Elephant Seals!

Okay, so by far one of the coolest curiosities that we discovered on this trip (in my opinion) was on the California coast in between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I'm going to admit, at first, I was way too freezing and tired to even want to get out of the car. Mark insisted and after I borrowed his sweatshirt, took a deep breath and prepared myself for the biting winds (it's really cold in Northern California and in my consistent denial of this, I was wearing shorts and a tank top), I got out of the car and ran onto the beach. Well, I'm really happy that I ddi because there I saw one of the most amazing things ever...it was a whole cluster of elephant seals sleeping on top of each other like a bunch of chubby sardines. They have these ridiculous looking faces and actually make GROWLING noises. I took a video and hopefully you can see it. Though it looks boring in the beginning, the end is soo cute, so you have to watch the whole thing. {ALERT: I cannot upload the video. I don't know WHY right now but sorry you can't see the elephant seal magic yet}. I loved the elephant seals and I'll probably never get to see them again close up like that in their natural environment. SO worth it.

Big Sur

Now, we've already identified an important concept when it comes to American authors: they roll in style. Even if they didn't have a lot of money, these spirited folk seem to know where to go to draw energy and inspiration. These theory definitely applies to Big Sur, California, a gorgeous national park on the coast where the Beat authors used to hang out, doing Lord knows what, and also writing. Jack Kerouac wrote a novel titled after this coastal oasis and it was in Big Sur that Lawrence Ferlinghetti found refuge when City Lights was ransacked by the cops for publishing copies of Howl.

On this trip, the locals led us to a restaurant/bar called Nepenthe. The word "nepenthe" first appeared in the fourth book of Homer's Odyssey and it literally means "one who chases away sorrow." It is a magical potion given to Helen by an Egyptian Queen and it became associated with something that is used to prepare the drug opium. I'm assuming that the name Nepenthe probably drew the artists, hippies and Beats to the bar, but the gorgeous view, outdoor fire pit, good food and drinks definitely got them to stay. It was lovely there and I could have hung out for a good while.

Salinas: John Steinbeck's home and the National Steinbeck Center

While traveling down the California coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles, we made a stop in Salinas California, home of John Steinbeck. As Steinbeck said, "Not everyone has the good fortune to be born in Salinas." Many of Steinbeck's books draw upon his experiences in California. George and Lennie dream on the Salinas River, as a matter of fact in Of Mice and Men. In the National Steinbeck Center, your trip begins with a video about the famous American author. Though he dealt with rejection after rejection, eventually he made it big with Tortilla Flats. Of course, after he got the fame, he felt nauseous when he was recognized in public.

The Center has interactive exhibits for each of Steinbeck's novels and novellas. There are clips of video footage from the film versions of his stories, and there is lots of biographical information about the author's life. I got a Visitor's Copy about the museum that I could use in class. I was actually thinking that creating a museum exhibit for an author or a novel would be a great project to do with class. A lot of research is involved, as is a thorough knowledge of the book. Maybe that's something I could integrate in next year.

East of Eden, one of Steinbeck's great works that was turned into a movie (which Steinbeck liked. He said it was probably good because he had nothing to do with it) also has a good deal of action take place in the Salinas Valley. I loved the exhibit on this novel and also on the Hebrew phrase "Timshel," that inspired Steinbeck while penning the novel. The phrase "Timshel" means Thou Mayest. Steinbeck was inspired by this idea that humans are given a choice about what they want to do and this guided his adaptation of the Cain and Abel story in Genesis. At the museum there was a wooden box with the Hebrew phrase carved into it. Apparently, every day before Steinbeck started writing East of Eden, he would write his publisher a letter. After the letter was complete he would start his novel writing for the day. When ...Eden was done, he had a box made with the word "Timshel" engraved on it to give to his publisher and, ostensibly, to house his many letters. I liked that. That might be a good idea to make for the Memory Box my mother suggested I make to commemorate my literary adventure. It could be a little much though since I don't know anyone who does woodworking... I'll keep it in mind =).

