Last Thursday I had barely landed at SFO when I was once again reminded of some of the many reasons I love this little spot on earth, which I fondly refer to as the birthplace of my soul.
The air was brisk–with even something of a bite in it. The humidity felt perfect to me. The “always on” breeze from the ocean filled my lungs with fresh air and create a wonderful clanging in the boat tac in the harbor areas—like wind chimes. The hotel room, directly on Richardson Bay, had the screen-less windows wide open with curtains vigorously flapping about as I walked in. The sunset over Mount Tamalpais was its typical gorgeous display of clouds uniquely shaped by the high atmospheric currents that have played out their carefree folly over the ocean just before hitting the high coastal land mass.
The sounds of the bay splashing along the breakwater punctuated by the distant fog horn as I walked along the Satterlee Breakwater down by Fort Baker at the foot of the north shore of the Golden Gate always say, “peaceful balance.” The sounds of the vigorous ocean waves smashing against the rocks of Lands End speaks of the massive, untamed energy of mother earth. I welcome the feeling of the brisk wind in my face with just a tickle of warmth from the direct sunshine I know is giving me a sunburn as I take in the magnificent views along the ocean paths.
And of course, the conversations you overhear: With billions of people born, there are bound to be some people, even if its a small percentage, who just get born with the wrong equipment. I mean, so what? Why not just let people be. Let them be happy? What’s wrong with that? (I’m assuming this was related to the Bruce Jenner transgender story and the ABC news special, which I haven’t seen, of late as I didn’t hear the whole conversation.) Another: Let me show you my Apple Watch!
Then you see the signs around town: Change the world from here.
When I visit, I walk all over the place—easily exceeding my 10,000 steps per day goal. It starts from the hotel with a casual, slow morning stroll around Richardson Bay. It’s a lovely path. The tides are always of interest as, twice a day, the bay goes from bay to mostly mudflats in just a few hours. Maybe one visit I’ll take the bikes the hotel provides guests and bike around the area immediately around Richardson Bay.
I walked all around the headlands, starting with the Fort Baker waterfront area—a little-known area often deserted except for the kayakers and those going to hear the bands at the tiny weekend-only bar. Then I went up to Hawk Hill, hiked around up there before going down the one way road to the various battlements and hiking around them, ending my hike along the Pacific Ocean.
During this short visit, I also romped around the south shore at Lands End and the old Sutro Bath ruins, Ocean Beach, and Fort Funston. Unfortunately, when I was at Fort Funston, the wind was too vigorous for the hang gliders to be aloft. I had hoped to shoot some slow-mo video of them.
This entire area begs for hiking and riding. If I lived here again, I would also have to take up kayaking in some of the still water bays. Love this place. Just love it.