ABC Mercredi - "O"

ABC Wednesday - "O"
"O" is for "Oh!, Mme. la Vache, that is a beautiful sky you photographed!


ABC Wednesdays are a project of Mrs. Nesbitt's Place. Other participants are listed at her blog.

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Two posts today - Perle Norvégienne and "ABC Wednesday". Mme. la Vache caught this breathtaking sunset from the balcony à Chez la Vache. Low fog has almost obscured Alcatraz Island in the left side of the photo, though the Golden Gate Bridge is as yet uncovered with fog. Angel Island is in front of the hills of Marin County, right center, with the antennae at Point Isabel on the far right. Albany Point, center foreground, is only a few hundred yards from our balcony. As you see, the tide is low.

Perle Norvégienne

Norwegian Pearl

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With San Francisco sparkling like a jewel in the morning sun, a "Pearl" also shone: the Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Pearl at Pier 35 (right center) is seen from our balcony. Here is a larger photo of her. On the left of the photo is Treasure Island. Note the towers of the western span of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. The tallest building in the center of the photo (the dark one) is the Bank of America tower (52 storeys). To the right of the Bank of America tower is the Transamerica Pyramid. Between the Transamerica Pyramid and the Norwegian Pearl is Telegraph Hill, crowned by Coit Tower.

Organiste italien Emanuele Battisti jeux à Saint Mark's, San Francisco

Italian Organist Emanuele Battisti plays at Saint Mark's, San Francisco

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This is the first post since Louis la Vache began this blog that hasn't involved the water in some way! The occasion is the organ recital at Saint Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco by Italian Organist Emanuele Battisti. M. Battisti, from Mantua, Italy is currently working and teaching at the University of Illinois. His San Francisco concert at Saint Mark's was sponsored by Westfield Center Concert Scholarships. Go here for more about M. Battisti, the concert, the organ and Saint Mark's.

L'île d'Alcatraz

Alcatraz Island

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Alcatraz Island, often simply called "Alcatraz" or "The Rock", is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was home to the first lighthouse on the West Coast. Then a military fortification was built, followed by a military prison. From the 1930s until 1963, it was a federal maximum security prison, the final stop for the nation's most incorrigible inmates. It became a national recreation area in 1972 and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986. There is also a natural side to "The Rock" - gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and fabulous views of the San Francisco Bay.

The island is now a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

La langue du ciel (II)

The language of the sky (II)

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Continuing with the dramatic language of the clouds we saw yesterday is this view of the clouds over San Francisco.

The Language of the Sky - San Francisco by Louis la Vache
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La langue du ciel (I)

The language of the sky (I)

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The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island are mere props compared to the scenery in the sky this morning.

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The Language of the Sky by Louis la Vache.
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Sky Watch Friday

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Two posts today - "April Showers" (preceding post) and this for Sky Watch Friday, an unretouched image starring the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island with numerous small craft in supporting roles. Please do click on the image to enlarge it! Best seen on a Mac!

Visit the other participants in Sky Watch Friday!

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Cloud break! by Louis la Vache.
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Douches d'avril

April showers

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The rainfall for the year in the Bay Area comes mostly between Thanksgiving and Easter. Here in late April, an afternoon rain squall, foretold in Blue Moon swept across the Golden Gate. An outbound container ship has just cleared the Golden Gate Bridge and a lone sailboat drifts past Point Albany.

Le soleil par la pluie

Sun through the rain

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As a small rain squall swept across the Bay, the sun broke through the clouds just over Point Isabel.

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Sun through the rain! by Louis la Vache.
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Lune bleue

Blue moon

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The palette of colors the moon has been giving us as it sets into the Pacific the last several mornings continued today. We've moved from a slice of lemon to a whole orange to this morning's blue. Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate wait hopefully for the sun, unlikely today according to the weatherman.

Frank Sinatra sings "Blue Moon"

Cette chanson est pour vous, Yuna


"Blue moon, you saw me standin' alone
Without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me sayin' a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper 'please adore me'
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper "please adore me"
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own"

Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers

Lune orange au-dessus de la Golden Gate

Orange moon over the Golden Gate

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Moving from a lemon slice of a moon over Marin, this morning we had an orange moon over the Golden Gate. (Too much camera shake - shot without a tripod.)

Couches de coleur

Layers of color

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With a bit of mist over the Bay, the sun seems to be setting into the Pacific behind the hills of Marin County in layers of color. A car carrier departing Richmond Harbor, beginning its journey toward the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific is visible in the mist at the right center of the photo.


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Une lune de citron-tranche

A lemon-slice moon

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0430 heures du matin, the moon looks like a lemon slice in the still-dark sky over Point Isabel, in constrast to the silver sheen we saw on Maundy Thursday. Neither photo has been retouched to adjust the color. In both photos, Louis la Vache finds himself fascinated with the reflection of the moon on the water.

Lumière dans le brouillard

Light in the fog

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The setting sun breaks through the fog at Point Isabel.

Brouillard d'après-midi

Afternoon fog

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Mme. la Vache caught this image of the fog rolling past the Golden Gate toward Angel Island this afternoon, the towers of the bridge not yet completely engulfed. Note the sailboat in the center left behind la petite péninsule in the foreground.

Coucher du soleil Spectaculaire

Spectacular Sunset

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Mme. la Vache caught this spectacular sunset from our balcony.