It was also cool to learn that Steinbeck was first excited by words when he read Sir Thomas Mallory's translations of the Arthur tales. He loved them so much that he planned a trip across England, visiting all the places that Arthur might have possibly been, according to the legends. He also went to all the places where Mallory lived and wrote, as well. He did this trip with his second wife and she said that traveling with John was "just as much fun as you could imagine."

I seem to be sensing a theme with all these authors... they really know how to live. They pick beautiful parts of the country in which to live (Jack London, Hemingway) and have adventurous spirits that take them around the world (London, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Kerouac), meeting people and experiencing. They also like to drink.

I was inspired to buy a copy of his nonfiction book Travels with Charley, in which he and his second wife's poodle take off in a car cross country (for less time than Paul and I will be in the car) so Steinbeck can record his observations. I mean, that's right up my alley with the dog, the cross country, I just need to start writing my own book. I guess the problem is I'm not John Steinbeck. If I didn't get so car sick while reading or writing, I would actually read Travels with Charley while we were driving. Luckily, I did buy an audio copy of Kerouac's On the Road at City Lights Book Store in San Francisco, so that should help get us through the South and South West.

After my visit to the Steinbeck Center, we drove down two and half blocks to Steinbeck's actual home in Salinas. It has been converted into a restaurant (which is open for limited hours each day) and gift shop. I thought it was very beautiful though, as you can see in the photos.

The Earth was SHAKIN' in LA

No, for real, today I experienced my first memorable earthquake. So... last night we arrive at Andreas's house. We told him we'd be there around 9 or 10 but, of course, we arrived around midnight. Andreas was nice enough to let us in, give us the grand tour, show us where he laid out snacks and point out a big LA map draped over his living room table (which he moved to make room for the air mattress). Then we tell him that we're hungry and he recommends Fred 76, a total hipster - do hipsters call it a diner? - diner, down the block. Before we leave, Andreas tells us not to mind his crazy downstairs neighbor who might start pounding on the floor (from his ceiling below) if we make noise. We give him a puzzled nod and run off to get milkshakes. (They were unbelievably amazing, by the way. I got a black and white malted. I'll yelp it soon).

So, me, Paul and Mark get back to Andreas's around 1:30 after Fred's and begin to get ready for bed. Paul blows up the air mattress, we all try to access internet (to no avail) and we mill about, changing into pajamas and brushing teeth. Everyone goes to bed and then I hear a fierce knocking at the door. Of course, I get scared and hide under the blanket. Very reliable in these situations. The knocking gets louder and I hear "Police Department." As a New Yorker, I assume the worst. I imagine that there can't possibly be police outside the door but instead it's a murderer holding a weapon, just waiting for some moron like me to invite him in to shoot me. I wait for one of the three men in the apartment to answer the door... I know that's horrible and I should have been a strong female or whatever, but I just wasn't up to the task. Finally Andreas gets up, looks through the peep hole and...yes, it was the actual police. He opens the door and they say that someone below us has reported extreme noise coming from the apartment. This was obviously ridiculous since the apartment was completely dark and 4/5's of us were in bed. The police saw this, apologized and that was that.

So, now let me bring you to this morning. Andreas gets up for work, apparently. I get a slap on my hand that's extended off the couch and wake up from a disconcerting dream about a shopping mall (but like, not in a good way). Andreas urges me to transport my sleepy self into his room so I can sleep in a bed while he was at work. Fastforward several hours later and I feel some serious vibrating. I assume it's the crazy man downstairs pounding on the ceiling with a broomstick and I keep my eyes closed. The pounding went on for MUCH longer, however, and it was really more serious and intense than I thought any old man could muster up. So yeah, that was a 5.8 earthquake apparently. Paul slept through it.

It was pretty cool to be in L.A. for one of these authentic natural occurrences. That's one thing you can't pay a tour guide for on the quack bus, you know? (Have you seen these insane duck buses that tour around San Fran and Seattle? Everyone gets a quacker to make a duck sound and they take you around the important tourist sites. It's sort of obnoxious).

