San Francisco: Thursday

Thursday morning I again kept the car and drove to the western edge of San Francisco after taking Chris to work. I had been told to check out Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park, so that's what I set out to do!

It was a gorgeous, warm day to walk barefoot on the beach, watching the surfers and the joggers with their dogs go by. 

Again, since it was pretty early on a weekday, it felt like I had the place to myself.

It was free to park there, so I walked over to Golden Gate Park just across the road and took a little hike into a portion of the park. 

Golden Gate Park's north Dutch windmill

This windmill was completed in 1902 and was originally used to pump water.

Once I realized how huge the park was, I decided to trek back to my car and drive into and through the park to see some of the other sights. 

The 1,000-acre park was really beautiful, busy, and diverse! It includes a golf course, soccer fields, tennis courts, disc golf, baseball field, handball courts, bowling greens, and polo fields; a buffalo paddock; a model yacht club, ten lakes with boat rentals; playgrounds; a Japanese Tea Garden; an Arboretum; and more!

I headed toward the Presidio of San Francisco and found a cafe at the golf club there. After enjoying lunch in the warm sun outside, I drove a little more around the Presidio area.

The Presidio, a former military post

I finally arrived at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area parking lot, with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge, a visitor center and shop, displays about the history and architecture of the bridge, and a pedestrian walkway across the bridge.

One display showed a cross section of the main cable, which is composed of 27.572 wires. 

The Golden Gate Bridge was constructed in 1937 and set the world records for the longest bridge span, the distance between supports, and the tallest towers at the time.

A view of Fort Point, which defended the San Francisco Bay following California's Gold Rush through WWII

Of course, on such a beautiful day, I had no choice but to walk partway across the bridge!

The Golden Gate Bridge beautifully portrays the Art Deco style, even in the concrete work.

As you might expect, the views of San Francisco were stunning!

There is a built-in pedestrian and bicyclist walkway on either side of the bridge, protecting us from traffic.

View of Alcatraz Island

The paint color is called International Orange. The steel arrived in San Francisco painted a burnt red hue as a primer, and the consulting architect decded the color was highly visible in fog and pleasing to the eye!

After walking most of the way across, I turned around and went back to the car. I first consulted the park rangers about great views nearby, and they directed me to Hawk Hill, a 923-foot peak in the Marin headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The drive there was fun--winding roads, lots of bicyclists, and even a one-way tunnel! 

The views, as promised, were magnificent.

To climb even higher, I walked through a tunnel in the hill and hiked up steep steps to the highest point.

I drove back to Pleasanton to get Chris after work, and we were excited to head down to Half Moon Bay for dinner at Miramar Beach Restaurant with Tim, a coworker from here who has been working in San Francisco for several months now.

The night's special was Surf & Turf, so the guys went for that while I ordered the baby artichoke cakes, which were AMAZING!

The outdoor dining around a fire with the sound of the ocean just yards away was HEAVENLY!

The only downside was that Chris didn't get to see Half Moon Bay during the day, as I did on Wednesday! It was a pretty great evening destination, too.