Today was the last Sunday in October, and that meant that it was time for the annual Illegal Soap Box Derby on Bernal Heights Hill in San Francisco. I brought the family, and it was fantastic. There was a very relaxed atmosphere, and yet many people had brought some pretty sophisticated soap box racers. I bumped into Scott Beale as we were leaving, and he gave me more background of the Derby - appraently, there's no permit, no cops, and thus no safety patrol - and I gotta tell you, that just added to the charm of the event - truly a real San Francisco event that just felt really natural and friendly. It was my first trip all the way to the top of Bernal Heights hill, and even though it doesn't look like much on Google Earth, it really gave a spectacular view of downtown San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and locations to the four points on the compass - all the way to Twin Peaks to the east, Daly City to the south, the Bay Bridge and Oakland piers to the east, and of course, the downtown financial district to the north. Quite beautiful. Many thanks to Telstar Logistics for getting this organized.

One of the great things about a soap box derby is the sounds you hear - No loud engines, no robots chopping heads off, just a bunch of adults, kids, and dogs hanging out in the beautiful afternoon enjoying some death-defying feats powered only by gravity. Occasionally, a motorcycle was overheard pulling a raer back up the course, sort of a victory lap for the intrepid few who dared to risk the course.