Bay Area Adventures Part 4: Coyote Hills with Jackie

When I first got here, I sent a blast to all my Bay Area friends. I have a lot of friends here, partly because I went to college here, partly because I used to have family here, and mostly because all the cool artsy people live here. It’s probably one of the most incredible places to live. I think if I had to choose, only Paris and the South of France might even come close. It is beautiful.

My blast turned into a bunch of meet-ups, and one of those meet-ups was with Jackie, a childhood friend. My grandma used to live in San Leandro, and I used to go to Sunday School with Jackie in Oakland. I went to Sunday School with a lot of people here. There’s a whole crew of kids who grew up together and I was lucky enough to join them once a year or so when my parents shipped me off to my grandma’s.

Jackie suggested we meet up in Coyote Hills for a walk-and-talk date. It was the perfect day. We both love photography, so we talked up a storm and went off to find all the pretty things to take pictures of.

Spring is beautiful here. The air is crisp and you can walk and walk without getting too hot. Wildflowers were popping up everywhere.

Jackie is a birder, and funny story: we came across a group of second or third-graders on the path guided by a local ranger. The ranger was teaching the group about leaves of three, let them be, and leaves of five, stay alive, etc., when we suddenly spotted an owl way up in an oak tree. Jackie then turned to the group of children and said, Look, there’s an owl! and the whole class turned in our direction, hijacking the rangers’ lesson. The ranger looked annoyed, but the kids were overjoyed. What can I say? Jackie is just that kind of disruptor, in the very best way!

I’m not a birder, but after seeing her photographs of that owl with her big, fancy camera, I can see the appeal!