3 April 2015 - Roadtrip Delights: Vintage Gasoline Station Artifacts

I had a plan for the day. Nothing much, take a 240 mile drive in a big circle: South to Payson, then take a right to the west side of the Oquirrh Mountains then north past Tooele and back east to home. 

Naturally birding was involved, but that was just a sideline for a favorite route. My grandmother loved this trip and I used to take her on this drive every time I came to visit. But like most of my road trips, it had several unexpected twists and turns. 

I was heading toward the third birding stop in Provo when I had to do one of my patented slam on the brakes and hit the side of the road.  Whoa. Now this was just cool. There is a very large storage center whose owner collects gas station memorabilia.  What fun is this?  Next up are a lot of photos that I hope make you smile! 

This wonderful little kid's fire engine is mounted on their sign post.
My inner child still wants one of these. It even has the pull cord for the bell.

Here's a better look at the plane.

I have never seen so many old gas pumps in one place. They are just amazing!  These six are just a few in the collection. 

And aren't the colors cheerful?  Wonder what the subliminal message is. Buy gas, take a trip and be happy? Works for me!

How many of these companies do you remember?  When I was very young UTOCO was the gas station of choice for my parents. My sister and I always wanted them to stop at Mobil because we loved the Pegasus logo.  And how many of you ever played on the green dinosaur at the Sinclair stations? 

Needless to say, this stopped me in my tracks and brought back many memories. 

1 April 2015 - An April Fool for Spring

April. You never know what you will get. Today, the first of the April Fool's Day tricks was that the temperature took a nose dive. Yesterday it hit 78 degrees and combined with the high temps in the 70s for most of the month it made March 2015 the hottest March on record. So far today the high has been 43. That's a bit of a shock to the system. 

But oh my, the yard looks like Spring. 

Every year the hummingbirds arrive when the quince blooms. The quince is in full bloom, but no little birds yet.  

If I'm lucky I actually get a couple pieces of fruit from this very old bush. 

My two crabapple trees are so full of fat flower buds that the color is almost bursting without even being in bloom. 

 When the buds on the left open the flower will be white, faintly tinged in pink, while the buds on the right will open into a darker pink than the buds show.  You can't judge a flower by the bud color. 

Forsythia is providing a cheerful yellow  as are the Oregon Grapes--a plant people either love or hate. Not much neutrality on that plant, but the blooms are so welcome in the spring, they smell great and the little bees need them. 

In the evening when the wind is quiet, their spicy scent can fill your entire yard. Magic. 

When I look across the street I have a beautiful view of a magnolia tree backed up by the ever-so-awful Bradford pears. Okay, the Bradfords are pretty in the spring, but seriously, with so many trees to choose from, why get one that surrounds every shopping mall in America?  Don't you want something that isn't planted by the dozen along the curb of every house in every neighborhood?  Geeze. End of rant. 

Along with the flowering trees, daffodils, hyacinths and myrtle are in full bloom. The tops of lilac bushes have dark purple bud spears poking up around the edges. Cleaned out a flower bed and under the leaves discovered peony shoots seven inches high. All of which make me very happy. 

Surrounded by this Spring beauty, Mother Nature has decided to play her own April Fool's trick. We have the possibility of snow tonight and at least two nights with hard freezes.   Just one more reason to enjoy every minute you get.

April 2nd Update. A skiff of snow and a hard freeze. 

28 March 2015 - Art in Alcatraz

In all the years I have gone to San Francisco, Alcatraz has never been on my radar. Too many other things to do. But this Spring there was an art exhibit in the prison that was impossible to pass up.  The exhibit was called @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz. It was intriguing on many levels. 

First because Ai Weiwei, the artist, is under house arrest in China. He never saw the exhibition space in person. Both he and his father have been imprisoned for having opinions the Chinese government didn't approve of.

Second, this quote was used in an article about the exhibit, which immediately brought images of the birdman of Alcatraz.

“The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.”
— Ai Weiwei

Third, the irony of an art exhibit about freedom of expression and human rights staged in a prison was hard to resist.

Fourth, after all this time, having the opportunity to see Alcatraz was just too good to pass up. Needless to say, I hopped on a ferry and went to visit the island. 

It was a powerful experience. The exhibit was scattered through different buildings.  My favorite was called With Wind. It was comprised of a massive Chinese Dragon kite. You could walk under and around it. Many of the dragon's body pieces included quotes from political prisoners both  dead and alive. 

 
It is hard to show how large the dragon is. It winds all over the room.
                                                            








The corners of the room have more kites. It almost seems too obvious a statement--a piece called With Wind, where the kites are imprisoned in a room and decorated with quotes from political prisoners. But to see it in person? All the  comparisons go right out the window. 

Another room is nothing but portraits of political prisoners made out of Legos. Called Trace, it features 176 people that Ai considers to be heroes.

The podiums on the side have information on each person and why they were imprisoned, whether they are alive or dead or died in prison. This exhibit reminded me of the AIDS quilts. 

