The Berkeley Marina

The Berkeley Marina 

I'm going to begin by describing something I already know--the Berkeley Marina. I've been walking along this shoreline for all of the 30 years I've been here. My, has it changed. When first we ventured down to the shore it was to go to the dump--the present site of Cesar Chavez Park and the East Bay Shoreline Park. Used to love to watch the gulls fighting for the bounty in the piles of waste. Now they comb the shoreline for the remains of a picnic lunch or a fisherman's castoffs. 

Speaking of fishing, I'm not one for fishing off a pier, yet it's fun to watch those who do. Most often I appreciate that it's a way for men to spend time alone or  with their children. There are not too many teenagers about, but kids under 12 seem to enjoy this time searching the waters for food with dad. They consume a lot of time playing with their handheld gameboys and the like, but still, they're out of doors and breathing the fresh air. I wonder, though, about the levels of mercury in the fish. 

Because of the efforts of common citizens back in the early '60s, plans to fill the Berkeley shoreline were halted. These citizens subsequently formed the Bay Conservation and Development Commission to control what happened to our SF Bay. Thirty years later the transformation of our shoreline from dismal dump to serene  seashore became a reality. I love what the marina has become--not only a place for people and their need for enjoying the open air, but a refuge for more and more wildlife.

Sailing out of the harbor on a cool day. (my photo)

A calm, overcast morning along the waterfront. (my photo)

Just the other day I spent 15 minutes idly watching a gopher expand the size of her home as she neatly piled dirt outside of this hole, then that one--an industrious animal, the gopher. I often see rabbits, ground squirrels, and ground dwelling plovers at work on the land. There is certainly all kinds of human activity down there as well--sailing, rowing, kayaking, windsurfing, building, playing, hiking, biking, walking, running, kite flying, cooking, dog walking and more. My own favorite activity, though, is to find a quiet place along the rocky shore, sit, and wait to see what "touches" me. Oftentimes I have my binoculars in hand, in quest of a closer look at the creatures; but sometimes it does not matter how well I see that grebe or that sea lion. It just matters that I sit and listen and feel the world breathe. I feel more alive at the water's edge. 


It's wonderful that we can take our garbage and transform it into places that benefit nature and people, but we must maintain the vigor and vitality of the bay itself. I go to the sea for harmony and balance, for feeling the ebb and flow of the tides as I know it in my own life. We must all work to maintain the quality of life on land and sea, as our forebears did in the '60s. The personal is still political.   --Berkeley Belle

For more info on this history, go to this site:  http://ocscsailingblog.com  It's also where I got the old photos of the "dump". The fishing picture comes from:  http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/tag/mercury/

My First Day

So this is it, the first entry in my blog. I've decided to write this blog to force myself to write more, to discipline myself to photograph more, but also to compel myself to venture out into the world more--to explore the PLACE I call home. I've worked my way into the rut of a routine in my life and I do not like it.

I have lived in this town for over 30 years now, and you would think I knew everything about it, but I do not. So this will be my record of what I do and what I learn over the next 10 months of my life. I choose that amount of time, instead of one year, because I plan on taking a vacation next June. Not sure where I will go yet, thinking about the state of Washington and sailing the Peuget Sound to the San Juan Islands; but wherever it is, it will not be here.

    Overview of the UC Berkeley campus. Not my photo. Taken
from a public website on the city of Berkeley. 

Berkeley is Berkeley because of the university. Without it, most of the people I know would never have come to live here or to build a life for themselves here. BUT did you know that there are 19 additional institutions of higher learning in this city that offer advanced degrees? You can obtain a masters degree in theology or oriental science; or become certified in computer technology or acupressure. Education is everything in Berkeley, or that's what I think now.

 If you want to learn more about this city, then take the journey with me. I'll be very interested to know what you think and feel about the places, the things, and the people I describe. I'm kind of eager to know myself.  I think I'll use subject headings for each of the entries (i.e., museum, entertainment, nature, parks, food, dining out, architecture, history, neighborhoods, and so on). We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck.  
                                                --Berkeley Belle