Cleaning up various bits of paper that have been floating around the past year or so. Found this little scrap with 4 things scrawled on it

2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves or 1 tsp powder
2″ piece of fresh ginger sliced thin
1 tsp nutmeg

I knew right away what that was .. the do-it-yourself seasoning to make hot apple cidar! We had a bunch of people coming over to the house, a gallon apple juice, and couldn’t remember what to do with seasoning in. The wonders of Skype messaging and a friend who can make great vegan food with her eyes closed.

Now I need to find that creamy country gravy recipe that came on the side of the Tofurky box one year ….

Good news: in the Crocker Galleria mall in San Francisco, there is one restaurant that has a separate menu that is vegan, with about 20 items on it. This is substantially more than any of its competitors in the food court, such as 360 Burritos, Chili-Up, SF Soup Company, Chinese food, pizza, etc.

Bad news: This very same restaurant was entirely vegan, but recently closed to remodel its structure and its menu by adding a second menu of "seafood" (i.e. sea animals).

Medicine Eat Station has a flyer on its front counter. It basically says most of its customers were not vegan, and said they would eat even more at Medicine if they could eat sea animals.

So, the bottom line, money talks. Although, I should be practical in my retrospection: would it have been better for Medicine to close entirely, and a new restaurant move-in? What are the odds that the new restaurant would have been vegan, vegetarian, or substantially v-friendly? Probably not. So, in the long-run, it is better that a restaurant with substantial vegan food is successful, because there are already way too many restaurants without any vegan food. The best, in my opinion, would have been a successful all vegan restaurant.

But, as I've always said, to be successful, a veg*n restaurant needs to appeal to more than just the veg*n crowd to be successful. It needs cross-over support from the meat-eaters.

That said, will I go out of my way to eat at Medicine? When it was all-vegan, I enjoyed some bountiful and expensive meals. Now that it's a mixed place, well, my preference has always been to support entirely vegetarian restaurants. Although, there is an advocacy perspective to dining vegan at mixed restaurants (see my blog post from last summer about this.)

I was recently in the area for an all day work meeting and they had thoughtfully provided lunch that came neatly packaged in boxes or clear plastic trays. Un-thoughtfully, however, the box label of "Ham Sandwich", "Turkey Sandwich" screamed at my vegan sensibilities "Beware! Animals suffered and died to create these products". The individual trays of salads (mostly iceberg lettuce with boiled eggs or strips of chicken) did not look any more appetizing with labels that said "Chicken" or whatever. Yeah, I admit, I'm not a salad person, so even if it said "Vegan Salad with Vegan Dressing", I still would not have thought it an adequate lunch. (When I make a salad, it's green and red lettuce, some baby spinach, a few slices of avocado, handful of walnuts, a few slices of mandarin orange, some green onions, handful of chickpeas, and if I have it, some fresh tomato. Anyways, I digress..)

So, very close by was the Crocker Galleria. And I knew Medicine had re-opened. And I've also heard Kearny Street Pies has vegan choices. But I only had 30 minutes, I knew where Medicine was, and I'll confess to being curious.

Well, let's just say, I satisfied my curiosity and I will not make a special trip to return again. And, if I were stuck in a similar situation, I might even opt for the vegan split pea soup at the SF Soup Company instead. Was it that bad? Well, it wasn't that great, and it was expensive for a lunch - $9 for a small bowl of lukewarm rice with bite-sized pieces of cauliflower, sliced carrots, limp snow peas and a few pieces of tofu with some unappealing curry-colored sauce.

I know that every restaurant has dishes that are better than others, and maybe I just picked the wrong dish. But I'll be honest and say that I'm not in any hurry to spend any of my hard-earned money exploring the menu and avoiding the sea animals.

Since CalTrans announced the imminent re-opening of Devil's Slide / Highway 1 on August 4th at 5 am, my fellow carpoolers and I were practically giddy, especially as Thursday, the last day of our carpool approached. As someone who was used to driving 10 minutes to catch a bus, or 20 minutes round trip, enduring a 2.5-3.5 hour round trip drive was exhausting, both mentally and physically. So with this ordeal soon to be behind us, we were definitely in good spirts.

The grand opening ribbon ceremy was scheduled for Thursday afternoon and Cal Trans announced it would be open "by Friday at 5 am". In our collective wisdom, we thought it would behoove CalTrans to open it unannounced in time for the Thursday afternoon carpool, as a sort of soft launch of the new road. Before we left work on Thursday, we checked the Cal Trans Highway page, 511.org, coastsider.com - no news about the road re-opening.

So we took the long way home.. and it was a bit slower than normal, about 90 minutes. But with the road -- our lifeline to a sane and normal commute on the Sam Trans DX Express bus to SF -- opening tomorrow, none of us really cared.

I still had it in my head that CalTrans was going to open the road before 5 am. After all, they said it would be open "by 5 am" not "at 5 am". So I mused with my carpoolers that maybe I'd go check it out at 9 pm. As the evening wore on, and 9 pm approached, I joked with Chris about going out to see if the Slide was open. About 9:15 we decided to just go and check it out.

