Maybe everybody already knows it, and that's why small houses here aren't any cheaper than half a million dollars in most places in the Bay Area. The quality of life is amazing. People are more relaxed, and the food is better and comes from nearby.
Today I came down from the hills in Berkeley to see some friends in Oakland. The past three days up in the hills were mellow and relaxing. It's good to spend time with people older than me that are already parenting and further along in their lives and careers, but doing it in a much more radical way than any other models that I've seen and admired. My friends Antwi and Lemlem are sending their daughters to spanish-language immersion school and they understand Spanish just fine.
Laleh and George took me hiking in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, with acres and acres of huge clusters of redwood trees. They mostly grow together in clusters, like families, sharing the same root structures.
Then we went to my friend Saneta's house and ate a delicious dinner with most of the fruits and vegetables from her backyard (lemons, plums, artichokes, oregano, salad greens, tomatoes).
Tomorrow...Golden Gate Park.
I haven't written much about the tour with the band, largely because I haven't had too much spare time or energy on the road, even rolling in a tour bus. Rest was still kind of hard to get on the road. Lying down was always possible, but getting a restful sleep wasn't always easy.
The Santa Cruz show was beautiful, off the hook, crazy energetic with good performances...the two San Francisco shows were very good but I don't think they matched up. The music is hot weather music, and for everything to sound right, for people's bodies to feel right, it helps if there's a certain heat and humidity.
