Trip Date: May 7, 2019
Find this SpotThis was certainly no camping trip, but a fun day trip to Berkeley to deliver a mattress to my daughter Haley. She had thought about moving back home with us in Carmichael, commuting a couple days a week, and staying overnight in El Cerrito with friends a couple nights a week, but she just never really felt comfortable with the decision. So, back with the mattress it was.
She was living with close friends and co-worker in El Cerrito, so when I arrived we got the mattress situated in her downstairs room. Haley made some lunch and we had a drink at her little lunch counter. She had to get back to work, so I had some time before I needed to head back and still beat the traffic. Their house sits right below Tilden Park so I thought I would explore and reminisce a little bit before I headed back to Sacramento.
Their place was near Barrett Avenue and Arlington Blvd. which is the main street that winds all through those hills. It passes really nice homes and beautiful gardens and spectacular views of the Bay right below the Park. It took several miles to finally reach the entrance to Tilden at Wildcat Canyon Road. Driving past the Merry Go Round, Lake Anza, the golf course, the steam train, and Botanical Gardens brought back many memories.
I know we didn’t go to the East Bay too much as kids, but I know my mom took us to ride the train, play in the park, and hike around. It was a very cool place to go, even though we had much of the same in Golden Gate park, except for the great weather of course. I have 2 strong memories that occurred about the same time period. The first was a gathering of high school friends I put together a few years after graduation, so perhaps 1983 or thereabouts. A few guys showed up and I remember having a great time playing catch, playing soccer, throwing the football, BBQing and having beers at a picnic area. It was a real fun time. I recall being disappointed many of my “close friends” didn’t come because they were having their own gathering, which I was not aware of.
The second gathering was with my family on Easter. I remember Gilbert, my mom’s second husband, wrapped up in a blanket under his fedora trying to stay warm on the cool, foggy morning. We had a fire, and of course mom had Easter baskets for all the grandkids, and the adults had dad’s Gin fizzes. It was a forested shady spot, which is ideal on some afternoons, but not on this April morning. It was a fun gathering nonetheless.
On this day, I drove up Wildcat Canyon road to Inspiration Point and wandered up the trail a little bit. Then I retraced my route to Grizzly Peak Blvd. down to a pull out just above Strawberry Canyon. I hung out there and took these photos along with some hipsters, Japanese tourists, punks, drug addicts, gang bangers, astrophysicists, college kids, girlfriends taking pictures of each other, moms, high school kids, couples, athletes, locals, foreigners, and the occasional wanderer. It was quite a place.
Find this SpotBerkeley Hills Day Trip Photo Gallery
