Morning walks with Seiko

This is the only watch I have owned twice.  I bought it, foolishly gave up in a trade deal, and then bought another one right away. It's always good for exploration and discovery of new territories... even if they are in the same time zone as our home. The morning dawned fairly clear, and we went inland to the easternmost corner of the bay. You can see the blue skies and the sun breaking through Fishermen (human and bird) were looking for breakfast This looks like writing but we can't decipher it A half-hour later the marine layer rolled in, and we were submerged in damp grey air Time to head for home and some hot tea and toast (with cheddar and serrano ham).

Despite the chaos of life nowadays, I still get inspired when I see a sunrise like this while I am making my morning cup of tea: After an hour on the phone to the UK transacting some business and catching up with old friends, I strapped on my FlightMaster, grabbed my wife's hand, and we headed out for the morning Seiko walk. The buildings on the right, across the river, are the PE department at the high school where she used to teach. Eventually this river runs into the bay, and on to the Pacific Ocean through the channel we walked along yesterday in the dense fog. We walked across a baseball field, around some tennis courts, past the golf course, through an RV park and ended up at another corner of the bay. Where we found an albino Rat Rod. I love the audacity of that tiny back window! I wanted to get the little bird in the foreground but didn't have my telephoto lens -- I can't help it if all that stuff in the background is distracting... Anyway, these morning walks give ...

We started very early this morning, to keep ourselves busy and our minds off current events (Elections).  The Seiko "Pogue" Chrono is my companion, matching my orange safety shirt. We are at the channel entrance and surprised to see so much activity at 6:30 am; such as fishermen on their way out  and five separate teams of volleyball players arriving and warming up. On a Wednesday morning when they can barely see over the net? Two guys stroll south as a coach encourages yet another track team (men this time) while working out in the deep sand. City Parks Dept tractor grooms the beach, cleaning up excess seaweed and debris. It wasn't too early or too cold for me to notice the mermaid at this house ... As we crossed back towards the bay, my wife noted that it is fairly rare to see pelicans in the water. They are usually flying around looking for food... maybe not in the fog, eh? Far across the water we saw a group of kayakers with no lights, gathering in the marina entrance...

Autumn is finally here; the fog has come in with a vengeance. Today we skipped our hikes around the bay and stayed on the sidewalks (that would be "pavement" for those in the UK).   We did go down to the yacht club and saw the morning sun fighting through the fog, crossing the T's and dotting the i. Then we went up the hill (in the car) and looked out across the mist In one dramatic moment we walked up this block and came into bright sunlight. As it was only about 6:30 am, the sun was low enough to light this fantastic tree from underneath. I couldn't resist a backdrop of bright yellow flowers, and got this photo of my vintage '70's charcoal-dialed, high-beat Grand Seiko illuminated by the sun coming through behind me. Forget all the noise around you and have a great day. Even though it's Election Day here.  

We took an early Monday morning stroll, but today the weather was less Southern Californian, and a bit more Merry Olde England. The fog was extremely dense, and I found myself asking "Why don't those foolish drivers of gray cars at dawn in the fog turn on their lights?!"  Luckily we didn't have any incidents on the road or today's damp walking route. This is fine for a walk, but a bit too close to salt water for living. I prefer a few more yards of sand between me and the sea. There ARE tides ... this is better. We crossed over South MIssion from the bay to the ocean. but as expected, the fog blanketed the beach there too. As we returned to the car the sun was valiantly trying to break through We saw this monstrous dog lumbering around the foggy park like a drunk stumbling around a nightclulb parking lot. This lady isn't his owner, but she knows his name is Gus and she says he's only 3 years old.