Fort Point National Historic Site is one of the favorite things I have visited in San Francisco because of it’s beauty, location and history. The fort is well-preserved and right on the water and basically conjoined to the Golden Gate Bridge. The setting is truly magnificent. Make sure you visit the rooftop!
Today I hiked the Batteries to Bluffs Trail. The sweeping ocean views and bonus of walking on the beach coupled with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background made this hike a stellar one. The weather was perfect; I should have worn sunscreen! I even managed to find a mussel shell for my friend who makes art from the shells. I never really noticed mussel shells until I saw her work. Now, I think they are beautiful and am always looking for shells to send to her.
Since I was so close to the Golden Gate Bridge I decided to explore it. There are a lot of great displays about this engineering feat and of course, the views were stunning. I walked the bridge to Marin (1.7 miles each way) and then back to the visitor center. I highly recommend earplugs if you ever do this walk. There were throngs of tourists but the walk over the bridge was not that crowded with walkers but there were plenty of bicyclists.
Today should be called the day of driving. I drove from Mendocino to Bodega Bay. It took about three and a half hours to drive there and the first 30 miles were hairpin curves. Bodega Bay was a bit underwhelming. It’s tiny and really no central downtown area. I don’t think it was really worth the drive but now I know. At least I found some good fish and chips (day three in a row)!
I considered driving to Point Reyes National Seashore (which is what I should have done instead of Bodega Bay) but frankly Pete and I had enough of driving so we drove straight to San Francisco which took about an hour and a half. I have to admit that while I was driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and saw the city in the distance I got a little emotional. I got emotional for two reasons. The first reason is that I realized this was the longest drive I have done by myself (except for two weeks in Portugal). Secondly, arriving in this city marked the beginning of my second half journey. The house is sold, my six weeks of being a nomad across Portland is over. I’ve left my cocoon of familiarity. This is truly the first step of formulating my second half rewrite.
My short term rental was easy to find but parking was not! Fortunately my host was very helpful. I unloaded the car and then headed a block away to a fantastic dog park. Pete was shy at first but then he jumped right in with the 30+ other dogs. It was fun to watch all the dogs run, sniff and get along. I look forward to investigating San Francisco.
seniyegroff 