Off to Berkeley

I spent yesterday botanizing around the Edgewood County Park--a serpentine grassland, chaparral and oak community in San Mateo County. I saw a few herds of mule deer and a new serpentine plant, Quercus durata. In the evening Nishi and I headed out to a dinner party with lots of his friends from high school. They welcomed me into their community like an old friend--and subsequently stuffed me with delicious curries.

A random funny story from Thanksgiving--
After finishing our hike at Point Reyes, Nishi and I were preparing to head to a COA alum's house for dinner. Before we left the parking lot a BMW pulled up and out stepped a young couple--obviously not dressed for the sandy hiking trail. Nishi commented that they might not get very far in knee high boots and a tight skirt--Well he was right. They literally spent 3 minutes out of their car before opening the trunk and guzzling fruit juice and water to refresh for the 45 minute car ride back from the trailhead. Acadia in the summer has nothing on this place.

Off to Berkeley and San Francisco. Not sure when I'll get a chance to post again.

Some Photos from the First Week

My first look at the Pacific Ocean



Tule Elk at Point Reyes




Cliff's at Point Reyes



California Style Thanksgiving after a day at Pt. Reyes




She's not looking for turkey for dinner...

The first few days...

Since I arrived Monday night to San Jose, Nishi--fellow, former Bar Harborite--has been my host and tour guide to some of the best natural areas and restaurants in the region. We've traveled north through San Francisco--to Point Reyes National Seashore--and down the street a few blocks to Addis Ethiopian Cuisine. I don't want to advertise too much in this blog (though I have to pay the bills some how) but if you're ever in San Jose this place is awesome. They make this spongy flat bread, Ingera, made from a Ethiopian grain called teff (though what we ate was grown in Kansas), great curries, and vegetarian dishes.
My first two days in town were pretty urban based. I explored downtown San Jose and discovered a pretty random replica Egyptian temple complete with underground tombs.
I also got to know the bay area's efficient public transport system on a rather rainy trip to Stanford University, since it was just before the holiday much of Stanford was locked down--though I did get to see my largest Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) to date. Interestingly it was planted not far from a grove of palm trees--good thing COA doesn't have the right climate for ecologically awkward combinations like that.

Coast Redwood

Starting up...

For the last week I've been traveling around the San Francisco Bay. I'll put some details and photos about my first week out on the west coast up later tonight. Right now I'm heading to a Sinhalese party--that I've been warned can get a little rough. We'll see how well I can post later.