Beach Volleyball

It’s one of these glorious summer days at the end of September, and it would be perfect for some beach volleyball – if San Francisco had any beaches like this one (which you can find near San Diego).

Mr. Hi-Fi

Bose – you’ve probably heard the name. Here’s the man who founded the company: Dr. Amar Bose, a pioneer in all things audio. There was a big product announcement today, and it made me think back to my interview with Dr. Bose, back in 2007. You can find it at stern.de (and may have to feed it to Babelfish or Google Translate if you don’t speak German).

Flagged

I’m a big fan of the Stars And Stripes. Not necessarily out of patriotism for my adoptive country, to be honest – it’s more that the U.S. flag can be stunningly photogenic in the right light, like here in downtown Boston, dangling from the storefront of the local Macy’s (fittingly, the company that sponsors the annual Fourth of July parade in New York City).

Ivy League Row

When you pay $100,000 or so for your college education, life tends to center around getting ahead – and at a place like Harvard that means you hop into a kayak for a bit of workout when you’re not busy studying for your A+ finish.

As a visitor of Cambridge, walking along the Charles River, you can see the students tirelessly paddling against the stream (and sometimes just floating along)... 

...in their eternal quest to beat their rivals at the next competition, once again. Watch out Yale. And better go practice.

This Is Bolinas – Please Go Away

Supposedly they don’t like strangers in Bolinas, a secluded community of hippies, surfers and artists a few miles north of the Golden Gate. According to local lore, Bolinians (if that’s the term) have a habit of taking down street signs pointing to the one road that leads into their little town of some 1,200 people.

True, it’s easy to overlook Bolinas when you’re driving along Highway 1 – but I’ve always enjoyed my stay and never felt unwelcome. The scenery is breathtaking and the road into town worth looking out for. Just don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.

Marina Bird

No idea what species this fellow belongs to – but I appreciate the picturesque posing in San Francisco’s Marina, right next to Fort Mason.

The Gate to the World

It’s a fairly safe bet that this ship passing underneath the Golden Gate Bridge picked up its cargo at the Port of Oakland, across the Bay. San Francisco’s lesser known, not-quite-as-pretty twin city handles 99 percent of all containers coming to and from Northern California by sea. The port has ten container terminals and is the fourth busiest in the U.S.

And while that’s certainly impressive, the prettier picture (sorry, Oakland) is still the passage through the gate to the world...