San Pablo Ave., cont. - Mar. 17, '11

Walking Distance: 3.6 mi.
Walking Time: 55 min. (6:41 - 7:36 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Public parking lot near The Embers Restaurant, Pinole, CA

Before dinner this evening, I walked the red line trail at Pinole Shores Regional Park. After taking a dinner break at The Embers restaurant (in shopping center off San Pablo Ave.), it was time to do a bit more walking -- this time on city surface streets. I headed southwest first, toward Richmond. Today was Saint Patrick's Day, so it seemed appropriate to walk as far southwest as Shamrock Drive, in Tara Hills (southwest of Pinole) before turning around.

Shown as a double yellow line on the Bay Trail Map, this stretch of San Pablo Avenue was a combination of mostly light industrial and commercial businesses and buildings -- with a dash of residential dwellings thrown in for good measure. There wasn't much in the way of green grass or Bay views from San Pablo Ave. But, this would be a good route for bicyclists. For pedestrians, most of San Pablo Avenue in this part of town has a sidewalk (or at least a sidewalk on one side of the street). At one point the sidewalk took me up a hill and a bit away from the road traffic. Then I was walking on roadway again. But, again, this was a double yellow line trail, and I've learned to expect a few pedestrian unfriendly stretches where I see double yellow lines.

Willdife:
2 sea gulls; 8 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 crow; 1 rusty screw; 1 domestic cat