Uncategorized

Built in 1898, the San Francisco Columbarium was originally part of the 167 acre Odd Fellows Cemetery. It survived the 1906 earthquake, but four years later the City banned cremation (I couldn’t find out why!) so their crematory was shut down. Another four years later, the City directed that all human remains be moved to […]

I started this expedition at the Oakland Produce Market, which takes up several blocks just north of Jack London Square. The market is open from 1 am to 7 am, so it was closed when I visited, but still fun to see.  Apparently, there have been plans over the decades to move the market, which

This expedition focused on the sites left out of #56, which are all in downtown Berkeley. First up is the Whittier School, an elegant Classic Moderne building built in 1939. It closed in 1984 and became the Berkeley Arts Magnet School (it’s now a regular elementary school with an emphasis on arts education). It was

For this expedition I was planning to do another leg of the Crosstown Trail (or the Doublecross Trail) but I was in the mood for something shorter. Online I found a book about walking the 49 Mile Scenic Drive (conveniently titled Walking San Francisco’s 49 Mile Scenic Drive).  The 49 Mile Scenic Drive was created

April 16, 2025. I was planning to be in Alameda one afternoon so I looked around on the map for a place to visit. That’s sometimes how these expeditions come about. I’ve been past this museum many times but the signage facing the street is not prominent and is usually hidden by cars in the

I was inspired to do this expedition after seeing photos posted by two sets of friends who recently visited Japan. My first stop was Pacific East Mall. Not strictly Japanese, it houses restaurants, shops and businesses from many Asian countries.  I admired the “My Neighbor Totoro” stuffies in the window of Kingstone Books along with

I was aware of the WPA (a New Deal project) of course, but until I did this expedition I hadn’t considered the huge scope of what it accomplished. Much was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), not to be confused with the California Conservation Corps, which was modeled on the original. Those workers built

This expedition happened on a Saturday, not the usual Wednesday. I keep adding to my list of places to explore and the number of them that aren’t open on Wednesdays is growing. The Orly Museum is only open one Saturday each month.  First I went to the Berkeley Art Center, which is nestled in the

A few years ago, the west end of University Avenue was repaved. That road was nightmarishly bumpy. This part of the marina was built over a mile of the pier. The road settling over the decaying pier below is what caused the bumpiness. They also installed this cool metal cutout sign which looks particularly nice

My plan was to take the self guided Cal Berkeley campus sustainability tour. This tour snakes through campus visiting sites devoted to water recycling, bike repair, waste reuse, and a pollinator garden. Unfortunately, many sights are on the first floor of the student union which is only open to students.  On Expedition 13, I investigated the