Has anyone noticed all the benches in downtown Danville that look like books? Pretty cool!
Has anyone noticed all the benches in downtown Danville that look like books? Pretty cool!
Rudgear Park, Walnut Creek
As pickleball becomes more and more popular, so has sound and parking issues increased at Rudgear Park, home of the Walnut Creek Pickleball Club. I recently checked out the park and was surprised to see the tennis courts essentially deserted. However, I could hear a lot ping ponging nearby and as I rounded the corner, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw dozens upon dozens of people playing or waiting to play pickleball. To those unfamiliar with the fastest growing sport, pickleball is played on what looks like miniatures tennis courts, and is like a combination of tennis, ping pong and badminton.
Neighbors living on Dapplegray Lane, right across from the courts, have been complaining about noise, parking and other problems and it looks like Walnut Creek is listening as they are considering locking the courts on weekdays, directing players to indoor courts at Tice Valley Gym instead.
Do the neighbors’ goal of peace and quiet override the enjoyment of pickleball players at a park? When I visited, I saw people of all ages enjoying socializing while playing pickleball, no doubt improving their health and well being. I was particularly amazed by the agility of retired people as they diligently hit net shots, easily keeping up with younger players through their finesse play.
Is closing these outdoor pickleball courts and moving them indoors an equitable solution to the pickleball community? Would introducing parking restrictions and bathroom signs in addition to sound dampening features be a reasonable solution for neighbors instead?
I suppose all the scarecrows I’ve been seeing in Danville are meant to be lighthearted holiday displays but I find them frightening, particularly this “fire chief” recently spotted at the end of Hartz Ave.
If this were 40 years ago, what do you think people would make of this Follow on Instagram sign?
Spotted under my tent on an overnight at Mt. Diablo, this scorpion was not the scariest part of the trip. It was finding my tent ripped open in the morning with my pants laying outside. I think I forgot to throw away an empty wrapper and a racoon got it while I slept calmy with my earplugs in. Lesson learned.
1403 Locust St, Walnut Creek
It was only relatively recently that I noticed this sad looking tree trunk in front of the former Stelle Bistro in downtown Walnut Creek.
Flashback to May 2021:
I don’t know what it is about the drinks I find at Whole Foods, but the latest drink that exudes ironic hipster craziness has got to be Liquid Death.
The Beyond the Creek blog has been online for over ten years posting about the latest happenings and daily life in much of the East Bay, east of the Caldecott. For most of that time, the community response has been mostly positive and understanding of other viewpoints that people may not agree with. Recently however, community input has devolved more and more into personal attacks and typical trolling behavior seen elsewhere.
With this in mind, I have posted a Community Standards page that goes over what is and is not expected of BtC commenters.
tl;dr don’t be a jerk.
Comments Off on A Gentle Reminder to the BtC Community
Does this remind anyone of a beat up bass drum set? Spotted at the top of Mount Diablo, this is part of an antenna, not a drum set. 🥁
1350 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Walnut Creek
A high-end laundromat, Tons of Bubbles Laundromat, with locations in San Francisco, opened recently in downtown Walnut Creek.
From their website:
In all locations we offer the highest-end commercial grade machinery and the largest in the industry: Dexter and Speed Queen washers and dryers-Made in the USA for over 200 years combined. Deanna Caprini-Fusch is the Founder and President of Tons of Bubbles Laundromat, Inc. When she opened the doors to her first store in the Western Addition of SF, she knew at the age of only 22 that she wanted to set the standards high for laundromats.