A Bay night in the rain...
It's been raining half the day and most of the night here in San Francisco. A light drizzle tap tap taps on the umbrella I carry. It's a chilly fresh night and Dad and I head out for a walk.
We walk down to Ghirardelli Square past the Buena Vista bar (famous for their Irish coffees), splashing in puddles as we go. We climb a mountain of steps and look around at the shops, most are closed. We find a builders bookstore open and take a peek inside. The books are specialized to topics of architecture, buildings, interior design, engineering, bridges and local San Francisco history. Ghirardelli chocolate store and ice cream parlor are open but we pass on treats remembering our diets. Plus we had already received orders from the 'food police' before we left the hotel.
Umbrellas in hand we left Ghirardelli Square and walked down to the Bay's edge at Fisherman's Warf.
"This is the path we usually walk for exercise." Dad said.
We walked for quite a while along the Bay's edge, passing a big three masted ship in port that looked like it could have been from the movie
Pirates of the Caribbean We continued walking until we came to a big paved pier with an old mission or military style building next to it.
"What is that building?" I asked.
"That's Fort Mason." Dad replied.
"Oh, wow!" I exclaimed. "That's a really cool old building."
"Your Uncle was stationed at the Presidio back in 1953." Dad stated.
"Really? I didn't know that." I replied.
We continued walking along the pier in the rain. The wind was stronger on the pier and it caught Dad's umbrella flipping it upwards. He tries to fix the umbrella looking like a character out of
Singing in the Rain as we continue to walk, I hang onto my umbrella with two hands, it feels like the wind will turn it into a kite at any moment.
"I'm going to turn into Mary Poppins at any moment and fly away with my umbrella." I tell Dad.
Dad laughs as his umbrella flips upward again and he struggles to maintain control of it.
The view from this pier jutting out into the Bay is breathtaking! On one side is a lit-up view of the city, I can see the Trans America building and Coit Tower. The city is skirted by lit-up boats and ships docked in the Bay. At the point of the pier the light from the lighthouse on Alcatraz spins round and round calling out to ships and the city alike. On the other side of the pier the Golden Gate Bridge stands lit-up and stretching across the water between San Francisco and Marin County. The lights of Sausilito decorate a hillside connected to the Golden Gate Bridge.
For endless moments I stand at the end of this pier gazing in awe at the beautiful nighttime scenery watching lights twinkle in the rain. I wonder if I'm still breathing as I think this moment, this rainy night, this spectacular city view could fill up an eternity.
At last we begin to make our way back to the hotel. Walking down the pier, past Fort Mason, through wet city streets, passing others carrying umbrellas and splashing in puddles. The rain spritzes my face and I smile feeling refreshed, renewed. By the time we reach the hotel we're soaked... and I found it pleasantly sticky.
My Photos...