2015-03-08 37 -122

Location

In a front garden in El Cerrito, California.

Participants

Plans

The hashpoint was clearly on private property. I called ahead the night before to a phone number I obtained by Googling the address, but all I got was a "full inbox" message. So I decided to take the bus up to the house and get permission on site.

Expedition

I got to the lot frontage without incident. Even from the cul-de-sac, there's a great view over the front fence and the house itself across San Francisco Bay.

I couldn't enter the property due to fencing, and I got no reply when I pressed the "call" buttons on the electronic locks for the gates (one pedestrian, one automotive). But someone was mowing the side yard, so I decided to wait around until I caught someone's attention.

The attention came from a couple of large golden dogs, who after the lawnmower was shut off ran up to the gate, barking loudly. A man followed behind. I asked permission to enter the front yard "to take some pictures", and his response was (to the best of my recollection),

"No. Definitely no. Sorry."

I thus apologized for his time and retreated to the other side of the cul-de-sac to get some documentary photographs.

I had a short wait at the bus stop for the return trip. I observed that it comprised a memorial to, I presume, two deceased residents. It was equipped with a brick giving latitude, longitude, and altitude; according to my GPS, the former read about a second too far north. I didn't have time to do the math to check the other two (my GPS reports in milliminutes, and the monument is in seconds).

Tracklog

Photos

The fence that stymied me, with an inadequate-contrast view of the Bay and its margins beyond.
Coordinates from the other side of the cul-de-sac: not my closest point, but in the general vicinity.
A self-marking landmark.