This has been a weird week, what with April Fools day at the start, and a roadtrip to UC Berkeley tomorrow. But here are a few items about various “local” things that have caught my eye this week:
- Steepest Street (Los Angeles). This is one I need to go see. Evidently, Los Angeles has some of the steepest streets around (even steeper, I believe, than San Francisco) — one is 33%, and another, Baxter Street, is 32%. One of these days I need to go visit these streets and attempt to drive or walk them.
- Kidnapping and Mayhem (Northridge). This story has been fascinating me because it is so close to home — really. A home invasion robbery where the homeowners were home turned into a kidnapping of a 10 year old girl, her sexual assault, and her dumping at a Starbucks bruised and battered. This is the kind of kidnapping — stranger kidnapping — that rarely happens.
- Home of Coffee and Tea (Camarillo). There are some that enjoy beverages from the Borg of Seattle. Still others go for the competition from San Francisco. Southern Californians have a soft spot for the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which roasts its coffee and packages its tea in Camarillo, CA.
- Blast from the Past (Berkeley). Given that I’ve mentioned Peets, I should do something from Northern California. So here’s a map of Berkeley California from 1909.
- And All The Rest. So I still haven’t hit home? OK, you’ll have to make do with finding out where your favorite baseball team got their nickname.
Music: The Six String Conspiracy (Rick Ruskin): “Frere Jacques”
