free music uploads

Students may be storming the campus protesting the rise in UC fees, but near the bucolic faculty glade on the North Side, you can enjoy noon concerts on Wednesdays at Hertz Hall for no fee at all. Free performances by students from the Music Department mix the classic repertoire with innovative and world music. December 2, for example, is devoted to the gamelan. December 9 is focused on holiday choral works. The setting is intimate, the acoustics rich and the ticket price unarguable.

music.berkeley.edu

abracadabra

Delight in being dumbfounded at California Magic Dinner Theater shows which run weekends in Martinez. Despite the rural locale, the talent is very professional, in many cases on a Las Vegas level. How they offer a show that includes a dinner (don’t expect culinary magic), show, tax and tip for $59 a person is a bit of sleight of hand itself.

The venue is hugely popular and many of this winter’s events are already sold out.

Advance ticket purchase highly recommended. Suitably astounding for kids over 13.

www.calmagic.com

bay by bike

Here’s how to bike without breaking a sweat. Hop on an electric one at Aquatic Park. It does all the work unless you switch to the pedal option. Then head off on a tour that takes you west along the waterfront, over the Golden Gate and down to Sausalito where you’ll ride a ferry back to the City. It takes 3-4 hours, bikes go up to 35 mph and costs $60 on the Electric Bike Tours Site, but the last time the Geezer looked it was $34.75 on goldstar.com.

www.electric-bike-tours.com

the best grilled cheese sandwich

It’s one geezer’s opinion, of course, but the grilled cheese sandwich at Luka’s Taproom and Lounge In Oakland is utterly perfect. The bread, soft pain de mie, is butter battered, barely toasted and the cheese (cheddar,gruyere or jack) is melting to a point just short of oozing down your chin.

Though Luka’s bills itself as Belgian ( mussels, oysters, frites) it’s not obsessive about it. They offer a fine mac ‘n cheese and hamburger, too.

Where they are obsessive is their beer list with dozens of Belgian’s best, including a wonderfully limey Fin du Monde.

The crowd, including athletic fans gathered round the big screen at the bar, is echt East Bay.

www.lukasoakland.com

cliff notes

The recently reconstructed trail at Land’s End is ideal for geezers – short (3.5 miles round trip) and mostly flat. Every turn in the cliff-hanging path opens up to another stunning vista of the Golden Gate.

Overly alpha hikers in the past have toppled fatally over the side, but the new trail is built for safety. If you’re ambitious you can take one of several stairways down to the rocks though the walk back up can be strenuous.

Dogs on leashes are ok.

Weekends and holidays can get crowded and when the fog and wind are working, it can be as brutally romantic as Wuthering Heights.

www.parksconservancy.org

share thanks

No matter how tight your holiday budget is you can afford to be generous with your time.

Consider helping out at one of the numerous volunteer organizations around the Bay,

whether it’s serving or distributing Thanksgiving and Christmas meals or gathering toys and gifts for the less fortunate. And this year with more and more folks facing bleak prospects, your helping hand is vital.

SF www.glide.org

East Bay www.cityteam.org

Marin www.volunteermarin.org

Peninsula www.volunteercentersbayarea.org/volunteer

ooh la la

It’s not quite like being in France because everyone around you is speaking English. And the French wait staff is uncharacteristically chatty, helpful and flirtatious.

But if you use your imagination, a meal at Le Garage on the Sausalito waterfront far from the shlock of Bridgeway Avenue, can fool you into thinking you’re on the outskirts of Marseilles.

The menu offers many of French cuisine’s greatest hits including mussels, salad nicoise, steak frites and tarte tatin plus delicious variations like foie gras with figs. The wine by the glass list is well-edited with both French and California vintages.

If the weather is decent, grab a table outside.

Enjoy the marina view and congratulate yourself on finding an experience tour buses haven’t discovered yet.

www.legaragebistrosausalito.com

cheap seats

Let’s face it: There are fewer and fewer reasons, especially with the departure of “Mad Men”, to stay home and watch tv. Going out is pricey and you wonder if shivering in the chill of Union Square at the half price tickets booth is worth it.

The solution, of course, is online. Join Goldstar.com and you’ll find a pretty impressive menu of performances with tickets half-price or often, even less. As you’d expect there are handling fees that run around $5. And unlike Union Square, these tickets are available for advance shows.

They’re very helpful about seating locations, even providing member reviews.

The offerings are mostly theatrical and stand-up, with some classical music events.

