Week 10: October 27

Ok people, I have made a fantastic discovery, and it’s called………….Golden Gate Park. Of course I’ve always known GGP was there, and I’ve even passed through it once or twice, but I never explored it. However this week it was the destination of two caching expeditions, and I foresee many more in the future – there’s so much to see and do, and the gardens and wildspaces are amazing.

We had Monday and Tuesday off classes, for a little “Fall Break”, so Tuesday afternoon was my first expedition out to GGP, caching solo. The fog was chilly so I didn’t stay out too long, but I got a taste of things to come.

Hmm, this looks pretty suspicious....

AHAHA, KNEW IT!!!

The road goes ever ever on.....

And on and on the other way.......

 

Oh, that's alright then, I'm good to go!

When I described my expedition to M, she got excited and expressed a wish to see GGP herself, so on Saturday the two of us planned a big expedition. We planned for three caches, which isn’t a lot, but one of them was a big multi-stage cache involving several points of interest, gathering of cryptic information, computations and calculations, some guesswork and shots in the dark, and a really clever final container. We had a super time on the quest, and the day could not have been more perfect.

Across the lake......

......and down the gully

M is the heroine! First catch of the day!

Outside the Japanese tea garden

Looking inside the Japanese tea garden

Shakespeare garden, one of the stops on our quest

The trees have beards

M the Orator

These were some pretty amusing quotes.

Focative is Caret!!!

De Young Museum. Looks like it's about to fall over

That's one big bunny! Another stage in the quest!

Push through the bamboo screen......

Enter the redwood grove. "How's the weather up there??"

They don't answer because they're trees

 This is the final cache. Yes that's right.....THIS IS the final.

Stop and smell the roses! Who knew roses could smell this good!

Huge weird fungus thing

If the placement of that stump on that board doesn't scream out "GEOCACHE", I don't know what does.

TOTALLY CALLED IT

The reason there's a picture of King Tut on the lid is because this cache is called "Walk Like an Egyptian", a tribute to an 80s band which I'm sure many of you remember.

Here is their hit song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHngF_b3NuE&feature=related

And here is the geocaching parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Mp0kLFDjg

We memorized the funniest part of the song (where it talks about walking into trees and off cliffs) and sang it on our travels.

Today (Sunday) I discovered a new joy in life. It’s called “Waffle Opera”. This is a upstart opera company, small-scale but ambitious, performing in an intimate venue and mostly run by young people, with several SFCM students involved in the direction and performance. This afternoon I went to their production of the “Coffee Cantata” and “La Serva Padrona”. These are both relatively short works (they fit quite nicely on each side of intermission), and both pretty hilarious to watch, especially the Coffee Cantata – who knew Bach could make you laugh so hard??

Perhaps the most memorable thing about Waffle Opera is their name, and the fact that they do indeed serve waffles (with strawberries and whipped cream) at intermission and post-show, even renaming “Intermission” to “Waffle Break”. The context is casual but the singing, acting, and especially stage direction/choreography is all top-notch, making for a thoroughly enjoyable experience. If anyone plans to visit SF next spring, I will personally make sure you don’t miss their “Magic Flute”. 

Oh, and I managed to catch the Juilliard Quartet tonight too, in a strange theatre – looks decrepit and abandoned on the outside, but rivals the opera house in fanciness inside. Beethoven op 18 no 2, Schubert 15 and the Quartet masters – who could complain?

- Antisocial Violinist