FRIDAY,
AUGUST 14:
What
a glorious day of bike riding! Took the bikes onto the bus &
disembarked at Golden Gate Plaza. By mid-morning, only the vestiges
of fog remained against an increasing bright blue sky.
Biked
eastwards on dedicated bike & walking paths all the way to
Fishermen's Wharf. What a fabulous way to traverse the entire
northern shore of the city! Started out on the Golden Gate
Promenade, right where we spent time a week-and-a-half ago around
Fort Point. and soon pedaled through the northern corridor of the
Presidio, where old Coast Guard stations and other military
buildings are now used as little nature centers and museums.
This
area is known as Crissy Field, an former U.S. Army airfield which,
when it was closed in 1974, was declared a “derelict concrete
wasteland.” The National Park Service took it over in 1994 and
reclaimed it with green space, tidal marsh wetlands and dunes, and
biking & hiking trails. The NPS allocated $16 million for the
project, and one benefactor donated $18 million, but the rest came
from small donations from city residents. It re-opened for use in
2001, and is a very popular recreational destination.
Our
next stop was probably the highlight of the day: The Palace of Fine
Arts. This is the only remaining structure from the 1915 Panama
Pacific International Exposition (aka World's Fair). Easily the most
opulent World's Fair this country has ever hosted, it was ostensibly
purposed to celebrate the recent completion of the Panama Canal. But
probably the greater purpose was to showcase San Francisco's
breathtaking recovery from the 1906 earthquake and fires. Not to
mention that it was vital to the city's economic recovery, both in
the construction of it and in the tourism it promoted.
The fair's architectural
concept was designed
to reflect a classical European-style capital. Actually, ever since
the dawn of the century, city planners had envisioned San Francisco
itself to be built in this fashion – to be a Paris of the West.
But 1906 changed all that. But now they had a chance to create this
vision on a smaller scale – almost a city within the city. For 3
years, an army of workers – at the height, more than 15,000 -
teamsters, carpenters, masons, steel workers, gardeners, painters,
plasterers labored to build an elaborate design containing 11
exhibition palaces and 70 other buildings, all built around central
courts, and behind giant walls, resembling a grand walled city. The
buildings mainly used Mediterranean and Near Eastern architectural
styles, with exquisite details borrowed from antiquity, the Middle Ages, the
Renaissance,& Byzantine domes. It was meant to tell the world, “San
Francisco is back!”
And for 9 months and nearly 19 million visitors, it did just that.
The fair and its aftermath reclaimed San Francisco's economic and
cultural dominance in the West. Thousands, lured by the bay's
temperate climate, moved here permanently, helping the explosion in
growth here throughout the 20th
century.
We
were thoroughly enchanted by this absolutely gorgeous place. Easy to
see why it's one of the most popular spots for weddings and other
occasions in the entire city.
As
we continued pedaling on, we were surrounded by gorgeous homes in
this area called the Marina Disstrict. After the World's Fair, all
of the buildings (with
the exception of the Palace of Fine Arts) were
either demolished or sent to other sites (as near as San Rafael and
as far away as a city in Spain) in order to make room for housing for
the influx of new city residents, many of whom were poor immigrants.
They lived here in the Marina district and commuted east and south to
work for the wealthy. Not any more! This is the newest fashionable
neighborhood.
Silicon
Valley magnates have suddenly decided that they want to live in the
city, and this is where they're buying and renovating property.
Actually, we've heard several times that they're buying property all
throughout the city, even in neighborhoods which have been working
class for a long time. Of course this raises property values. If
you already own your own home, that's fine. But for renters, it's a
big problem. Workers like teachers and cops can't really afford to
live here now, two of our guides sadly explained.
Passed
a small marina and pleasure boaters,
and
then to an overlook at Fort Mason, another former military post with
fantastic bay views.
And
to Fishermen's Wharf, to the end of a pier where a model
of a 18th
century
sailing
vessel is
being built by all volunteers,
Another view of Alcatraz:
and
ice cream treats at Lori's Diner in Ghiradelli Square. Also stopped
to listen to a very good musician – he played the violin to backing
tracks. He was more than just a street musician; he's had several
CD's produced. We purchased one.
Rode
the bikes back to the Ferry Terminal, and took a streetcar up to
Union Square, where we intended to get on a tour bus for a “City
Lights” tour – to see the city atop an open air bus at night.
Although we realized that it wouldn't really be at night because of
the start & stop time – more like dusk. But still, we thought
it'd be nice. However, when the bus arrived, it was pretty chaotic,
and since we didn't have tickets already, we had to wait for everyone
else to board, and there were no more seats on top. Bill wasn't
interested in being inside on the bottom. Besides which, we weren't
guaranteed that it would make it back in time for us to make the last
ferry home. And
we had to take the ferry, not the later bus, because that's where our
bikes were!
So
– Plan B. Which turned out to be a lot more fun! The cable car
again! This was our best ride yet! We
got to sit near the front, and our
driver/operator was a really affable guy who selected a passenger
named Luca (from Italy) to be the target of his jokes and mock
terror-inducing
proclamations such as, “Here comes the biggest hill yet, Luca!
We've only lost 3 riders here today. You don't want to be 4th,
Luca! Hold on!” And to the folks standing at the street corners
where we'd stop: “Hey, folks, say Hi to Luca from Italy.”
Everyone was having so much fun!
With
days like this, we're reminded how fortunate we are to be able to
travel in the unhurried way we do. How many visitors to San
Francisco get to pick a beautiful warm, sunny day to leisurely ride a
bike through an entire section of the city, stopping where they want
for as long as they want, without having to watch the time and keep
to a tight sight-seeing schedule?! We'll gladly trade a 1-week stay
at a nice downtown hotel for our humble, getting-to-look-run-down RV.
It gives us the luxury of TIME!
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