Sorry, no opera or symphony tickets. Currently they’re selling seats for ACT, the Rrazz Room and Cirque de Soleil among many others.

www.goldstar.com

...

sit,poochie

If you have not checked into college catalogs recently you might be shocked by what is considered curriculum-worthy. Like Science Fiction Studies or Introduction to Scuba Diving or Film Curating. At Berkeley this Monday an Anthropology professor will be discussing how pet owners anthropomorphize their dogs and cats, focusing on the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, the oldest one in the US.

It is a major event for people who consider their golden retriever the most important member of their family.

The American Family Pet

Monday, November 16 | 4-6 p.m. | 160 Kroeber Hall

memory drug

Whatever happened to “tired blood”? In our television childhood the threat of being “iron poor” loomed in front of us like the specter of some day growing old. Fortunately, as we learned from watching our favorite quiz shows, there was a cure for this mystery ailment – Geritol. What nobody bothered to mention was that Americans, thanks the vast quantities of beef we consume, generally have blood that is iron rich. If you don’t you have anemia. Today the familiar red bottle has all but disappeared. Not only could I not find it at my local CVS, the lad stocking the shelves had never heard of it.

Geritol’s own shelf life started to shorten after the quiz show scandals and multi-vitamins became the drug of choice. It re-invented itself in 80’s but it’s appeal could not be revived especially against the mass messaging of those couples in separate bathtubs who have just taken Viagra.

mangia mania

No matter how much the kids beg, no grandparent should ever have to set foot in Chuck E. Cheese. For something as wacky but more edible try any of the Buca di Beppo’s in the Bay Area. This is hearty, red sauce Italian but pleasantly weird. Ask for the Pope’s Table with its centerpiece of a revolving clear plastic box with a plaster bust of the pontiff inside. Every inch of the restaurant is plastered with Italian kitsch – Connie Francis, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren – it’s a feverish Tony Soprano fantasy. Perry Como sounds as mellow as ever.

The menu is big, over 50 family-size dishes of Italian Cooking’s Greatest Hits – fried mozzarella, a dozen pizzas, manicotti, chocolate chip cannoli. It ‘s pricey (entrees $17-$25) but kid’s meals are just $5.96.

By the way the name, roughly translated, is “Joe’s Cellar”. Lunch and dinner.

bucadibeppo.com

San Francisco

855 Howard

415.543.7673

Palo Alto

643 Emerson

650.329.0665

San Jose

Oakridge Mall

408-226-1414

hallelujah

Every Sunday morning the roofs on Oakland churches are raised by the mighty voices
of gospel choirs. You don’t have to be particularly religious to have your spirits lifted by their soaring sounds. There’s no need to be self-conscious either. The congregations are warm and welcoming to all visitors. Check websites for service schedules.


Some Oakland Gospel Churches

Allen Temple 8500 A Street www.allen-temple.org

Acts Full Gospel 1034 66th Ave www.actsfullgospel.org

Love Center Church 10400 International Blvd www.lovecenter.org

Filed under // indoors

southern comfort

Two words still strike fear into faint hearts – West Oakland. But the area is changing and delicious proof of that is Brown Sugar Kitchen planted along the Mandela Parkway in a gritty industrial neighborhood. This outpost of southern cooking and hospitality, in a diner-like space, manages to reinvent the most basic of meals – breakfast. There are not too many places around the bay where you can get beignets this light ($5), or a comforting bowl of cheddar cheese grits ($3.5o) or the mysteriously popular cornmeal waffle and fried chicken ($14). Lunch has an even stronger Southern accent including a rich Fried Oyster Po’Boy ($10.50) and a spicy Jerk Chicken ($16).

Jammed, like every East Bay brunch place, on Sundays but what’s the rush? The customer watching is great here mixing artists and police officers.

2534 Mandela Parkway

Oakland

7am-3pm Tue-Sat

8am-3pm Sun

510.839.7685

brownsugarkitchen.com

Filed under // food

dog friendly dining

Why take home a doggie bag when you can take your doggie to dinner?

Despite the restraints of many health regulations, restaurants all over the Bay Area (providing they have outdoor seating) welcome your pooch.

It’s an impressive list that includes both locations of Pizzeria Delfina, Tartine, Vladimir’s in Inverness, Angele in Napa, Taylor’s Refresher at the Ferry Plaza and Chipotles almost everywhere.

For more (though not recently updated) visit www.dogfriendly.com.

Filed under // food

eyeful tower

Has San Francisco finally awakened from its long architectural slumber?

The new deYoung set the benchmark for arresting contemporary architecture.

