It's baaaaaaack...

Back by the popular demand of...one person, I decided to start the blog back up. Since no one really reads it, and that's okay, it is still a great place to record all of what's happening here in San Francisco. I'll look back and be really glad I did this, someday.

Anywhoo, when I last left you, there were some goals to be achieved. I am only going to say that only one of those three goals is currently anywhere near being achieved - you can figure out which ones that might be. That's life, I guess... Good intentions and all that. I have definitely learned something about myself in the process - I love to prepare, plan and look forward to things, and I'm really bad at following through and actually seeing those things happen. So that might be the next goal - pick just one thing and actually finish it.

So, now that the goals have been dispatched, what's currently going on here in Frisco? Well, yesterday was Earth Day, which is organized and put on by the State Parks Foundation (where I work, in case anyone has forgotten). Volunteers came out to 29 different state parks across the state to clean up, perform maintenance, and pitch in however the park needs them. The state parks just don't get the funding to do all of the deferred maintenance that they need, so this is a wonderful opportunity for the public to get out there and volunteer, and for the parks to get free help completing simple projects that they just don't have the time or funding to do/finish.

I was assigned to Angel Island State Park, with my co-worker Eleanor. Even though Angel Island is just right across the bay from San Francisco, I had to rent a car, to drive to Tiburon which is where the only ferry to Angel Island leaves from. So I picked up my Zipcar at 7:30 and headed around the bay. Tiburon is a very wealthy community across the bay from San Francisco, in Marin county. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and perfect weather for working outdoors. We couldn't have asked for better.

We met at the ferry terminal, and headed over to the island, via a private cruise on the state boat. The volunteers would all register at the Tiburon dock, and then come over on the 10:00 ferry. We were heading over early to help "organize" out on the island.




It was a perfect morning to be out on the ferry - with pristine views of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco skyline in the distance.

We pulled into Ayala Cove out at Angel Island, and basically just enjoyed the view and the weather and waited for the volunteers to arrive - the park rangers had everything perfectly organized and ready to go. 

Angel Island really is amazingly beautiful. It is referred to as the "Ellis Island of the West" - Chinese and Japanese immigrants coming to the west coast were all processed through Angel Island, and many of them were held on the island in quarantine for certain diseases and other reasons - sometimes for months on end. The immigration station and some of the barracks and the hospital are currently being restored for visitors to come and see how conditions were while the island was operational. There is also miles of hiking and biking trails around the island, and 9 camping spaces. Neil and I will be heading out there again to spend some time on the island sometime soon.

As we were there as representatives of the Foundation, we were supposed to be supporting the state park staff in putting the event on. However, they had everything so under control, and so well-planned, that, after the opening welcomes and thank-you's, we were able to head out on a crew to help with beach cleanup. We took a tram out to the south side of the island to a beach where we were picked up trash. The amount of styra-foam on that beach was absolutely astounding. I picked up so many pieces of cups, trays, packaging - none of it bio-degradable. Such a shame. It was really a wake-up call, to see it first hand, to be more aware of the stuff that I use on a daily basis, and how it affects the environment that I live in. 

It was quite a nice view from the beach we were working at, as well:

We finished up with quite a large pile of garbage - kind of sad that this much garbage shows up on beaches, but very good that we got it all picked up! We hopped back on the tram to go back to Ayala Cove where we were served a lovely lunch of pasta, Caesar Salad and garlic bread. With a dessert of oatmeal cookies. I was kind of upset to have to give up a weekend day "working", but it ended up being a truly lovely day, with perfect weather and really nice people. I am glad to have participated. 

And, on another tangent, I may have also found Neil and summer job! YAY! Working for the Foundation, helping out in the membership department. They are looking for some part-time, flexible help that they can pay as an independent contractor - Neil fits that bill perfectly. The membership manager, Eleanor, was my co-worker out on Angel Island, and so we got to talking about how over-working they all were and how they needed help, and what they were currently looking for. So it ended up being a very fruitful day, in more than one way. 

I made a really great soup for dinner last night, as well, and thought I would share the recipe with you all. It was nice and hearty and filling after a long day on Angel Island.

Bortlotti Bean Minestrone: (taken from the March 2009 edition of Cooking Light)

1 1/4 cups dried Borlotti Beans (you could also substitute 2 cans of white beans and skip step #1)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped bacon

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped fennel bulb

3/4 cup chopped carrot

3/4 cup chopped celery

1 tsp dried basil

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups chopped Swiss Chard or Kale

2 14.5-oz. cans of chicken broth

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Sort and wash beans; place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans.

2. Place beans in a large saucepan, and cover with water to 3 inches above beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Drain.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bacon to pan, cook 6 minutes or until crisp, stirring frequently. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through garlic); saute 4 minutes. Add chard (or kale) and saute 2 minutes or until chard wilts. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add beans; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper; sprinkle with cheese. 

It's quite tasty!