Berkeley's for the dogs

Addison and I spent a few hours today visiting some of my old Berkeley haunts, including two of the finest dog parks you'll ever see. Point Isabel, our first stop, was one of the major reasons I decided to get a dog four years ago this week (whoa!). It's a sprawling area of unadulterated dog fun, with unbeatable views of the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Tamalpais, the works. Before I got Addie, I used to bike through it (because the multi-use Bay Area shoreline trail is also right there), admiring the marsh restoration project and stopping to imagine my future dog zooming around in those wide-open spaces. I decided that it would be a shame not to put a dog park like that to good use with a dog. And so I got a dog.

Our next stop this morning was just down the road at Cesar Chavez Park, in the Berkeley Marina, where there's another off-leash dog park. (This photo, while not of Addison at either of these dog parks, accurately represents what happens when the leash comes off - unbridled mayhem!) Not quite as big as Pt. Isabel, but with equally-amazing views of the Bay. Plus from there you can walk out the 3000 ft Berkeley pier, on which you feel like you could walk all the way to San Francisco. As it happens, before they built the Bay Bridge to join the East Bay to SF in 1936, the Berkeley pier was 3.5 miles long, and was where ferries loaded and unloaded all those Model T motorists headed to jolly Saturdays of pigskins and popped corn to root on the fine sons of California, hurrah!

Finally, we stopped off at Urban Ore, where over the years I've found such gems as my excellent writer's desk, a circular tray with a map of Wisconsin on it, a lovely tea cup and replacement light fixtures. This was Addison's first visit, and she could barely control her enthusiasm, mostly because the place was lousy with cats. I didn't find any treasures today, although I was intrigued by some old darkroom trays. Persistence pays off at Urban Ore.

I can only hope that wherever I go next it will be as easy to throw the dog in the car and entertain both of us for an afternoon as it is here!