Dreaming of San Rafael
California state of mind
I stayed once
On a boat,
Marina moored,
In San Rafael.
In my mind
It was to be
glamorous.
But in reality,
not so much.
Where were the
Yachts and
The beautiful girls
In bikinis?
The drinks
And boat shoes
With parties
Into the night?
Instead,
Moldy aroma,
Galleys too small,
hand-pump toilets.
Charming is
Too generous,
But certainly
Memorable.
Sad captains
That all appear
To be divorced
Dads who got little
Else but the aging
Houseboat.
Ironic that among
All these bound vessels
There are so many
Souls unmoored from life,
Adrift in a universe
That hardly knows they
Exist.
Here,
in San Raphael.
A view from an evening at Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon
Okay, so it was not quite so melancholy as my reflections sound. But it did rain the entire time we were on the water. And the characters really were quite shady. But we had fun. It reminded me of van-life, only you could drown. We had a great time, I recall, watching Jake Gyllenhaal host SNL and watching Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang late into the morning.
And San Rafael was a delightful place to live for a short spell. We took in a great film festival and met lovely people. I think this was the first time I recall the clash of a very posh environment with the homelessness problem. Of course this was more than half of a decade ago. So it was quite surprising then.
Jellybean loved this little organic Tibeten place. All vegan as I recall. And a view of the bay bridge from Berkley. Hey, how can you tell if someone is vegan? They’ll tell you.
WONDERFUL breakfast. PACKED early, but perfect for Sunday brunch.
Fishing vessel in Bodega Bay
A view up from our waterfront bungalo in Bodega Bay