There’s still another new building also draped in a veil of perforated steel – the Federal Office building (yes, the United States Federal Government!) south of Market near the Civic Center – that’s almost as inventive and even greener.

Visits are definitely encouraged if you don’t mind a quick security check as you enter.

It’s just 18 floors, but the architect, Thom Mayne of Morphosis has lightened it with a meshed Gehrey-esque stainless steel curtain on the south side that peaks on the roof in a vast, angled fold. The lobby is an ode to raw materials and minimalism. You are encouraged to take the elevator to the 11th floor open air viewing area.

It’s a stunning piece of architecture and a model of sustainable design.

90 Seventh St.@Mission

San Francisco

Filed under // indoors

art in the raw

Let me ask you –why don’t the talents responsible for Burning Man create great public art closer to home? Truth is, a few do and you can see examples in an unlikely place, a spit of land just north of Golden Gate Fields. It’s a landfill peninsula studded (especially on the north shore) with flotsam art – weathered, graffittied detritus and some astonishing Transformer-like sculptures of rusted metal, especially the wiry 10 foot tall goddess with her hair (tree branches) flowing in the wind. There’s a small section of delicate Rube Goldberg-like constructions. This outdoor gallery is about a 10-minute walk from the parking lot and there are, in true anarchist spirit, no signs at all.

Bring your camera.

East Shore Park

Take 80 to Buchanan St. exit

Parking at end of Eastshore Park lot

Free

Daylight hours

Filed under // outdoor

sweeeet

It’s more of a donut patisserie than a Dunkin’ Donuts. This new place is on Lower 24th Street near Mission, an ethnically eclectic neighborhood to say the least.

Parking is iffy. The donuts are $2-3. But if you are wondering what the next big sucrose trend is after cupcakes, Dynamo Donuts could possibly be it.

The flavors are irresistibly original and change daily. Wildly off-beat ones like Chipolte Cinnamon Spiced Chocolate, Banana Dulce de Leche, Apricot Honey and in a salute to Canada, Bacon-Apple with Maple Glaze and Apricot Honey.

The excellent coffee is from Stumptown .

Though it’s designed as a walk-up-and-take-out there are tables inside and a few chairs on the street.

2760 24th Street/Hampshire

(415) 920-1978

Filed under // food

nightlife for children

In the interests of promoting itself, the deYoung Museum holds parties every Friday night until 8:45. Bring the grandkids if you can pry them loose from their hand-held devices. The wonderfully weird architecture may strike them as “cool” which it definitely is. The deYoung’s remarkable cafeteria is open ( a cafeteria any junior high could only dream of having). Then while you check out the edgy music, performances and lectures, the kids can play artistic genius with other members of their demographic. Recent activities included making one’s own mummy and creating a flipbook.

Seniors $7

Kids 13-17 $6

12 & under Free

.

deYoung Museum

Golden Gate Park

deyoungmuseum.org

Filed under // grandparenting

free to look

Why pay even senior admissions to Bay Area art museums? Here’s when you can see what’s showing for nothing.

1^st Sunday every month – Asian Art Museum

2^nd Sunday every month –Oakland Museum

1^st Tuesday every month-SF Moma, de Young, Legion of Honor, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

1^st Thursday- Berkeley Art Museum

3^rd Wednesday - Academy of Science

Filed under // indoors

runway chic

The US Department of Defense has bequeathed the Bay Area great open spaces – like the Presidio and the Alameda Air Station with its wide-screen, carrier-deck view of the Bay. Once a month the former landing field is turned over to over 800 merchants of vintage everything. The celebrated Alameda Flea Market with its acres of the bizarre and the beautiful is worth waking up early for. You don’t want to get there after the dealers have picked the good stuff clean. Glean from 19th century to mid-century antiques, clothing, garden furniture, acres of the beautiful and the bizarre, with a strong appeal to schlock connoisseurs.

Bring your checkbook as not all vendors take plastic. No pets.

1st Sunday every month

Alameda Naval Air Station

antiquesbybay.com

6-7:30 am $15

7:30-9 am $10

9am-3pm $5

Filed under // outdoor

chateau freebie

Yes, it’s outrageous that Napa wineries gouge visitors by charging up to $20 for a tasting of their vintages. Some charge $10, a few charge $5 and a warm-hearted handful charge nothing. The following is a partial list of the last of the magnanimous wine growers:



Frank Family 1091 Larkmead Road Calistoga

August Briggs 333 Silverado Trail Calistoga

Pope Valley 6613 Pope Valley Rd. Pope Valley

Frogs Leap Appointments Required 707-963-4704

Heitz Cellars 436 St.Helena Highway St.Helena

Sutter Home 277 St. Helena Highway St. Helena


[you might want to check before visiting to see if their policy has changed]

Filed under // indoors

miniest minis

Play tourist and puttputt around SF in three wheel, two person go cars. You’ll have as much fun as the squealing grandchild beside you. Maximum speed is an unrisky 35 mph. Onboad vocal GPS so you’ll only get lost if you want to. Has been known to make it up the

Laguna Street hill. The first hour is $49. The second is $39. The only height requirement for your passenger is that he or she is no longer required to ride in a carseat.

