#69: The Last Ride, 300 Steps, Flamingos, a d Sausage Rolls
Hi Friends!
Another Saturday, and another California Mishegoss with 5-6 posts we thought might interest you.
Be Well! Stay Safe!
Mark & Patti
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Take a ride before it goes away…
Bay Area loses an icon as BART retires its legacy Space Age fleet
by Bill Buchanan, SF Gate
The cars have since aged into relics that are now leaving town forever — but not without offering the public a final run.
Starting at 1 p.m. on April 20 at Oakland’s MacArthur Station, BART plans to run two celebratory 10-car trains using its original cars, which once inspired President Richard Nixon to say BART looked “just like NASA.”
These Are Our 6 Favorite Yosemite Trails
by California.com
1. MIST TRAIL TO VERNAL AND NEVADA FALLS
One of the park's most iconic hikes, the Mist Trail, lives up to its name, especially during the springrunoff when Vernal Fall is at its most powerful. This trail offers a close encounter with the mist from the falls, which can be a refreshing respite on a warm day. The hike to Vernal Fall is strenuous but manageable for most, involving a steep climb up a granite staircase. For those seeking a more challenging day, continuing to Nevada Fall adds distance and elevation but rewards with breathtaking views and less crowded paths.
Huge crowds flock to this Califfornia waterfall. and for good reason
by Erin Rode, SF Gate-LA
Pasadena’s Eaton Canyon is one of the most popular hikes in the Los Angeles area, and for good reason. It’s one of the closest waterfall hikes to the heart of LA, making for an especially appealing spring scene following California’s heavy winter rains. That proximity has also brought some issues in recent years, from overcrowded trails to trash littering the canyon. But recent efforts have cleaned up the area, and if you time your hike just right you can still find a pretty peaceful experience, minus the worst of the crowds.
'It was just sand': How a mega lake with flamingos landed in the Calif. desert
by Grant Marek, SF Gate
That’s obviously hyperbole from a former company man, but it’s not that much hyperbole — especially when it comes to the 239,000,000-gallon Lake Marriott.
The behemoth resort took three years to build, with a price tag of $250 million and a star-studded grand opening in 1987 attended by former U.S. President Gerald Ford, Academy Award winners, World Series champs and entertainers Bob Hope and Wayne Newton, who were accompanied by a 60-piece symphony orchestra, the release of 1,500 doves and a fireworks display over the lake.
Everyone who set foot in the property’s lavish, eight-story atrium lobby that night probably knew the hotel was something special.
What they didn’t know is what would come next: the animals.
According to the author of this article and many friends I’ve spoken with about this hike, It has the best views of LA if you can finish the climb. I’ve never tried it and probably won’t in my lifetime, so I am vouching for my friends who have.
This hardcore Calif. stair hike ends with views like 'nothing else'
by Erin Rode, SF Gate-LA
Los Angeles is a fitness lover’s paradise, filled with boutique workout spaces that often come with sky-high fees. But this scene wasn’t in an Equinox or other trendy Los Angeles gym. No, one of the hottest places to get a pump in town is a concrete platform on a former oil field high above Culver City.
Come for the sweat; stay for the views overlooking Downtown LA to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
These British bakers are bringing 'the most delicious food on Earth' to the Bay Area
by Kent German, SF Gate
“It’s the most delicious food on Earth,” she said. “When people talk about the national dish of the U.K., they’ll say fish and chips or chicken tikka masala. But I think, realistically, it’s the sausage roll.”
Twisk made that mission a career in 2021 when she started Mrs. Miggins British Bakerywith fellow British expat and former Google chef Julie Whittington. In a shared commercial kitchen in Fremont, they make hundreds of sausage rolls by hand each week to sell at farmers markets around the Bay Area and online for delivery to the West Coast. It’s the best of Britain, frozen and packaged for baking at home. Though still a two-person operation, their menu has expanded to other signature U.K. foods, like Cornish pasties. They have no plans to stop there and no time for your jokes about British cuisine.