Weekend Round-Up: Strange Beasts

We started this weekend at the opera. A new production of Mozart’s Magic Flute was the final show in our summer series. They really pulled out all the stops!  In addition to a new English translation of the lyrics, the production had costumes and digitally-animated stages designed by the Japanese ceramic artist Jun Kaneko.  His strange birds were really spectacular and these tiny children dressed as plump budgies nearly stole the show from the very good Papageno. There are two more shows next weekend, I recommend it if you can go!

Saturday morning, we packed up the tandem bike and had a leisurely breakfast before boarding the train to Freemont to meet friends on a camping trip.  Smooth sailing for the first 20 miles of pedaling, then we stopped a the grocery store to pick up beer by the group’s request and turned on to Mt. Hamilton Road.  Surprise! 1,880 feet of straight up climbing in hot weather with a very heavy cart.

With a sense of great victory, we arrived at Joseph D. Grant Park…and then proceeded to spend a bitter hour pedaling up and down the many campsites in the rolling hills with all that beer unable to find our friends.  Much, much happier when we finally did locate their tents off a hidden road and could set up camp with this view:

I had just enough time do a bit of painting with a new set of travel brushes I just bought last week.

Our friends arrived back from their ride in the early evening and we had a lovely time drinking that long-traveled beer and cooking a massive dinner together.  Giant moon over the rolling oak hillside.

Rob made his famous blueberry pancakes for our breakfast the next morning, along with coffee and a spread of everything else we had. Peaches, eggs, pecans, english muffins, smoked gouda, avocado and apples:

We had a very leisurely ride down the mountain after packing up our camp.  Only 200 feet of climbing in this direction, followed by a very fast descent.

Outside of Milpitas, we stopped at a small apricot farm along the road. Loaded up on four pounds of blenheim beauties, one pound of which we ate right away.  The farmer was also drying apricots in the sun and the smell was divine:

Quick stop for lunch at a taqueria and then back on the train home. We took over most of a car with our various bikes and carts.

Just as cold and foggy back in San Francisco as you would expect for July!  Rob and I took hot baths, read the paper and watched the start of the Tour de France to cap the weekend.

Plus, Rob’s take on the weekend and more photos of those pretty oak trees.