Highway One North -- June 16, 2025

On Memorial Day, we went for a drive with our daughter and son-in-law. He loves driving down Highway One to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, but he had never driven north on One in Marin and Sonoma Counties. The day started overcast, so there was not a backup at the turnoff from 101. I haven't been that way for years, but I remembered where to turn. 

We stopped at the Hog Island Oyster Company to poke around. We had lunch at a very busy tourist-trappy restaurant in Bolinas called the Fishetarian Fish Market. Good name. I enjoyed the fist tacos. 

I pointed out things related to the North Pacific Coast Railroad along the way. At Jenner, we turned on 116 to follow the Russian River. We stopped at Duncans Mills. I told them about the time that I went through town with my father and the limits sign said something like "Population 50."

We visited my mother-in-law in Rohnert Park and then went to Santa Rosa and visited the train station. We had dinner at the Cattleman's.

It was a long day, but we enjoyed it.

Ardenwood Rail Fair 2025 -- June 4, 2025

I didn't get to post this last month. On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we went to the Rail Fair at Ardenwood Farm in Fremont. The Rail Fair has been permanently moved from Labor Day to Memorial Day weekend. We agreed that the cooler weather made it more enjoyable.

We rode the first train, which was jammed. The line for later rides kept growing. There were signs that said, "60 minutes from this point."

A highlight was Kiso Forest Railway #9, which was on static display. It is a Baldwin 0-4-2 that spent its working life on a logging railroad in Japan. Note the wild smokestack. I talked to the project manager who said that it hasn't operated since the Sacramento Rail Fair in 1999, but it is in remarkably good shape. They have to do a lot of analysis of the boiler.

Memorial Day 2024 -- May 27, 2024

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them." -- John F. Kennedy

 
I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day 2023 -- May 29, 2023

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" — Maya Angelou

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day 2022 -- May 30, 2022

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

"I look forward to a great future for America, a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future." -- John F. Kennedy

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day 2021 -- May 31, 2021

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

On 17-March-1945, Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz wrote: “The battle of Iwo Island [Iwo Jima] has been won. The United States Marines, by their individual and collective courage, have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat.... Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day 2020 -- May 25, 2020

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

Captain Lloyd W Williams was commanding the 51st Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines in the trenches on 03-June-1918. They supported French units during the Battle of Belleau Wood. A French officer told him to retreat. He replied "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" Captain Williams was killed in action on 12-April-1918.

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day 2019 -- May 27, 2019

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

Marine Sergeant Major Daniel Daly was leading his men into a charge during the Battle of Belleau Wood in 1918. He yelled "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?" Daly is one of the few people who have received the Medal of Honor twice.

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day 2018 -- May 28, 2018

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. -- Winston Churchill

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Memorial Day, 2017 -- May 29, 2017

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it” — Mark Twain

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio.

www.listal.com

Happy 100th birthday to President John F Kennedy.  He was a World War II veteran, who had served on PT boats in the Pacific Theater.  He loved boats.  One of my earliest memories is of my mother crying while watching his funeral on television.  When I grew up, many homes that I visited had a photo of him hanging on a wall.  Later reports indicated that he was not always a nice person, but he deserved to live and watch his family grow up.  Many people see his murder as the beginning of a very bad decade. 

Working America

Memorial Day, 2016 -- May 30, 2016

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this Nation.  -- Henry Ward Beecher

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio. 

Memorial Day, 2015 -- May 25, 2015

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. -- Joseph Campbell

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio. 

Memorial Day 2014 -- May 26, 2014

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. -- Winston Churchill

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio. 

Memorial Day #6 -- May 27, 2013

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity. -- Dwight D Eisenhower

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio. 

Memorial Day #5 -- May 28, 2012

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. -- Joseph Campbell

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the National Cemetery in the Presidio. 

Memorial Day #4 -- May 30, 2011

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

I could not find anyone to sell me a poppy.

General George S Patton said: "In my mind, we are here to thank God that men like this lived, rather than regret that they died."

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the national cemetary in the Presidio.

Memorial Day #3 -- May 31, 2010

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

I took this photo on 20-June-2009 at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. It shows the monument to John Thomas Donnelly, who died on the battleship Missouri on 13-April-1904 when a charge ignited inside a turret during target practice and suffocated 36 men.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."
-~From a headstone in Ireland

Memorial Day #2 -- May 25, 2009

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." -- John F. Kennedy

Memorial Day #1 -- May 26, 2008

On Memorial Day it is fitting and proper to remember the men and women who gave their lives, who continue to give their lives, to give us the country we deserve.

I was not downtown at the end of last week to buy a poppy.

Carl Nolte, in a nice article in the SF Chronicle, quoted General George S Patton: "In my mind, we are here to thank God that men like this lived, rather than regret that they died."

I took this photo on 14-December-2007 at the national cemetary in the Presidio.

The new lander made it safely to the North Pole region of Mars.