We did more in L.A. It was great to see Andreas and Erin! Erin picked me up and we drove to Manhattan Beach for a walk and fish tacos. It was a good time and I could see how someone could get really drawn in to this kind of sunny, laid back lifestyle over here. This is some place I'd like to spend more time.

San Francisco's Literary Significance

So I got a San Francisco Literary Map from Dave Egger's Pirate Store on Valencia in the Mission. Here are some points of literary interest, some that I had no idea bout! (Ernest Gaines lived and wrote here and Maya Angelou grew up here). It was pretty cool to walk on their streets and to find this great resource at 826 Valencia. Next year in my Elective: "New York City Through Literature, Film and Art," I'd like my students to creat a literary map of New York, similar to this one. Maybe we could mass produce them and get it published! A kid could do the illustrations, etc. Well, that's just a thought in the works.

Points of Literary Interest in San Francisco (taken from SF Literary Map):

1. Alice B. Toklas Place , one block away from her birthplace.

2. Beatitude Magazine's birthplace, Greenwich and Grant

3. Black Cat Cafe, 710 Montgomery
Steinbeck wrote and drank here in the 1920's and 30's

4. Former Home of the Co-Existence Bagel Shop, 1398 Grant Avenue
Beats hung out and got into trouble here

5. Former Home of the Golden Era, 732 Montgomery St.
Mark Twain wrote for this weekly paper.


6. Hunter S. Thompson's former apartment, 318 Parnassus Avenue
He wrote Hell's Angels here

7. Jack London Alley
Right near his birthplace on Third St. at Brannan

8. Kay Boyle's former home
Modernist writer lived and entertained here.

9. Neal and Carolyn Cassady's house, 29 Russell St.
Jack Kerouac lived in the attic

10. Robert Frost Plaza, California at Market
He was born in San Francisco!! Who knew? About his hometown he wrote: "Dust always blowing about the town/ Except when sea-fog laid it down."

11. Former location of the Six Galleryy, 3119 Fillmore St (this is no longer a viable address on the street)
Allen Ginsberg first read HOWL here in 1955.

12. Post Street
Maya Angelou grew up in a fourteen room house here.

13. Divisadero Street
Ernest J. Gaines (wrote A Lesson Before Dying) lived and wrote in a second floor apartment here.

N.B. It's important to mention that the photo in this entry was taken on the street where Allen Ginsberg first read Howl in 1955. The address 3119 Fillmore no longer exists (as me and my cabbie figured out) but this was where the actual Six Gallery stood.

City Lights!

When I joined City Lights in 1971, and started working with Lawrence, it was clear that it had been very much a center of protest, for people with revolutionary ideas and people who wanted to change society.

- Nancy Peters

I love City Lights Bookstore. The first time I came to San Francisco, about four years ago, I remember wandering around Little Italy and stumbling upon this awesome bookstore. I bought a poster and got it home in one piece, but I mis-posted it on my classroom wall and it somehow got destroyed. Well, on this trip I replaced the poster and this time I will laminate so I do not have to deal with the same issue.

City Lights was started by Peter D. Martin, a sociology teacher who moved to San Francisco from New York. City Lights was named after a Charlie Chaplin movie, and it was also the name of the magazine Martin helped publish. Eventually Martin turned City Lights into the first American all-paperbook bookstore and he sold his share to Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the beat poet. The store served as a hang out spot for many counter-cultural artists and progressive thinkers. In 2001 it was named an historical landmark because of the intellectual and cultural service it rendered for both San Francisco and the rest of the country.

When you visit now, Allen Ginsberg's HOWL is on prominent display in the Poetry Room. Ferlinghetti heard Ginsberg read Howl in 1955 at the Six Gallery (which I tried to visit. It is no longer there, but I did walk along the block it stood on). Ferlinghetti offered to publish Howl, despite (I mean, probably because of) its controversial content and open discussion about drugs and homosexuality. City Lights was actually raided by the police for selling such a disgusting piece of writing and both Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg had to turn themselves in. Eventually the charges were dropped and the merit of the poem was recognized by teh court. This trial allowed other novels since (like D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's Lover to be published).