Parking available.

gocars.com

321 Mason @ O’Farrell

431 Beach @ Taylor

Filed under // outdoor

water beds

Sausalito has been an enigma for years with its staggering views of the Bay vs. its cheeseball touristy downtown. Not much is left of the town’s boho heritage but you can still

have an unforgettable experience spending a night, a week or even longer at one of the houseboats in the 11 marinas north of town. These are not the funky, floating artist studios you might imagine especially at rates that start at $250 a night or $2000 and up for a week.

Clean, well-appointed and quiet with many sleeping four to six this is a unique place for a family getaway, especially if they are all speaking to each other.

Sit on the deck and stare at the Bay or rent kayaks and sailboats. There’s even a small, sandy

and clean beach at Schoonmaker Point. A stroll away are terrific meals at Le Garage and Fish.

For more information explore:

oursausalito.com

a1vacations.com

Filed under // indoors

five star trek

Arguably the most sublime hike in the Bay Area, the Matt Davis Trail spills down the west side of Mt. Tam to Stinson Beach. For roughly 3 non-rough miles it zigzags across meadows, wooded groves and-especially in the spring –waterfalls. The view of the Pacific is a near religious experience. Park at Pan Toll on Panoramic Highway ($6 for he day. Best to get there early on weekends). Make your return trip uphill on the Steep Ravine trail, a slightly more arduous but equally gorgeous hike. An alternative route to your car at Pan Toll is the West Marin Stagecoach ( bus). Check goldengate.org for schedules. A rich source of hiking everywhere is always bahiker.com .

Mr. Davis, by the way, was one of the area’s leading trail blazers early in the 20th century.

Filed under // outdoor

brit beach bites

The coast north of SF has always had something British about it.

All that crashing surf. All that heather. All that fog. And so does the Pelican Inn in Muir Beach.

Nothing’s better when the coast is wrapped in a marine layer than their Guinness Beer Stew. They must be the last restaurant on the continent to serve Beef Wellington.

Almost half the entrees are under $20 which you are nearly required to enjoy with beer, say a truly Brit Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.

10 Pacific Way

Muir Beach

415.383.6000

pelicanninn.com

Filed under // food

do the loco motion

n the foothills east of Fremont, the small town of Niles is a twee collection of an antique and tea shops (plus an incongruous biker bar). More importantly it is the starting point for the Niles Canyon Heritage Railway, the last link of the first Transcontinental Railway built in the 1860’s. Today you’ll ride 22 miles round trip to Sunol at a stately 25 mph for a total of an hour and 15 minutes. Choose either open or closed carriages. It’s not Great America but it’s great fun especially for your younger friends. During the holidays, festooned with bright bulbs, it is a delightful Train of Lights.

Tickets are tax-deductible suggested donations, free for kids 3 and under, $5 for children 4-12, $10 general and $8 seniors.

Departs from Niles, historic district of Fremont

or Sunol, south of Pleasanton

Complete information at ncry.org

Filed under // grandparenting

boule session

Looking for a sport where you don’t have to move?

The French came up with petanque centuries ago and on weekends

you’ll find an active colony of players in Marin County. This classic Provencal

game involves tossing metal balls while standing still (vs. bocce where

the balls are wood or resin and you run and roll, like bowling).

Petanque is more closely related to horseshoes.

Players are always eager to welcome newcomers.

If you don’t have your own boules, check with petanque.marin@gmail.com.

Pierre Josque Center

Immediately to the west of

Marin Civic Center

San Rafael

Casual games from 1

Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

petanque.marin.blogspot.com

Filed under // outdoor

coastal cuisine

Though my dermatologist would not be pleased I still go regularly to Stinson Beach.

I’m pretty much over beach picnics - the sand, the dogs, the shlep.

You can reliably find me at the Sand Dollar “downtown” on the Shoreline Highway.

It is not a place for fussy foodies. Their menu has barely changed over the decades, I heartily recommend their hearty Clam Chowder ($6), Fish Tacos ($11) and aclassic burger ($9).

