This is a three day weekend, because tomorrow is the national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Well, it's a three day weekend for me; it's just another three days off for Helen. She finally starts her second semester of business school on Tuesday, after 39 days of vacation!
Three day weekend or not, we had some time on our hands. So around 8 AM this morning we set out to explore San Francisco. I'm in San Francisco most days for work, but typically I head home to Berkeley afterwards. Helen rarely ventures into "SF" because everything she needs is in Berkeley.
When we left our only plan was to reach the Golden Gate Bridge. Whether or not we crossed over to Marin County would depend on our mood. So we took BART, then MUNI, then walked along the trail through the Presidio to get to the Bridge. When we got there, it seemed obvious that we should cross. So we made it over to Marin and then slogged on down to Sausalito for lunch.
After lunch we explored Sausalito a bit more, and then took a bus to Japan Town (back in SF). After a bit of shopping it was time for another walk. So we headed from Japan Town to the Coit Tower steps (going up and down the Filbert and Greenwich steps, hoping for a glimpse of wild parrots on Telegraph Hill) and then into Coit Tower (which houses fascinating Depression-era murals). By the time we left the tower it was 5 PM, and my calves were sore. We grabbed coffee in North Beach before enjoying an early dinner in Nob Hill, and then we headed home.
My calves are still sore, but this was an amazing day! We even have the pictures (snapped by Helen) to prove it.
From top to bottom:
1. Basement of City Lights Bookstore in North Beach
2. A Coit Tower mural
3. Parking at an angle, the SF way
4. View from Sausalito
5. Baker Beach, Presidio
6. Sober recognition of what can happen on the Golden Gate Bridge
Thank you so much for the pictures, it reminds me of happy times spent there in the Windy City. I note that the damn dogs sure are everywhere on the City beaches, aren't they. Somewhat intimidating if you're trying to write misty postcards from the edge.
I feel like that city has to be on my list of places to live. It's in "the bucket" now.
Posted by: Bill Cash | January 20, 2008 at 11:03 PM