A Spoonful of Reality

So, we're on our way to Bolinas to collect sea water, and the first beach we pass is Muir Beach. Lovely place, and dogs are allowed (Bean Sprout is with us). We decide to save a few extra miles and stop there.
Gather up the cooler (lunch will be Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese and homegrown cherry tomatoes), the empty bottles, the dog and the camera, and tramp down to the shore.
Oh. This is the first thing we see: But I was planning on boiling the water -- would it still be safe? Then I realize I don't want beloved husband and co-cook IN the water to fill the jugs.
Look, I was taking this whole eat-local challenge with a grain of salt, but I guess it won't be Marin sea salt. Not for now. We're going to explore the safety of water from other beaches.
(As for Bolinas, I've never seen such a sign at its beach. But then, Bolinas has a reputation for yanking down signs.)
So, we have the lunch (yummy, and we don't even miss the taste of bread). And then we head back home. About 1/4 mile from the beach, we spot wild blackberries, just coming into ripeness! Tomato container being now empty, we fill it with the blackest, juiciest fruit we can reach (ow, damn thorns). How local is that?! We get all emotional about foraging. Then, heading toward 101, we pass through Mill Valley, and I suddenly remember a pseudo-pepper tree that grows in the parking lot behind Sloat Gardens (it's actually "California Pepper," or "Peruvian" or "Brazilian," Schinus molle, and in great quantities can be slightly toxic). There's a cluster of old berries from last year hanging from the branches (this year's berries are still green and succulent). You know where this is going, right?
Yeah. We go out to scrounge for salt, and we come home with pepper. This is going to be an interesting month.