Sea Wolf

Parked at Jack London Square, the city's rescue ship is ready for any emergency on the estuary.  You don't hear about it being used much, but it's clear they keep everything spiffed up and ship shape in case they are called to duty.

A is for American Bag Company

Many of the warehouse district buildings have recently been converted to office spaces and condos.  The American Bag Company, built in 1917 and now providing office spaces, is listed on the the National Register of Historic Places.  This building is only two blocks from the waterfront, Jack London Square, and lots of excellent restaurants.  The conversion process started years ago when now Gov. Jerry Brown bought a loft in this neighborhood where he lived and ran his campaigns for the presidency.  Later, when he was mayor of Oakland, he spearheaded the building of thousands of condo units in the downtown area.  This initiative has gone a long ways to revitalize this part of Oakland.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Shoreline Park

The first of each month is City Daily Photo's Theme Day.  This month's theme is "the water's edge."  This photo was taken at the southwestern end of the Oakland estuary which is being restored to marshland.  Despite a freeway being a few hundred yards to the east and the airport less than half a mile to the west, egrets nest, wade, forage, and just plain rest in this end of the estuary.  For more takes on the theme, visit City Daily Photo.

N is for nautical

After a few days of rain, we're back to fair weather.  Still time to take the boat out on the bay while it's sunny.  Weather probably doesn't matter much to true sailors, in the same way it does to landlubbers like me.  Spotted at Embarcadero Cove.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

lighthouse ship

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This is the lightship Relief.  Floating lightships were anchored in areas that were too deep, expensive, or impractical to build a lighthouse.  Lightships were used in the U.S. from 1820 to 1983 and one served the San Francisco Bay from 1898 to 1971.  The Lighthouse Society is dedicated to preserving lighthouses and the country's remaining lightships.

B is for Bocanova

Bocanova is at Jack London Square.  It's a pan-american restaurant with recipes from all the Americas using local ingredients.  Small plates are perfect for sharing.  It has a large dining room but

if the evening is warm, the terrace can't be beat.  If you go, definitely order the shishito peppers with Trapani sea salt.  Warning: they are addictive.

Linking to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: peace tiles

This peace wall is in Jack London Square.  It is composed of tiles created by Oakland school children under the guidance of local artists.  As best I can determine, it was done in 1998.  There are actually two walls of tiles, which line steps that move down toward the waters of the estuary.  The steps used to lead up to a Barnes & Noble, which suddenly closed up shop two years ago.  No new tenant has yet come forward.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the murals posted this week.  Once you start looking, it's amazing how many you can find.

Skywatch Friday: Embarcadero Cove

Welcome to Quinn's Lighthouse which declares it was established in 1890.  Not as a restaurant but as a lighthouse.  Now it's a popular watering hole with an upstairs deck that looks over the estuary. This lighthouse was originally at the mouth of the estuary and was moved to its current location in 1965 and became a restaurant in 1984.  Apparently the restaurant is named after a British writer, Richard Quinn, who inadvertently became a pirate chaser.  And Oakland had a pirate needing chasing named Perilous Pete.  A pirate in Oakland?  Who knew?

This buoy is out in the parking lot and is reserved for "Harley parking only."

On the property is on old school house that serves as the local business office for the other business properties in the complex.  The complex backs up to the the drydock area you've seen in previous posts.
This post is linked to Skywatch Friday.  We're out of town for a few days, so this post is brought to you by the magic of autoposting.

Weekend Reflections: estuary scene

The boat name had me puzzled.  The dockside Weber barbeque added to the incongruity.  Who can forget the great German movie by the same name.  Hardly a light film.  If the owner meant to reference the movie, he has the wrong boat.  If he didn't, should probably choose another name.  Nonetheless, he and the other boats provided reflections, even in icky water.  For more reflections, visit James's meme Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: one more boat in dry dock

One more boat in dry dock at Embarcadero Cove.  Morning fog and sunny afternoons have been  the norm for the last few days.  Seems like typical summer weather is here.  Ugh.  For more Friday skies, visit Skywatch Friday.

Monday Mural: Jack London

This mural is on the back of Heinold's First and Last Chance saloon at Jack London Square, which Jack London frequently visited.  Heinold apparently let the young London study there and later lent him money for tuition to Cal Berkeley.  The original building from 1883 is still a functioning bar and a popular place to have a beer and watch the boats sailing the estuary.  A few feet away is the cabin London lived in when he went north to the Alaskan gold fields.  (An image of it is in the above mural).  London wrote about Heinold's in John Barleycorn.

This detail quotes London's belief, "The proper function of Man is to live, not to exist."  I was so happy to find this mural and get pictures before the light failed that I forgot to look for the artist's signature and the date it was executed.  My bad.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the murals posted this week.  Once you start looking, it's amazing how many you can find.

dry dock

Several boats were in dry dock at the Embarcadero marina.  Although this sailor berths his boat in SF, he brought it to Oakland because of the specialists for his boat's motor.  Boats are a lot of work, and after 27 years of sailing, this guy confessed that he was seriously considering selling his boat.

Weekend Relection: estuary marina

This is the marina at Embarcadero and 16th Avenue.  It's just off the 880 freeway and yet is a surprising oasis.  The shoreline has charming Victorian buildings that look like they were brought onto the property to preserve them.  I'll show them at a later date.  The water was pretty flat this day, and reflected the masts and hulls in the marina.  For more reflections, visit James's Weekend Reflections.

quai side

After walking around the old docks near the Port, I found myself drawn to rust and decay.  It helped that the afternoon was mild and the weather clear.  Tonight or tomorrow rain is due.  So far this has been one of the driest winters on record.   Despite concerns, most of us have enjoyed (sometimes guiltily) the sunny skies.

end of day

Taken at the Middle Shoreline Park in West Oakland.  San Francisco is on the horizon line.  Submitted to Skywatch Friday, Weekend Reflections, and SOOC Sunday.

bay trail

This is part of the Bay Trail near Jack London Square.

Skywatch Friday: blue skies, weird statue

This statue can be found at Union Point along the estuary.  I think it's supposed to represent multiple cultures that inhabited the immediate era throughout history.  Nice try, no cigar.  For more sky shots, visit Skywatch Friday.

Sunday Bridges: bridge to Coast Guard Island

I finally found another bridge.  This one goes from Union Point to the Coast Guard Island that sits in the middle of the estuary.  The rubble and tracks are detritus from a long abandoned warehouse loading dock.  I'm surprised no one has dug up the metal tracks to recycle them.  There's money in them thar rubble.  Check out «Louis'» meme for more bridge shots.

Weekend Reflection: Union Point

There's a small marina at Union Point.  For more reflections, visit James' meme Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: Union Point

Here it is Skywatch Friday again.  We're currently enjoying warm weather and clear skies.  This was taken along the estuary shores at Union Point.  Access to the shoreline is open to the public and there are nice benches and lawns for picnicking at this spot.  For more sky photos, visit Skywatch Friday.