When Psychedelic was More than a Word - The Summer of Love Redux

It's the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love (remember that? Or at least heard of it?). It was a great time to be alive, when for a brief period--less than two years--it seemed as though things might be all right. People were actually interested in each other, believed in the goodness of all, and welcomed new ideas and possibilities. We could sure use a bit of that attitude now.

All posters and images are from the Summer of Love exhibit at San Francisco's DeYoung Museum.  The exhibit will be available until August 20, 2017. Oddly, the posters and clothes seemed sterile and overly formal, as if put together by someone who recognized the outward trappings of the Love children, but didn't participate. Perhaps that what we all do with past eras we tend to romanticize. There was a light show room with squishy bean bags for lazing about that felt just like home.






It's hard to imagine a time when creativity touched every part of life, from art to clothes to food, and especially to music. Every night was a party, and everybody experimented with everything. And then the heavy drugs came in and ruined it all. It was over in a flash, and now it seems like a dream. But it was a beautiful one.














Black Light was our neon. Tower records had a section dedicated to it and album covers were designed with it in mind. Bright white clothes made people glow like angels on the crowded dance floors.

 The Conservatory of Flowers (aka the Glass House) in the middle of Golden Gate Park was home to an amazing light show and concert on June 21 (light show will be on until October 21--see it!) that featured some of the old local rockers themselves: Country Joe MacDonald (Country Joe and the Fish), Jack Casady (Jeffferson Airplane) and a few others, plus sons and daughters. A good time was had by all, and the smell of skunk wafted over the crowd just like in the old days...

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Spies Roam the Streets of San Francisco!

Just had big fun playing an agent in the active spy game "Jericho", brainchild of FoxHound Urban Adventures. As an agent, different teams met with me in several locations in the city to pick up "intel" (instructions on where to go next, who to meet etc.). Of course, several of us agents brought disguises--

I covered 5.5 miles from the Fort Mason Chapel to the steps outside the Marine Museum, to high on the hill of Coit Tower, to a tea shop on Kearny, then finally to an alley between Market St. and Mission (and back). If you like your exercise to have a dash of mystery and fun, this is the bomb (or Nerf gun, depending...).

Foxhound hosts a similar Jericho game for free every month as a meet-up.


Jericho was just one of the urban games featured as part of "Come out and play SF", hosted by Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture. Fort Mason has really upped the ante on the variety and quality of the events it supports. Check it out, and watch out for those Nerf bullets!

Avant-Art for Free!

Fort Mason Center for Art and Culture put on an exhibit featuring the work of 22 artists on Saturday, March 26. These were BIG works--one multimedia piece took up the entire firehouse, while a neon sculpture covered a large part of the hangar floor. The overall effect was quite stunning--even better that it all was free! Fort Mason periodically puts on events and exhibits that should be on everyone's list--http://fortmason.org/events/.
See my two-minute video of the event on Vimeo: vimeo.com/160569507

Richmond—a Dazzling Discovery for History

View from Ford Point

I’m always willing to explore a destination, even one with as unsavory a reputation as Richmond, California. The place has been represented as the poster child for deteriorating neighborhoods, crime—sort of the worst of Oakland, air-lifted and plunked down a little farther north. Things are definitely changing.

The Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Richmond Main Street Initiative are fighting back, and they mean business. There’s nothing like money to revitalize an area, but it means nothing if no one cares. I met more dedicated, sincere, hopeful people in the two days I spent in Richmond than I’ve seen in a long time. Most of the development is taking place in the northwest end of the city, near the artsy enclave of historic Point Richmond (a former railroad town developed in the 1890s), and around nearby Ford Point and Marina Bay.

Miller/Knox Park, Point Richmond

Point Richmond has been a cool spot for decades, and home prices there reflect it. Summer brings a compact farmer’s market with live music, and three of my favorite hang-outs, Hotel Mac (happy hour and food), the Up & Under (great pub food), and the Baltic (fun bar and great music) are open year round.

Photo courtesy of SS Red Oak Victory

The real prize in the area for historians, cyclists and strollers is the Ferry Point Loop & Shipyard 3 Trail in Point Richmond (about 5 miles) that passes the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, the S.S. Red Oak Victory (a WWII ship open for tours—and movies!--built in the shipyard), and the Marina Bay Trail near Ford Point (roughly 4.5 miles), that circles Marina Bay, following the coastline to the Central Ave. trailhead; the trail is marked by a WWII National Historical Park including Rosie the Riveter Museum (displays and excellent historical documentaries). The trails are connected by a series of city streets: Canal Boulevard, W. Cutting Blvd., Hoffman Blvd and Harbour Way South (about 2.5 miles). I didn’t think much about WWII—it seemed the distant past, though I knew my father served on a railroad battalion in France. The Rosie Museum’s films and exhibits helped that part of my history come to life. And a good cup of strong coffee from nearby assemble restaurant, sipped while watching sailboats on the bay made for a lovely day.

Mom, my brother, dad in uniform

Of course, it helps if your introduction to the city is a reception catered by assemble, with an evening’s worth of fine wines poured by the Rhone Rangers, held in the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. The Rhone Rangers are a national affiliate group who grow and produce wines from grapes originally grown in the Rhone region of France. The work of two excellent vintners I sampled have tasting rooms in unusual places: Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda, and Bonny Doon in the scenic little enclave of Davenport, on Rte. 1 north of Santa Cruz. The East Bay Center, led by artistic director Jordan Simmons with dozens of classes in music, acting and other disciplines, would make a believer out of anyone—it’s that inspirational.

Photo courtesy of East Bay Center for the Performing Arts

NEXT: RICHMOND 2: A SECRET ROAD AND THE COOLEST B&B--IN A LIGHTHOUSE! ON AN ISLAND! FOGHORN INCLUDED...