Suburban Foraging

Alas, due to professional commitments, Your Boulevardier has not been able to take advantage of the visiting Subcompact Loaner for extended dog walks. However, they took a brief stroll this morning and checked the blackberry bramble on Strobridge Avenue, east of 580 and below Strobridge School. The berries are just becoming ripe!

Your Boulevardier knows of at least one other place in town where a prolific fruit tree on public (or abandoned) property shares its bounty with all comers. Do readers know of others? (Perhaps you're unwilling to divulge; Your Boulevardier understands.)

More Lakeside Running

Your Boulevardier knows several people who participated in the recent Run To The Lake, sponsored by Eden Medical Center.

However, he does not typically rub elbows with the sorts of folks who will run the Skyline 50K, described on its website as "a championship event in the 2009 PA/USATF Ultra Grand Prix Series." The race begins at Lake Chabot at 7:00 a.m. this coming Sunday.

If anyone out there participates in, or sees any of, this race, please do post a comment.

Dog Walks Coming Soon!

Your Boulevardier will be hosting the Subcompact Loaner for a few days next week. Mon Petit Chou has been conditioning the chien for longer walks - unlike the late Trusty BoulevarDog, she's a tiny animal - and Your Boulevardier hopes to get the SL onto the Boulevard a couple of times during her stay.

Spanked by Hand

In spite of the risqué-seeming title, this post is about another hand-painted sign in Castro Valley: that of Spanky's Lounge, a tavern on Baker Road. Its sign is low-key and no-nonsense; Your Boulevardier's impression of the place (he is not, personally, a denizen of dive bars) is that domestic beer is the beverage of choice, but the sign depicts a rather tall martini glass, as painted with an airbrush.

Four Castro Valley Murals

Your Boulevardier spent some time over the weekend walking in San Francisco's Mission District and was swept away by the many stunning murals in the neighborhood. Then he realized: though they're not as eclectic, Castro Valley has a few murals of its own. Four are documented here; can you name others? Please click on the photos for larger images.


This mural is on the side of the former Valley Truck, 2625 Castro Valley Boulevard. The place is now a Budget Rent-A-Truck location (Your Boulevardier misses Valley Truck's giant tire sign), and the rental agency has chosen to mar the mural with its drop box and signage. Still, it's a fun mural and very appropriate for the business that formerly resided here.


This natural - perhaps hyper-natural - scene is on the garage door at Castro Valley Companion Animal Hospital, 2509 Lessley Avenue. (It's the same place that has the whimsical three-dimensional sign.)


Another veterinarian's office - this time Boulevard Pet Hospital, 3489 Castro Valley Blvd. - has a fetching collection of animals painted all over its building. The menagerie seems to expand each time Your Boulevardier walks by. (This is where both Chat du Boulevardier and the Trusty BoulevarDog received their care; at times, Your Boulevardier hopes to see their images immortalized too.)


A scene that could easily be at Lake Chabot is actually painted on the wall of Blenzers, 20668 Rustic Drive in Castro Village. Your Boulevardier is surprised that more people don't sit under the eaves at these tables on warm days, but the awnings at Starbucks seem to be more popular.

Purple Haze

Along with various palm trees, the jacaranda is, in the mind of Your Boulevardier, the signature tree of Southern California. Its clouds of purple flowers provide a layer of gentle color over the southland's lovelier byways. The tree, it seems, can thrive in Castro Valley, too; this example was spotted yesterday on Redwood Road, south of Highway 580.

Dining News

Your Boulevardier noticed several restaurant happenings on his walk this evening.

1. JD's is closed for the week. Workers are now digging away inside the restaurant, apparently replacing the entire floor. At this rate, one begins to wonder why they didn't demolish the restaurant and start over.

2) The former Pancho's Restaurant at 2788 Castro Valley Boulevard is, after an extended closure, now open as a Korean BBQ and Tofu restaurant. Your Boulevardier had been under the impression, from earlier alcohol license application in the window, that it would reopen as a Mexican restaurant, but it's not the case.

