Dawkins has been picked up, the dog has been washed, and the first load of laundry is done.
what a trip, what a trip. Nine days is a great amount of time to spend in San Francisco.
Our last day there ended up being my favorite (Chad’s too). First we killed off the the rest of the tour tickets left in our City Pass booklet: the cruise, the aquarium, and the Boudin Bakery tour (a “bonus” ticket). None of those things were really worth paying for, but the girls loved the touch tank at the aquarium and we got great views of the city and Alcatraz on the cruise.
The best part of the day though was after lunch. After the morning on the wharf, we walked home via Trader Joe’s, had turkey sandwiches on toasted sourdough for lunch, and then jumped on a 30 bus going back to Union Square. The girls have been enjoying their independence – shopping there and getting back home on their own by cable car – so we set them free again for the afternoon. Chad and I continued on to the coast on a 38 bus; we went all the way to Cliff House just north of the Sutro bath house remains. There we picked up the Coastal Trail and spent the rest of the day hiking to the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond.
The walking was mostly level and as the name suggests, all along the ocean sea cliffs. The sea breeze was bracing and the views were absolutely spectacular; crashing waves framed by towering jagged cypress with the orange Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. There were parts of the trail under construction, but most of the time we were either in the woods, skirting the Presidio, or scrambling down to the beach – one part of the trail took us by a few breath-taking mansions on Sea Cliff Avenue.
When we got the Bridge we discovered that there was an entire scenic viewing area dedicated to the tourists who are crossing the bridge on foot, so we started across – until I discovered that the Bridge was not Chad’s intended final destination – he wanted to hike all the way to Crissy Field! So we turned around at the first big post on the bridge (not before catching some intriguing glimpses of Fort Point underneath – save that for another trip) and tramped on another mile to Crissy Field and the Palace of Fine Arts. Despite my grumbling and fatigue, it was all very worth it to be by the sea all afternoon and into the sunset with my husband. In fact, we loved it so much that Chad and I have decided to do this hike every time we’re back in San Francisco.
