Sam, Carolyn and I went for an outing today after Sam’s afternoon nap. We generally try to do these things in the morning when we have a little more time, but it was a typically lazy Sunday morning complete with lying around on the couch, listening to jazz and a pancake breakfast, so morning wasn’t happening.
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It was a sunny afternoon here in El Cerrito, but we could see the fog nestled around the city with only the transamerica building and one other poking out. We couldn’t see the Golden Gate Bridge either though the bay itself was clear and beautiful. We decided to continue our foray regardless, and I’m glad we did as it made for some neat pictures, even if not terribly panoramic ones.
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<a href="http://gallery2.accapehart.com/v/Places/BayArea/GoldenGateBridge/DSCF6741.JPG.html"><img src="http://gallery2.accapehart.com/d/6482-2/DSCF6741.JPG" /></p>
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Fog-shrouded bridge
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Because we read that the parking area for walking along the bridge is only available from the northbound lanes, we went into the city across the Bay Bridge, and then North across the Golden Gate. In the process, we got to see parts of the city that we’d not seen before either. While I know why we live out here on the northern side of the East bay ([relative] space, quiet and affordability), I’m saddened by how foreign most of the city still is to me.
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<a href="http://gallery2.accapehart.com/v/Places/BayArea/GoldenGateBridge/DSCF6748.JPG.html"><img src="http://gallery2.accapehart.com/d/6510-2/DSCF6748.JPG" /></p>
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Bridge into Fog
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Anyway, we crossed the bridge, got off at the parking area and started walking. Sam is in a stage where she doesn’t really want to hold anyone’s hands when she walks now that she’s pretty good at walking by herself. But with 6 lanes of two-way traffic on one side and a several hundred foot fall on the other, hands-free was not an option for this trip. As a result, we ended up carrying her most of the way. I don’t know that she could have gotten past the barriers on either side if she’d tried; I doubt it. But there are just some things I don’t want to learn the hard way.
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We made it back past the “Welcome to San Francisco City and County” sign, and turned back around. We had dinner in Sausalito which reminded me at times of Mediterranean France, and small Eastern, US seaside (or gulf-side) resort towns (like Cedar Keys, FL). Unfortunately, we made a poor choice of restaurants and while the food was passable, the waitress ringing up our meal at the cash register felt compelled to tell me that the tip wasn’t included in her calculations. The busboy cleared the table while we were still getting packed up, even taking away Carolyn’s water almost immediately after she said she was still drinking it. He even cleared the tip away. Maybe that’s why the waitress thought she was getting stiffed — the busboy’s been stealing from her?
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<a href="http://gallery2.accapehart.com/v/Places/BayArea/GoldenGateBridge/DSCF6752.JPG.html"><img src="http://gallery2.accapehart.com/d/6526-2/DSCF6752.JPG" /></p>
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Sailboat and Sausalito
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Regardless, we had a nice trip. Nice enough, and close enough to the city that we thought maybe we’d like to live there, but I both imagine that it’s quite expensive, and that living in such a place would take away from the magic of visiting such a place. I’m still thrilled that we live in a place where we can make trips to places like the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito afternoon jaunts!
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