As we drove up Highway 1 towards Pacifica, we could see this bright light on the side of the road. We thought it was security going to tell us to turn around. As we approached, we could see it was the lights for a TV news crew doing a live interview about the Slide being opened!

We drove through the newly paved and reopened Highway 1. This road, which I've driven daily to work for the past 8 years until this past April, was a familiar yet unfamiliar experience. There were no cars in front of us. As we approached the Pacifica end of the Slide, we did pass a car or two coming from the Pacifica side.

We were ecstatic to find ourselves shopping at Linda Mar Safeway's on Thursday nite. We were gleeful in telling the Safeway employees that we came from Montara! In a Twilight Zone-like encounter, the clerk who rang up our purchases had no idea the road was even closed. We jokingly heckled him, as did another customer and employee, "Where have you been?!"

On Friday morning, driving Hwy 1 to Pacifica to catch the bus, I heard that CalTrans had reopened the road early at 9:17 pm. I think we were part of history: one of the first Montarans to cross the newly rebuilt Devil's Slide.

Kudos to CalTrans for working so diligently and getting the road completed earlier than expected. And thank you to everyone who carpooled and took public transit to help relieve traffic congestion on Highway 1 and 92.

Today's commute from San Franciscoto to Montara was awful. We exited Bunker Hill Road off 280 at 4:24 pm

Within 30 seconds, we were at a complete standstill. It was a parking lot for about 15 minutes.

Finally the traffic started moving, slowly, in fits.

We heard on the radio there was an injury accident at Pilarcitos Creek.

Fortunately I had good company with my carpool so at least we could complain to each other. And laugh when I stalled the car because stop and go traffic sucks when you're going uphill and your car has a manual transmission like mine.

And the irony was being stuck in traffic when a radio ad encouraged people to visit the San Mateo coast, Pacifica and HMB, saying something about the coast being clear. I would not encourage anyone to visit the coast until Hwy 1/Devil's Slide is repaired.

I finally got home about 6:30 pm .. we left SF at 4 pm so it took 2.5 hours -- twice what it takes on a "good" day now. Sigh, and this isn't even a far distance, it's EIGHT miles ..

Well, I'm well into my third month of commuting by car via Highway 1 from Montara through Moss Beach through El Granada through Half Moon Bay to the windy 92 to 280.

With a mixture of carpooling and telecommuting, it's manageable - but just barely.

Physically we've been cut-off from a direct route to Pacifica and San Francisco and beyond. But the barrier goes further than that. Psychologically, leaving the coast is a huge effort since the one-way-in-one-way-out road for all can be a traffic nightmare if too many people leave at once or (even worse) there is some type of traffic incident or accident that impedes traffic.

Heck, even the stoplight at Main St and 92 in HMB impedes traffic. From existing at Bunker Hill Road to getting home from Montara took nearly an hour today. This is maybe 15 miles or so .. and the only impediment is a few stoplights along the way -- no accidents, no oil spills, no whales on the beaches ...

I am counting the days until Hwy 1/Devil's Slide is open again. I want my life back!! And my nap on the return bus ride home.

With Hwy 1 closed and not slated to re-open until end of September (weather and progress on repairs permitting), we definitely feel as if we live in the biggest cul-de-sac in the Bay Area. We can no longer travel northwards, but everything is south now via Half Moon Bay or HMB to reach 92, also known as the road to the outside of the world.

I had one horrible carpool last week. We agreed to leave late one morning, at 6 am, and it took us an hour to drive about 7 miles between Moss Beach and Half Moon Bay. A bicyclist easily passed us, and I seriously thought about leaving the carpool and walking back to my car and going home. Aside from that, the normal coastside departure at 5:30 am is working great. (My gosh, it's now Normal to depart at 5:30 am .. )

We went to San Mateo on Saturday. As we started the journey on 92, Chris commented how light the traffic was in the other direction. We soon figured out why as traffic came to a standstill. There was a big accident on Skyline/35 with an overturned truck. The radio news reported it would be open in a few minutes. That delay cost an extra 60 minutes in standing and then really slow traffic .. and the accident had happened an hour ago.

We saw several cars had pulled over to the side, some apparently in need of assistance with their car hoods open. A tow truck was already there providing road side assistance to one traveller.

While the city of Half Moon Bay is encouraging people to come and visit the coast, most commuters will tell you the opposite - stay away, especially during commute hours. We have definitely curtailed travelling by car. Not only is gas expensive, but the road to HMB (Hwy 1) and beyond (92) are slow unless you're travelling at odd hours.

Check out this photograph taken travelling north from HMB to Montara .. Montara .. the end of the world.

Well, my second week commuting from behind Devil's Slide was overall better than the first week.

I drove everyday the first week, and was totally exhausted from the change in having to adjust to leaving before 5:30 am to avoid traffic.

I tried to do my part by giving a ride to three different people this week. And although I only drove two days this week, it still had its challenges.