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Golden Glow by Yunascards
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Futur récif

Future reef

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Docked at a pier near the Red Oak Victory is the now-decommissioned U.S.S. Horne. Louis la Vache hasn't been able to learn much about the Horne. She was a guided missle frigate. Louis speculates that she was rendered obsolete by the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers. (If any reader has more information on this ship, Louis would appreciate getting it!) What Louis did learn is that the Horn is being prepared to be towed to sea and sunk to help become part of a reef.

Les bateaux historiques de la baie de San Francisco: Red Oak Victory

The Historic Ships of San Francisco Bay: Red Oak Victory

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We've seen a shot of part of the stern of the Red Oak Victory, then we moved to her bow. Today we have more of a full-length view of her. Louis la Vache was unable to get a better angle of the ship, but you can get a nice view of her HERE.

As Louis wrote previously, Red Oak Victory was built in the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards and launched on le 9 novembre 1944. The Victory ships were longer, wider and faster than the better-known Liberty ships.

Some 534 Victory ships were built; 142 of them slid down the ways at Kaiser Richmond.

You can visit the Red Oak Victory for a small fee. Your entrance fee helps restore her.

Le bateau de victoire "Red Oak Victory"

Victory Ship Red Oak Victory

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In yesterday's photo, we got a glimpse of the stern, rudder and propeller of the Red Oak Victory in Richmond Harbor. Today, we've moved from the stern to the bow. The Red Oak Victory is one of the few surviving Victory ships built in World War II and is the only one being restored. Note the anti-aircraft gun tub right at the top tip of the bow.

Le grand et le petit

The large and the small

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In Richmond Harbor, a small motor-sailer cruises past the far larger Red Oak Victory. The Red Oak Victory was built in the Kaiser Richmond shipyards and launched on le 9 novembre 1944. She saw service in la deuxième guerre mondiale, Korea and Vietnam.

Le petite et le grand by Louis la Vache
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Porte-voiture

Car carrier

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Yesterday we showed you inbound and outbound car carriers passing between Angel Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. Here is the one that was inbound, now at Richmond Harbor disgorging itself of a load of Toyotas and dwarfing the sailboat in the foreground.

Dépassement des bateaux

Passing ships

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Inbound and outbound car carriers pass each other between Angel Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. Toyota, Honda and other manufacturers unload car carriers at Richmond and distribute cars to dealers from there.

L'arc-en-ciel

Rainbow

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Mme. la Vache caught this rainbow in the evening mist as the sun set. The rainbow was small, and we weren't able to capture the image well. Click to enlarge; it is in the center of the photo.

La ville près de la baie

The City by the Bay

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With not even a hint of fog, San Francisco sparkles in the morning sun. Another wonderful view from our balcony.

Feu!

Fire!

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Because many of the photos Louis la Vache posts here are taken from his balcony, you've seen glimpses of this little curled finger of land reaching out into the Bay before. (Louis will post about this little peninsula at a later date.) Though you've gotten glimpses of this petite péninsule before, the subject of the photo has always been beyond it. However, today la petite péninsule is the star because of the fire. Louis neglected to learn the cause, but he suspects the fire was in a homeless encampment he has seen when walking on la petite péninsule. Note the tanker passing Angel Island at the right in the background. Chevron, Shell, Exxon and 76 all have refineries nearby, so we see a lot of tanker traffic from our balcony. Behind Angel Island, Sausalito is visible on the right.

Beaucoup de bateaux

Many ships

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With the bay dotted with smaller craft, a tanker glides past Angel Island heading toward the Golden Gate. In the distance off the starboard bow of the outbound tanker, another inbound ship can be seen behind the Golden Gate and an inbound container ship is under the bridge.

Les bateaux historiques de la baie de San Francisco: Balclutha

The historic ships of San Francisco Bay: Balclutha

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There are a number of historic ships around the San Francisco Bay that you can visit. Here is one, the square-rigged Balclutha berthed at the Hyde Street Pier. The Balclutha is part of the National Maritime Museum.

The Balclutha was completed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1886. She is 301 feet long and has a beam of just under 39 feet at the deck. Her main mast measures 145' from the deck. It took a crew of about 26 men to handle her 25 sails at sea. She made 17 trips around the Cape of Good Horn.

Sculpture dans le ciel

Sculpture in the sky

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At dusk, with Angel Island and the hills of Marin County in the distance, the wind has sculpted the clouds into this fantastic shape over the Bay.

Coucher du soleil de notre fenêtre

Sunset from our window

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Une aube rose

A rose dawn

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In contrast to the blue dawn in yesterday's post, this morning sky was washed in hues of rose and pink. To the right center of the photo is Alcatraz Island and further right, the southern (San Francisco) end of the Golden Gate Bridge is seen.

Une aube bleu

A blue dawn

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A beam of sunlight illuminates some of the buildings on Treasure Island on a very blue-skied dawn. Yerba Buena Island is the location of the hill between the eastern and western spans of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. This photo was taken from the balcony chez M. et Mme. la Vache.

Le baron vert?

The Green Baron?

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Apparently, his fuselage was shot off aft of the cockpit! By Snoopy peut être? Louis la Vache always thought Snoopy's nemesis was the Red Baron. Maybe this was target practice for Snoopy. Louis found l'avion du baron vert - or what's left of it - at Emeryville on a windy afternoon. The hills of Marin are in the background behind a choppy Bay.