An Appointment in San Francisco

On Thursday the Geek had an appointment with the German Consulate General in San Francisco. We decided to make a day trip of it.

We left early because you never know how traffic is on 101 - it can be a smooth ride, but it can also be a never ending traffic jam. We were lucky and arrived 90 minutes before his appointment at the bay. Not eager to hang out in front of the consulate, we took the last exit before the Bridge and drove down to Fort Baker. I had always wanted to go here to the water front because it offers you another great view of the Bridge. Since it was a rather gloomy day - typical Golden Gate summer weather - my photos of the bridge are quite gray - but I can't help myself still thinking they are so characteristic of this area.

I probably mentioned several times on this blog how much I love the Golden Gate Bridge. After all these years and the many times I crossed this bridge I still get goose bumps. No wonder it is such a tourist attraction, albeit a very cold and windy one.

We walked along the waterfront and onto the old pier. I liked the look of the weathered dock pilings.

Then it was time to get into the city. We were done with the appointment at noon and were debating how to spend the rest of the day. Originally we had thought walking out to Land's End Lookout, but changed our minds and drove back North across the Bridge and onto the Marin Headlands. I had read about the coastal trail from Rodeo Beach to Tennessee Point and we both thought this was the day we're going to hike the trail.

The day was still overcast when we arrived. Immediately after we had arrived we saw the first of flocks and flocks of Brown Pelicans. They're common here along the coast and I never tire of watching them. (Since we were going to the consulate, I hadn't brought my good camera. These photos are all taken with my phone.)

There were so many! I think we saw 200 to 300 Brown Pelicans that day.

They seem to prefer flying in flocks and they are completely silent. Look at that graceful gliding flight!

They kept us company for our entire hike. First we climbed up a steep incline to the cliffs and then more or less moderately on top of the cliffs with beautiful views across the ocean - despite the gloominess of the day. In some places the trail was fenced off because the ocean had taken a part of the land (or the wind, who knows). In others we saw beautiful flowers and plants.

Sticky monkey-flower

Fennel

The trail was well kept and soon we could see Tennessee Point.

It looks closer than it actually was, but eventually we were almost there. The trail led through a small cypress grove that gave way to a stunning view.

California sure has some dramatic coastline.

We turned to the left and there it was - the Tennessee Point labyrinth!

All the way I wasn't sure whether we would see it. I had read that it had been destroyed, but obviously it has been restored and I was very happy about it. It gave a nice touch to the barren flat top.

It is a rather small labyrinth and it took less than two minutes to walk to its center. It was a bit too windy to do it in a meditative way. The Brown Pelicans were always with us.

Eventually it was time to walk back to the parking lot at the beach and drive home. We stopped at a Turkish restaurant in a neighboring town for a very late lunch/early dinner - the Geek had a Döner wrap and I chose the Köfte kebap wrap. I remember having delicious Köfte in Turkey and these weren't bad either.

It was a wonderful excursion!

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art Date.