There is also a separate section of Beat authros and many resources are available there, many of which I purchased for my classroom. City Lights is also a publisher, started by Ferlinghetti, and at the bookstore you can peruse the titles that it has released. Gear is also for sale, and they seem to be making a pretty penny for that as well. It's all for the cause, so I'm not opposed =).

San Fran, in general

As I said, San Francisco is great. I mean, the Yelp headquarters is there, they're representing hardcore with a serious Little Italy district (where I had an awesome eggplant parmigiana sandwich), and it's just full of art, books and positive energy. This trip I visited the Mission district, which has a lot of interesting people, stores, vibrant murals and great Mexican food.

At 826 Valencia in the Mission, Dave Eggers, the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,has a Pirate Store. It's a brother of The Super Hero Supply Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In addition to selling pirate supplies like mirrors with mustaches glued on, so you can see yourself as a pirate, boxes for severed ears, lard, and a collection of other pirate paraphernalia, the store runs writing workshops for kids. Eggers himself teaches one on Tuesday nights and all the students' work is available to purchase in the store. I also bought an awesome literary map of San Francisco. I'll take a whole other post to elaborate on that. For now, here are some general pictures of the city, the Mission and the pirate store. Arrr (like with a pirate voice).

Go Irish in San Fran

So really, all I can say is thank God for good old reliable Domers. Go Irish!

Last night we stayed in a suburb of San Francisco. I don't even know the name right name but something that starts with Bake... that much I can remember. Thank you so much Chris, Scott and Krystal for letting us stay (these are Paul's friends), it was really awesome.

Anyway, tonight we were supposed to stay in a San Francisco hotel. I booked it on Priceline. I got a Confirmation email. I wrote down my Confirmation number and put it in a secure place. I google mapped the hotel address. We arrived confidently, armed with all mandatory information...but alas, the hotel was overbooked. As was, apparently, every hotel in the San Francisco area. Minus Oakland, of course. After two hours of extremely frustrating phone calls, (I was shuffled from department to department and received no consolation, empathy or encouraging word. I was also disconnected twice) we thought we found solace in hotels.com. Daphne, the hotels.com operator, was SO confident that we had a place to stay, she addressed me by name. She said: "Christina, I promise you, you will have a room in this hotel. We own the room for our customers." Well little Miss Daphne, I'd like to let you know that your word is MUD. We walked over to the place, which happened to be across the street, and the man basically laughed in our faces. I hope my credit card was not charged the $300 that it cost. EXTREMELY stressful. But, here comes the ray of golden Irish sunshine....

Paul calls his friend, Paz, a legend of Zahm Hall and Notre Dame (he played acoustic guitar), who is apparently now a millionaire and lives in a posh San Francisco apartment. Though Paz is in L.A. and leaving for Croatia on Monday, he did indeed give us his punch code for the door. (Yes, the place is so swanky it does not "do" keys, it only has a keypad outside). We are now in his apartment, after about three hours of scrambling and we're looking forward to a fantastic day tomorrow.

Before all this insanity, San Francisco was great. I mean, it still is. I did it up at City Lights and dropped quite a bit of money...hopefully it's all worth it for the children, right? And, City Lights is just so awesome. I had a great time. We also did some touristy stuff but tomorrow I'm going to do a whole literary San Francisco tour, including Haight Ashbury and lord knows what else. You can be assured that it will all be posted here.

It certainly feels good to have vented about this hotel fiasco. Be warned all you Priceline fans...the same thing could happen to you. The lesson we also learned is that in hot spot cities, we've gotta book these suckers in ADVANCE. This will not happen in Austin or Miami.

Pics to come, pics to come. San Francisco is awesome...almost as good as New York. wink wink.

Northern California

Driving along the Northwestern Coast, we were able to see some gorgeous coastline and also visit the Redwood Forest in California.