Miles and I lucked out today and discovered that the Cal Outdoor Club at the Berkeley Marina had public kayak rentals for the last day of the season. Absolutely perfect weather. Thought he’d get bored, but he was way into it. Spent an hour paddling around the Marina and ventured into SF Bay, then went under a long pier where we got to watch a 3-ft. leopard shark get pulled out of the water right in front of us by a fisherman up on the pier above. Wonderful vantage point to witness nature struggling with man.
After an hour, I asked, “Miles, should we go back to the dock or should I keep paddling?” Miles answered “I’m going to lay down on my back [and he did, gazing up at the sky]. Everything I see in the whole world is blue! You keep paddling, daddy.”
Afterwards we went to the Adventure Playground, across the street – a park that the kids themselves get to build and paint – all scrap wood and old pianos and boats and bicycle parts, etc. If you’ve never seen a two year old wielding a hacksaw, you ain’t lived. More on adventure playgrounds.
Check Miles throwing down some way out skronk jazz, doing the Cecil Taylor thing on an abandoned piano. The sign reads “Do not hammer, stand, or paint on the piano!” (other pianos there are hammerable and paintable). Forgot to set the white balance on the camera so these came out all blue. Did my best to correct them, but they’re a bit noisy now. At home he was gazing out the living room window as the sun went down. “Already? I don’t want this day to end!”