I kick off the summer here every year sitting on the deck with a wedge of Iceberg Lettuce with Blue Cheese ($6), Fish & Chips ($14) very, very slowly sipping a lethal Long Island Iced Tea. There is a more ambitious menu at dinner and your basic weekend brunch. Live music alternates between jazz and blue grass.

It’s an instant vacation.

Sand Dollar Restaurant

3458 Shoreline Highway

Stinson Beacn

415.868.0434

stinsonbeachrestaurant.com

Filed under // food

little egypt

This San Jose reincarnation theme park was created in the 1920’s by a cult based on ancient Egyptian spirituality and still retains its Cecil B. deMille charms. The collection of antiquities isn’t of King Tut caliber but the grounds with their faux temples and tombs stirs young imaginations. Hourly planetarium shows.

$7 seniors

1342 Naglee Avenue

San Jose

www.egyptianmuseum.org

Filed under // grandparenting

art pilgrimage

San Francisco is no Rome. Or on anyone’s list of ground-breaking contemporary architecture.

But in Oakland across from Lake Merritt is a dazzling modern cathedral that even a confirmed atheist may find spiritually and aesthetically satisfying. It is a 120 foot high upended boat of glass and Doug Fir. Seating 1500, it is dominated by a convex laser imprinted photo of a 13th century Christ from the façade at Chartres which goes in or out of focus as the light changes. The apses contain a small but elegant collection of religious art.

In the basement there’s a glorious mausoleum that compares favorably to the gorgeous one on Piedmont Avenue the Chapel of the Chimes.

Go and be awed.

Cathedral of Christ the Light

7am to 7pm daily

West Grand at Lake Merritt

Oakland

Filed under // indoors

kicking and screaming

Rugby is where football started and its players and fans all share in a happy hysteria.

I am in no way suggesting you actually play rugby with its battering array of scrums, rucks and mauls. But there is a heavy schedule of games ( two halves each around 40 minutes) on weekends through the year to watch. Read up on it before you go so you’ll understand why the game barrels on even when a player is tackled or passing the ball is allowed but only backwards or forwards.

The San Francisco Fog is a unique club with people of color and gay men and women out in force. Check their website for game days and times.

sffog.org

Filed under // outdoor

ewww gross

Squirmy, slithering, reptilian creatures delight kids at this store ( it only sounds like a museum) a block from Berkeley’s buzzing 4th Street.

All the exotic cobras, boas, pythons, turtles, frogs, and lizards are for sale if you’re so inclined. Take special note of the day’s menu of

feed for purchase including live worms, crickets, rats and bunnies.

Parking is always an issue.

1827 5th Street

510-841-1400

eastbayvivarium.com

Filed under // grandparenting

crosby,stills and cash

When was the last time you played anything from your fabled collection of LPs? What are you saving those 15 feet of vinyl for? The Antique Roadshow?

The sad news is that unless they’re in primo condition you’d be just as well off trashing them. But despite the sound of crashing retail music stores, there are still outlets in the Bay Area that might buy these relics if they are in excellent condition.

Classic rock like the Beatles or Stones $3- $5

70’s rock like Eagles of Billy Joel 25c or less

Metal like Ozzy or Metallica $2-$5

Blues $1-$4

Classical 25c- $3

Dealers

Berkeley/San Francisco Amoeba Records www.amoeba.com

Mill Valley Village Records www.villagemusic.com

Filed under // etc

little big sur

The San Mateo coast is a reasonable facsimile of the acrophobic cliffscape an hour and half further south in Big Sur. When visiting guests want oceanic California panoramas head to Highway 1 between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. Save four hours at least.

Easily the most dramatic views are the rocky, cliffhangers around Devils Slide. Winter washouts closed the road regularly which is why a tunnel bypass is now under construction.

There are a number of great beaches to visit but swimsuits are not necessary. One, because there is a sanctioned nude beach at San Gregorio and two, because the water is too damned cold (in the 50’s) and too dangerous (strong undertows) for anyone but a seasoned surfer to brave. The best of these wave riders gather at the end of summer in Pacifica for the awesome Maverick contest.

Expect fog.

Filed under // outdoor

free parking

Age has its privileges and visiting National Parks for free is one of them.

$10 buys you a Lifetime Pass if you are over 65. With it you are allowed entry to any National Park, including 3 adults in your car (who don’t have to be seniors) for nada.

In addition the Pass entitles you to a 50% discount on parking, camping and boat launching fees.

Purchases must be made in person at any Park location or regional office of the Park Service.

www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm

Filed under // outdoor