Island for sale

When I was growing up in the bay area, we would frequently travel over the Richmond San Rafael bridge: a hideous steel trestled span that links, well you know what it links. The bridge itself was not interesting, but there was a gap in between the guard rail and the tarmac through which you could see down into the water. Sometimes, at low tide you could see a shoal of rocks near the Chevron piers which would always be carpeted in harbor seals. You could also see a small red island, rising out of the water. It is tiny, with steep sides, has a few small beaches and what looks like a cave on one side. I always wondered what it would be like to go visit it. Later on, I found out that it is a private island: the only one in the SF bay. Various people have owned it in the last century, and its red soil has been used for ballast for ships. I was reminded of the island because of a news story stating that it is again for sale



Yours for only 5 million USD!

Anyway, Red Rock Island always reminds me of a dear family friend of ours: Karl Kasten. We talked about the island a few times together, and it turned out that one of his professors (Worth Ryder) had painted it from the Richmond side, as had Karl. On one occasion, we dug through his amazing study to find some photos of his paintings, which was a real treat. We miss you, Karl.