California in September: the bay and the Pacific
Burlingame sunshine, Pacifica’s coast, Half Moon Bay and visits around the Bay Area.
September brought bright mornings beside San Francisco Bay and an evening looking out over the Pacific at Half Moon Bay. Between the coast and the water, I visited offices, checked on the Android statues and attended CalibrateSF.
Burlingame: San Francisco Bay
At eight in the morning, the sunshine along the bay was beautiful. The water was calm, with trees reflected beside a wooden walkway.
I also noted that this was an excellent place for plane spotting.
Pacifica State Beach and the coast
The Pacifica outing brought rougher water: foamy waves pressed against a rocky shore beneath steep, golden-brown bluffs. Nearby, a shallow stream wound between stones and grasses, with hills behind it.
I called the view of Pacifica State Beach “fascinating.” The coast had both the force of the surf and quieter stretches of water among the rocks.
Redwood City and Lake Merced
The same outing included lunch with friends in Redwood City and a brief visit to Lake Merced.
Mountain View: Google and the Android statues
The Android 10 display was not accessible to the public when I visited. I was disappointed, and Nougat’s arm had fallen off again too.
The new display stood on an office balcony, visible behind its railing.
Bay Area offices
The office visits included Instagram, Rakuten Viki, Slack and Salesforce. At Instagram, a camera-logo sculpture sat among open white shelves beside tall windows, with other city buildings close outside.
Half Moon Bay
At Half Moon Bay, the sun dropped towards the ocean and turned the water gold. Low plants covered the bluff, with dark rocks standing out among the waves below.
Golden Gate Club: CalibrateSF
At the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco, I attended CalibrateSF and photographed Lara Hogan’s talk. The slides addressed a familiar management problem: how to recognise progress when much of the work is invisible.