Tuesday was my first experience being a rider. I'd given a ride to another coastsider twice, and it was my turn to ride. I was sooo looking forward to this. Carpooling may be the only commute option that keeps me emotionally sane.

Anyways, in the morning I'm warned there is a risk that there could be a delay in departing at 4 pm. I'm told maybe 30 minutes. Well, in the theme of wanting to be an accomodating carpooler, I agree to accept this risk. By mid-morning, I receive a message that the original departure time is no longer an option, and that 5 pm would be a lucky departure time.

I'm starting to get really stressed at this point .. departing SF at 5 pm will put us smack dab in the middle of the regular commute traffic and translate into a horribly long and painful commute, even as a rider. Based on what I'd read on coastsider.com, maybe a 2.5 hour drive for a 40-mile commute (which in no traffic conditions can be done in 50 minutes).

Another woman who contacted me about being a rider saves the day. She knows someone else leaving SF at 4 pm who lives on the coast. The only challenge is the departure point is over by Civic Center, it's pouring rain, and we're South of Market by the Transbay Terminal.

Ironically, I'd gotten so lulled into the convenience and comfort of driving, and parking across the street from my building, that I wasn't prepared for the rain. I had a jacket, but it wasn't full-length, and no umbrella .. but I decided that the sane solution was to get soaked than be stressed in SF commute traffic. So I got drenched, and got home.

After Tuesday's experience, I drove on Wednesday.

Thursday's ride was my first successful carpool as a rider. There was a small communication hiccup as to our meeting point but we worked that out. Caught a beautiful sunrise too.

On Friday I got a ride to the park and ride lot in San Mateo at 19th Ave and Fashion Island Blvd, and caught the Sam Trans MX express bus to SF. Took 20 miles to drive to that point, $4 in bus far, and easy 20 minute or so ride to SF.

Maybe there is light, after all, at the end of the tunnel ..

On Sunday at about 6 pm, a portion of Highway 1 known as Devil's Slide closed. Since I've been living on the coast, for about 8 years now, the Slide has closed a few times, typically when a car has gone over the cliff and there's a rescue or investigation happening, or occasionally due to a mudslide that needs to be cleaned up.

But with the record rainfall received in many regions of the San Francisco Bay Area (including San Francisco), it was actually a very serious problem that has now isolated the small coastside communities south of the closure (Montara, El Granada, Moss Beach, Half Moon Bay ... ).

The road is buckling and there are huge rocks (like 4 tons!) falling on the roadside. In an eerie reminder, SF has been showcasing emergency/earthquake preparedness as the 100th anniversary of the big 1906 quake.

So, like several others who live on the coast but work in SF, I had to figure out an alternate commute path to work.

No longer would I have my short frantic dash out the door to drive 5 miles to meet the Sam Trans Express bus that would deliver me to SF in about 35-40 minutes. Now, I would have to decide if I would drive that same length of time to meet another Sam Trans bus in San Mateo -- there were only 2 bus times available in the morning -- and then bus another hour into SF) OR if I would just bite the bullet and drive the forty miles and pay big bucks to park across the street from my work location.

After agonizing the pro's and con's .. and desperately wanting to avoid the awful traffic that 92 is reknown for, I opted to leave really early and drive all the way to SF. My roundtrip drive for one day was 50% longer than a typical week's worth of driving. But, I avoided traffic, my parking expenses cost twice as much as my public transit expenses, and it took me roughly the same amount of time door to door. And, of course, the stress of driving cannot be overlooked. Whereas I typically have a slow morning of reading, and a restful return nap, I spent a busy hour with my foot pressing the gas accelator or braking, and constantly watching the cars and brakelights around me. Thankfully it was just light rain in the morning and sunshine on the way home. But it felt like a really long hour getting to work and a really long hour getting home.

I miss my commute bus. And my afternoon map. And being able to put gas in my car about once every 45 days.

Well, I *finally* had an opportunity to leaflet at a junior college. I went to Skyline College in San Bruno at 11:30. It's a small college, and as I walked around the entire campus in just a few minutes, it was pretty deserted. I saw only about a half-dozen people and I wondered if I'd made a mistake about the timing and should return another time. I'm used to leafleting at that time at the Academy of Arts University in SF and there's usually a bunch of students milling about by time I arrive.

I figured I was there, so I might as well leaflet. After another 10-15 minutes had passed, it was a steady trickle of people. And, remarkably, I had a huge success rate. I think I distributed 30-40 continuously before someone finally refused. My typical response is that 1 out of 10 will accept it.

So in a brief 45 minutes, I distributed 200 "Why Vegan?" and while I was waiting for my ride to pick me up, another 10 "Even If You Like Meat" booklets.

If anyone lives or works near a junior college, even if it is a small one, I'd especially encourage you to try leafleting during the lunch hour. If my experience is typical, the students are younger, very polite and thanked me for the information, which is a stark contrast to the leafleting I've done in San Francisco.

Here's more info:
http://www.veganhealth.org/colleges

Cake is just a delivery mechanism for frosting.