Different approach - similar great views

We visited another set of great friends, Elaine and John. Robin worked with Elaine at the VA hospital in Minneapolis and we all became great friends. Long before the Woman and I came to our senses Elaine and John moved to the Golden State and escaped the incessant cold.

They lived in LA for quite a while but found the spot they really wanted to be in the bluffs east of Berkley. John was the founder of a renowned architectural firm in the Twin Cities, and used his expertise to make this 1920’s era dwelling a palace.

Had John still been in the architectural game this home would have been his calling card. He took what was a dingy decaying 1920’s house into a state of the art dream home. Instead of sagging walls and bad plaster is gorgeous wood and glass, with vast openings into the abundant views.

From nearly any perspective in the home you can see the San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. We had been here in October 2012 after the old home had been leveled and the frame for the new home had been completed. While we couldn’t quite see the vision in our own minds at that time, John had a scale model that let us see what this vision would eventually be. They invited us to a nice dinner in their dream home and gave us a nice bed for the night so we didn’t have to drive home in the dark – nice!

After arriving in Berkley, Elaine worked for the University for many years. After a nice breakfast we headed down to the University of California Berkley campus so Elaine could show us around. We visited historic buildings on campus, including the South Hall built in 1873, the oldest building on campus.

We went up in the Sather Tower, a campanile bell and clock tower in the old center of the campus. Built in 1914, the 307 foot tower offers spectacular views of the campus and the bay, with an unobstructed view down University Street.

The tower houses a full concert carillon of 48 bells, somewhat enlarged from the 12 that were installed when built. While we didn’t get to hear the carillon play, we did get to see it up close.

We also visited Sather Gate. Sather Gate was the site of most of the dozens of 60’s, 70’s and on protests which erupted here. While this institution has been the seed of many intellectual geniuses, it also has been the seed of many of the social protests of the nation.

After hugging John and Elaine we headed for the Eugene O’Neil National Historic Site. O’Neil, America’s only Nobel Prize winning playwright, chose to live in relative isolation in northern California at the height of his career. He wrote some of his most famous plays while he lived on this 158 acre ranch just outside Danville.

The National Park Service has preserved and restored, where needed, the residence to what it was when O’Neil lived here seven years beginning in 1937. Naming it Tao House, Chinese for principle or doctrine, the home is filled with eastern influences. All doors are bright red, traditional eastern masks are everywhere, and these Asian lions protect the second floor, guarding the staircase.

O’Neil’s office where he wrote his plays in pencil, complete with his two original desks, is true based on the historic photos all over the home. He had two desks because if he was working on two plays he would not be willing to switch between them on the same desk – he had to actually move to the other desk. As the years passed at Tao House his genetic tremors gradually got to the point where he could no longer write. Sadly he never found an alternative to document his ideas.

One of his joys was playing Rosie, a player piano that his wife bought for him from a local strip club. Rosie was prominently on display in the living room, right where O’Neil played his rowdy honkytonk selections for all to hear.

I love it when I learn something not directly related to the site I am visiting. While it is a bit hard to see because of the reflected window, behind the blue couch is a deep blue colored mirror, original to the home. Apparently in the 30’s art deco times, wealthy folk liked to have color tinted mirrors in their homes – don’t exactly know why, but they did. There are 3 such colored mirrors in Tao House, this blue one, one green and one tan.

We also learned that the eastern theme also carried into his bedroom. This bed is actually a hand carved bed acquired from an opium den somewhere in China. While it looks like a table, the center is actually a leather mesh that allegedly is quite comfortable to lie on. I was not allowed to.

From the front porch of Tao House is a wonderfully unobstructed view of Mount Diablo. One of the most prominent features in the area at just under 4,000 feet, Mount Diablo has been documented as a point of reference since the Spanish explored the area, and would likely have been such long before their arrival.

After visiting Tao House we decided to head up to the top of Mount Diablo to see if we could see O’Neil’s ranch from that vantage point. While we couldn’t actually spot the ranch, we thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.

The drive to the peak is interesting. Luckily there was virtually no other motorized vehicle traffic because the road is narrow, almost one lane. While there were hardly any cars, about every 2,000 feet or so we encountered a bike. The snakelike nature of the road coupled with each turn being hairpin meant we had to fall in behind the bike until we could visually see far enough ahead to safely pass.

The first roads to the summit were constructed in 1874. The visitor center and observation tower at the top were 1930’s CCC era structures and very unique. We climbed to the top and took in the spectacular views. We were lucky to have a pretty clear day – not something we have been having a lot of - given the 360 degree views for miles. It was awesome!

We hiked the Mary Bowerman trail that encircled the summit. All the way we were on the side of the mountain peak with never ending views – it was hard to pay any attention to our feet and make sure we didn’t plummet – while it wasn’t a sheer cliff, if you stumbled you probably would stop until you tumbled for thousands of feet. Sadly the trail was just under a mile – we would have wished for more.

Having paid all our visits with friends, it’s time to move a bit farther north.

Talk to you soon!