Equally powerful is seeing the little walkway up behind the windows on the left hand side. Armed guards would watch the prisoners work on laundry in this building.  Anyone stepping out of line could be shot at will. Here is a view of the tiny hallway and a look at the room through a broken window.

The hospital wing was the venue for an installation called Blossom. Each toilet, urinal, sink and tub was filled with white ceramic flowers. Again, an ironic statement. Delicate porcelain flowers, almost as fragile bouquets against the hard utilitarian surfaces. 

Illumination consisted of two psychiatric observation rooms with music piped in. Standing in the center of these rooms you could hear Tibetan Buddhist chants and in the other room was Hopi Eagle Dance music, traditionally used in healing. 

The one I found most moving was called Stay Tuned. Here Ai used 12 tiny cells, outfitting each with a single stainless steel stool. You can see just how tiny the cell is compared to the stool.  

Walk in, sit down and you hear words, poetry, music or songs by artists who have been imprisoned for their words or who created the music or poetry while incarcerated.  Each cell is labeled. 

 On the wall across from the cells are the words or description of the music that you hear in the cell. 

It was an amazing experience. Both for the art and the prison. 

26 March 2015 - Being a Tourist

My sister lived in San Francisco for 40 years. I stayed with her many many times and got to see a lot of the city. We rarely did the tourist route when we were together. Whenever I arrived she usually had a list as long as my arm entitled "When Lauri Comes to San Francisco" that was filled with opportunities for seeing, doing and eating.  I don't think we ever came close to completing a list. 

The last several times I was in SF I actually did some normal tourist activities, well sort of. And it was fun. 

Sitting at the very top of Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower is one of my favorite places. It is a monument to honor firefighters, commissioned by Lillie Hitchcock Coit. She was my kind of woman. She lived large, smoked cigars and gambled wildly. Okay, sorta my kind of woman. She was a volunteer fireman and devoted a lot of her time to firefighting after being saved from a fire when she was a child. 


At night the tower just glows. Beautiful. 

The two best ways to see the tower are by climbing up the stairs on Telegraph Hill. I like to climb up the Greenwich steps and return on the Filbert stairs. 

The stairs are fairly steep but they wander through beautiful gardens and are a joy to climb, especially if you stop to smell the roses. Stopping to admire the view is always a good way to catch your breath rather than admit you need to take a rest for a moment. 




                                              

The hill is filled with homes, but it is too steep for roads. Anyone who lives here climbs the stairs to get in and out with groceries, furniture or anything else. I don't envy the postman or movers.

The picture above is a gate off the stairs leading to someone's house. It is all very charming. There are beautiful sculptures, mosaic work and art all through the gardens. 
 

Most of the art has been created by the owners, not just purchased.

If you are a gardener or just love flowers and incredibly beautiful settings, the Botanic Garden at Golden Gate Park is for you. 

I particularly love how there are hidden follies tucked off the main paths. It is a treat to discover them. 

 Golden Gate Park also has a fabulous carousel that is definitely on the not-to-be-missed list. It is a restored 1914 Herschell-Spillman menagerie carousel meaning that in addition to horses it has rabbits, pigs, tigers, lions, dragons, zebras, deer, and camels and many more. 

Not only that, it is the cheapest, best entertainment around at only $2.00 a ride. Look at these animals! How could you not want to take a spin or three?

And as long as you are at Golden Gate Park go up to Stow Lake and take a ride on the paddle boats. 

 You get to paddle under bridges, see waterfalls, a Chinese tea house and if you are lucky enough to be there in April, the Great Blue Heron babies will have hatched and you can watch the parents feed them.

Another favorite spot is the labyrinth. It is at a wonderful spot that overlooks the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Start at the Sutro Baths, take the Land's End trail to Eagle Point.

The trail leads past one gorgeous vista after another and ends up here. 

Need a little music after all this fresh air?  Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon the Legion of Honor hosts an organ concert on one of the biggest pipe organs around. It boasts 4500 pipes ranging from 1/2 inch to 32 feet long.  The sound rattles your bones. Well worth your time.

I often need to escape from the city noise, crowds and general bustle. That calls for a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to Mount Tamalpais. There are over 50 miles of trails through picturesque rolling hills. In the Spring they are green and covered with wildflowers. 

  

Mount Tam is a great spot to decompress. The trails are narrow, but flat for walking although the hills themselves are pretty steep. 


I often get the urge to roll down them but I don't think I'd be able to stop. 

Other decompression places involve ferry rides. Take the ferry to Angel Island for a day of hiking. Or take the ferry to Tiburon, walk up behind the historic Old St. Hilary's church and take the trails up to the top. From there you can see San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond and all three bridges. 

Being a tourist isn't all that bad. There truly are many things for everyone to enjoy, no matter what it is you like to do or see. And I have done and seen a lot of San Francisco and there is still so much more to discover. We shall see what transpires on my next trip!