Dark Sky Ferry to Oakland

Our rainy season in California has been spectacular over the last two months, erasing years of drought.

There has been much whining about the relentlessly wet weather by people who like to complain, but the steady precipitation day after day has been a godsend. The gradually filling water tables and wells throughout the state are deserving of erotic public dances worshiping goddesses who have graced us with fresh water.

Plus, all one really needed to get around the Bay Area happily was an $11.95 umbrella from Walgreens along with wool clothing. However, most Californians view wool as if it was a modern version of medieval hairshirts.

Last Saturday I took the ferry boat from the SF Ferry Building to Jack London Square in Oakland under a sky that was changeable in every direction.

The forty-plus years I have been taking ferry boats around the San Francisco Bay for pleasure, and occasionally for serious transportation, have been some of the most easygoing, joyous minutes of my life...

...partly because the people watching is so amusing.

My favorite Bay Area public sculptures, practical rather than "art," are the container cranes of Oakland.

And the sculptures move, with various degrees of precision, transferring containers from ships onto trucks and trains.

My excuse to take the Oakland Ferry was to have breakfast with an old friend who wanted to check up on my mental health, and the afternoon was cathartic and delightful.

San Francisco Bay ferry boats are relaxing, entertaining, holy, and if you can come up with any excuse to take one, you should.