pharmacy in the U.S., had those red showglobes in their window in May 2021. Soon, I hope the color will change to something brighter and healthier.