san francisco trip with pohonkelapa

[paulgila]

jes & i flew to SF over the labor day weekend with her brother josh to celebrate his 30th birthday.

here i am studying the airplane schematics to make sure everything is in order.

jes needs a drink to calm down a bit.

josh places some last minute bets at the track.

we flew on virgin air. i loved the black leather-like seats & disco lighting.

[paulgila]

trachycarpus wagnerianus are not the most impressive avenue plantings.

night-time in "the city."

here we are trying not to look too cool for the benefit of nocal types.

we passed a little dance party going on in a storefront

& josh joined in. he's good at that.

[paulgila]

cool bar with log cabin/lumber jack atmosphere

who woulda thunk it?

bigfoot mystery finally solved!

having coffee in north beach the next morning.

alcatraz from the wharf.

[paulgila]

wwII era US sub.

1950s trolley cars are still in use.

i see you back there,josh!

that night we went to a sushi bar where

the sake flowed like,oh i dunno,something clear & cold & refreshing.

[paulgila]

we made a reservation to have dim sum at a resto near the embarcadero that was highly recommended.

it was in a shopping mall with LARGE d.leptochielos & howeas.

we didnt rent a car so we just walked everywhere.

the food was excellent.theses gyoza-like items were actually filled

with soup!

i am going through a "duck" phase,i admit it.

[paulgila]

i think the building was the main post office at one time.

lotsa deco touches.

josh will do whatever i tell him to.

big CIDPs by the waterfront.

[paulgila]

cool fountain across the street from the embarcadero

that was made from pieces of freeway after the last big quake.

c.plumosas are everywhere.

it almost made me wanna spit.

some building thats famous for something.

jes' friend jen.

she's zany.

[paulgila]

chinatown.

near union square theres an old abandoned hotel with a palm tree over the door

& its really,really

lonely.

celebrating joshs b-day in north beach.

[paulgila]

the next morning we had some time to kill since we were supposed to meet

FM "iwan" & his wife "sylvia" for indonesian food at a resto that was coincidentally

only 4 blocks from our hotel so we walked around aimlessly.

strange,doncha think?

the indo place was really good,everyone said so.

then iwan & sylvia(who i managed to not get any pix of) & i went for a special nocal PRA

while the rest of the gang did their own thing.

this photo is to document iwans impressive parking mojo on a labor day weekend in golden gate park!

[paulgila]

the first official PRA stop was streibing arboretum.

rhopies.

gunnera.

its so weird you almost HAVE to like it.

[paulgila]

amazing tree ferns with black coloration!

this squirrel knew how to work the camera.

something cool.

a tree,i think.

palm flowers or some kind of "land anemone"???

[paulgila]

orianopsis.

heres a fellow we called "stumpy."

[paulgila]

livistona sp.

the juania looked pretty bad.

so did this jubea.

other jubeas fared somewhat better.

[BS Man about Palms]

[Walter John]

nice outing Paul, thanks for posting, for goodness sakes did you sing, you know, that song, I left my thingy etc.

[MattyB]

approved (stamp)

[paulgila]

no wal,i did not,but since we rode the trolley we sang THAT song over & over(usually in a funny accent) until

it nearly drove us mad.

more pix on the way,notably the amazing & mysterious garden of darold petty!

[Shon]

That's what you missed my party for? Whatever guy, we are so in a fight right now!

[JasonD]

Looks like a fun trip.

livistona sp.

This guy next to the bathroom is an australis.

the juania looked pretty bad.

so did this jubea.

A large number of these Jubaeas were transplanted recently from 24in boxes, severely rootbound. Takes them a couple of years to recover. Two others -- the biggest -- were dug and transplanted around the same time. In good time they'll all be dark green.

other jubeas fared somewhat better.

[JasonD]

orianopsis.

I sprouted the seed for the two Oraniopsis...a long time ago. Sloooow.

heres a fellow we called "stumpy."

[JasonD]

amazing tree ferns with black coloration!

Cyathea medullaris - "mamaku"

this squirrel knew how to work the camera.

something cool.

a tree,i think.

Dacrydium cupressinum - "rimu"

palm flowers or some kind of "land anemone"???

[bubba]

Paul, Great journey pictures. Did you get shots of those Phoenix canariensis in Union Square?

[freakypalmguy]

Nice trip Paulito

[paulgila]

it was a good trip.thanks everyone for stopping by.

buba i did get some shots of union square but i only posted em facebook since the pix of darold pettys garden are the high-light.

[ariscott]

Great trip you did!! I can see that you had fun..

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

thanks ari. the full story in pix is on FB.

did you know you cant recieve any new msgs right now? is yer inbox full?

[ariscott]

No... I will check... I probably have way too many in it... lol.

Regards, Ari

[ariscott]

thanks ari. the full story in pix is on FB.

I know..I have commented on some of them. Looking at those pics made me hungry!!! I think you would enjoy our market here...

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

ceroxylon!

fantastical trunkal regions!

sad.

this gunnera was kinda creepy.

[Urban Rainforest]

Paul, Good stuff! We have been thinking of going up there for a weekend sometime. There are some really good airfares now. Great snark as usual.

Stevo

[amazondk]

Thanks for the trip to the Bay Area Paul. I lived there for a while may years ago and the it is still a special place for me.

dk

[paulgila]

more creepiness thanks to our old pal,gunnera.

senna,perhaps?

monkey puzzle tree.

[paulgila]

parajubea.say it like pacino in "scarface,"--you'll have more fun.

there're those ceroxylon,again.

yes,thats a real contraction.

tree fern--dickinsonia,i believe.

say goodbye!

[paulgila]

and now on to the awesome garden of darold petty!

cool homes in darolds "hood."

or is it "holmes"?

(that was for you,freaky palmguy).

hmmmm i wonder if a palm person lives here?

large parajubea.

various front yard goodness.

[paulgila]

after a quick look at the front yard we got a tour of the house.

looking west from the 2nd floor porch at darolds.

the "money shot!!!"

the petioles are really awesome,too!

the ceroxylon are a bit jealous,i think.

[paulgila]

i didnt know trachys got that tall.

hawaiian tree fern. darold said he'd have to kill me

if i found out where he got it.

i am not THAT inquisitive.

he had the bathroom imported from graceland.

backyard.

its where everyone keeps their good stuff.

[MattyB]

he had the bathroom imported from graceland.

Hey man, pass me that chili cheese donut.

[paulgila]

worstest elvis impersonation ever,bradford.

[paulgila]

looks like hedyscepe seeds.

pritchardia sp. is rockin' &/or rollin'.

another one of those unbelievable geonoma--

i am almost certain darold signed some kind of deal with beelzebub.

[paulgila]

fabumous rhopies.

darold is very careful to treat anywhere there is a cut on the palms.

bulbous.

fun word to say.

this looks like it could be another ceroxylon.