3) In sadder news, work appears to have stopped on the former Carry Outee. The banner heralding Toula's Gyros is now down. Your Boulevardier has not checked whether or not Toula is back to work at Chipotle.

4) The work on Chef's Express in Castro Village is nearing completion. The plywood siding has been removed, and the exterior is very attractive (if a bit out of character for Castro Village). A photo is below. Based on the signage that was on the restaurant when it was boarded up, this place is related to Chef's Experience in Hayward.

Burger King Flag Update

Your Boulevardier did not check the flag at the Castro Valley Burger King on Independence Day, but he did today. The flag now flying is bright and clean and proud. If a reader noticed when it was replaced, please say so in the comments. (You can comment anonymously.)

Photogenic Lake Chabot

Lake Chabot is, as Castro Valleyans know, a remarkable resource very close to town. Your Boulevardier enjoys kayaking on the lake - he's seen one of the lake's elusive bald eagles - and can recall taking Red Cross canoeing lessons there as a youth. The lake's cirumnavigating trails have provided many hours of jogging and hiking fun, picnickers mob the place on sunny days, and fisherpeople flock to its waters.

It's also a wonderfully photogenic spot, and local photographer (and Friend of Your Boulevardier) Terry Vanderheiden will lead a photo walk at the lake on Saturday, July 18 starting at 7:30 a.m. The event is free, but one must pre-register at the World Wide Photo Walk website.

Readers who attend and take pictures are invited to send a link to Your Boulevardier, so that others can see your work.

Friday Night Sipping

Mon Petit Chou has alerted Your Boulevardier to an item in the San Jose Mercury News about summer cocktails - and, in particular, a drink called Boulevardier. Coincidentally, Your Boulevardier just bought a new cocktail shaker, so we will be making them this evening. The recipe is straightforward:

Ice
1 1/2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Campari
Twist of lemon peel, for garnish

Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Add the bourbon, sweet vermouth and Campari. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a cocktail (martini) glass. Garnish with the twist of lemon peel.

Adapted by Jason Wilson from "Barflies and Cocktails," by Harry McElhone (1927; reissued 2008, Mud Puddle Books)

Traffic Gets One's Goat

Your Boulevardier was driving home from Oakland last evening around 9:45 p.m., but when he reached the mouth of Castro Valley -- just past the 164th Avenue offramp, and before 238 splits into downtown Hayward and west to San Lorenzo -- traffic came to a halt. Not just a slowdown, mind you; it was a shut-off-the-car-get-out-and-chat-with-other-motorists dead stop. After about 15 minutes it cleared, just as quickly as it had occurred. (We were allowed to continue east on 580, but vehicles were prevented from going on 238 in either direction.)

A traffic report on the radio a few minutes later announced the culprit: a herd of goats had gotten loose on the freeway! However, Your Boulevardier has not been able to find any other confirming media reports of this event. If readers hear anything, please post details in the comments.

Star-Spangled, Eardrum-Splitting Banner

Your Boulevardier has learned, through his youthful associate Neveu de Boulevardier, that a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner sung at Castro Valley High School in 2008 made it to a TIME Magazine's "10 Worst" list.

View the crazy video and read the article here.

Consolation may be found in the fact that the young singer is in good company: the now-secretary of state, several professional musicians, and a police officer are also represented in the complete list.

Look Up! It's the Space Station!

Your Boulevardier slipped his copy of Close Encounters of the Third Kind into the DVD player last night and enjoyed a reunion with an old favorite movie. Those who have seen it know: it's a langorously paced film, completely happy to present long, almost static images of people staring at something they've never seen before.

And the fact is, few of us have ever seen a spaceship. But, for the next few days, you have an opportunity. The International Space Station's orbit is causing it to appear quite readily to those of us on Earth. The NASA website has a database application you can use to check for particular times, but here's a link to the results.

Tonight, for example, the ISS will be visible a little after nine and a little before eleven.

This post, admittedly, has almost nothing to do with Castro Valley. However, Your Boulevardier knows that one of the readers is a space scientist, so that's the justification he is using.