13 Tuesday

Today, according to our schedule which had been planned by Vern and Raewyn, was our hike across the Golden Gate Bridge. We debated the best way to walk the bridge, whether to incorporate it with other activities, but wisely we didn't try to pack too much into the day. We parked the car on the vista at the northern end of the Bridge and, as it was quite chilly with the characteristic San Francisco fog still not dispersed, we donned thick jackets and set off at a cracking pace to walk to the Southern end.

Looking from the northern end of the bridge

Spot the tourists

Center of the main bridge span

At the half way point we came across a young man in the process of proposing to a young woman. He got Raewyn to take a photo of the proposal while Vern took a photo of Raewyn taking a photo of the young couple. (See the 'More Photos' link at the bottom of the page)

From the southern end's viewing vista

It took us about an hour to walk to the southern end because of the frequent stops for photos and looking at the view. At the southern end where the toll booths are located we browsed the souvenir shop, got some snacks and set off at a cracking pace again to make our way back to the car.

Sausalito water front

Had lunch in Sausalito, which is a nice arty, crafty town on the shores of the Bay not far from the Bridge. We browsed the shops along the main road including an information and photo gallery showing early photos of the Sausalito and of the bridge construction. We found a good place for lunch in the main street as we had worked up a good apetite after our walk. Raewyn found a sweet shop while Sally found a craft shop.

San Francisco from tha Marin Headlands

We then drove up and around the Marin Headland to get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground with the city of San Francisco as a backdrop. It was freezing cold on the headland so I admired the view from the car while the intrepid photographers dashed from the car to the best photo spot, took their photos and dashed back again.

Driving back across the bridge we weren't required to pay a toll as we had more than 3 people in the car. (We took advantage of the car pooling rules several times on the freeways by driving in the fast car pool lane). Arrived back at Russell and Novey's house early evening. To complete the day the four of us walked into Downtown Mountain View and found an Italian Restaurant where we had a nice dinner to round out a very satisfactory day.