From 2/4/12.
After being a taxi driver this morning, I decided to park and wait for Rancho San Antonio to officially open to the public. The number of early morning visitors was astounding. I think the first/lower parking lot was full by sunrise. I don't know what those people were doing while the park was officially closed.
It was amusing that a number of suburbanites would drive to the hills so they could jog or walk/hike. Yes, the air there may be better and it may be relatively safer since there are no cars on the trails, but to get to such a natural resource one must take a car, unless one is willing to spend a couple of hours walking and hiking to it. The presence of cars in the suburbs, and the necessary traffic lights to facilitate traffic, would of course add to the delay.
There was a number of 30-something (and older) women chasing their youth and attractiveness away. (I tend to agree that chronic cardio is not healthy but it also has an impact on your appearance, especially if coupled with a high-carb low-fat diet?) Hiking up the hills was quite a workout and when I reached the top of one, I started to doubt whether all that strenuous effort was worth it. The descent down the hill was enjoyable, though. Did I enjoy the hike for its own sake? Barely, especially when I was going uphill. But more importantly, it was difficult for me to have a proper sense of place there, even when looking at Silicon Valley from one of the vista points. Can I really say that this area is my own, when I own no land and have very few links to the people surrounding me? There were a lot of visitors, Indians, Chinese, and a few Japanese who remain in the area. Most were chatting away in their native tongues. What do I have in common with them?
I did see a number of quail and deer yesterday.
I walked by where St. Joseph's Seminary used to be. The seminary college was irreparably damaged in the 1989 earthquake. The diocese was going to try to sell the land to real estate developers but this was opposed by preservationists. The property eventually ended up being incorporated into the open preserve system. I don't know if the diocese can be
said to have "lost money" in the deal. It should have kept the land, perhaps - or turned it into a community farm
From the osp, I could see Maryknoll Seminary/Residence - what shocking things have been done to its interior or the chapel in the name of modernization and relevancy, the "Spirit" [of the age]?
There were some adult men flying their model airplanes... men and their toys. A hobby that would not be possible without cheap energy.
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