Celia and I started our San Francisco adventure by biking to and across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was rather cold and foggy when we arrived, hindering good photo ops, but the fog eventually lifted revealing one of America's, if not the world's, greatest landmarks in all its majestic splendor. It was indeed a great moment for both me and Celia to be at the Golden Gate Bridge, almost akin to being at the Great Wall of China.
Biking across the bridge was fairly safe, but crowded. Was surprised at how easy it would be to jump over the railing into the water a few hundred feet below. Lots of people have committed suicide from this bridge. Sad. The safety features were minimal. About 10 call boxes urging people to talk about their crises before jumping were set up. Hmm. Why not build safety nets
View from the north side.
Day two of our most amazing San Francisco trip started off with trekking to the "world famous," Lombard street. Actually Lombard street stretches a good long way, the famous part is a section of the road that zig zags back and forth for about 200 meters. "The crookedest street in the World." The place was loaded with tourists. Apparently this little section of the road is loaded with tourists all year round. Could not help but think of the home owners who actually live on this section. Must be surreal to have people from all over the world hovering on your street all year taking pictures etc.
The trek up to the crookedest street in World was up a section of Lombard that was crazy steep. Here is Celia gamely trudging up to the top.
The view from the top of this part of Lombard was excellent.
One of the roads bisecting Lombard has an old-fashioned tram.
There was also an excellent view of the once infamous Alcatraz island prison. It is now one of several favourite tourist destinations of San Francisco.
Heading down, and you can only go down the crookedest street in the World. Excellent brakes are a must.
All manner of automative crafts came down Lombard while we were there.
Beautiful hydrangeas. Bill Cosby said these are actually grave plots for those who did not navigate this road properly. Ha ha.
Down to Fisherman's Wharf via a tram. The conductor driving this thing had a to pull hard on this stick/brake type thing, otherwise we would have careened down this impossibly steep hill at break-neck speed into the ocean below.
Great tourist attraction.
Americans were gearing up for July fourth.
Several boats of various vintage are docked at the Fisherman's wharf.
I like how San Francisco keeps some of its vintage forms of transport alive and well for the tourists and locals.
Fisherman's Wharf is a hodge podge of restaurants, tourist trap shops, and attractions to rid you quickly of your hard earned cash. There was even a Madame Toussands wax museum. They are everywhere! Including Hong Kong. Here is Celia with Morgan Freeman.
Me and Steve Jobs.
There were several street performers. Bob was excellent, balancing himself and juggling things while balancing. Pretty incredible.
Juggling knives.
We took a journey to the subway on a cool vintage tram.
Day three of our most excellent trip was all about nature. To see the Redwoods, finally, after decades of admiring them via pictures, was a dream come true. Another check on the old bucket list. Celia and I went to Muir Woods, an interesting trip to get there considering you have to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge and navigate sharp hilly turns sans safety railings. Muir woods is considered not just a national park, but a national monument like the Lincoln Memorial. Pictures really can't convey how amazing and grandiose the Redwoods are. Despite the hoards of people visiting there was a quiet, a reverent hush in the woods. It was like walking through St Paul's cathedral at the Vatican. God's creation is amazing and I am grateful for those who with great foresight managed to preserve this little sample of the miraculous Redwoods from man's destructive ways.
That is me catching up on some info.
Celia in a burned out hollow of a tree. Despite the damage the tree still lived. Apparently the red tinge of the bark is a substance that acts like a fire retardant.
The Redwoods are on average over 225 feet tall and over 2000 years old. That little red figure is me standing beside an "average," Redwood.
Amazing.
After spending the morning at the Redwoods we travelled on to Point Reyes National Park. The scenery was spectacular and the beach went on forever. The water however was freezing.
Celia getting her feet wet in water just a tad warmer than ice.
The fog over the cliffs gave the scenery a surreal effect.
Both Celia and I feel very grateful that we could experience the wonders (natural and man-made) of the San Francisco area. Truly amazing.
Have a great week.
Love adios and ping on!
Dirk
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.