San Francisco in the Fog

We set out in the dark, before dawn so that we could watch the sun rise through the fog over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was chilly and clear as we left Petaluma, but the closer we got to the bay, the foggier it became. 

First we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Lookout on the Marin County side of the bay but it was so dark and foggy, we could barely see the bonnet of the truck. We got out, looked blankly into the fog, laughed, got back in the truck and headed for the bridge.

In the eerie morning fog, the ghostly Golden Gate Bridge loomed up before us, as if we were traveling across the sky.

We headed to Baker Beach, still in the dark, parked up, walked to the beach which was deserted except for a lone fisherman we could barely make out in the distance, and waited for dawn with our hot coffees. I walked the length of the beach to get as close a view of the bridge as possible and as the sun rose and the fog cleared a little, it was a magnificent sight to see the iconic "International Orange" of the Golden Gate Bridge stretching across San Francisco Bay. ​

​A memorable morning!

We spent the rest of the day doing a mini tour of the city. We drove to Lands End and stopped for yet another incredible view of the bay, just as the fog was lifting, then on to Golden Gate Park where we stopped to see the Murphy Windmill, the largest windmill in the world when it was built in 1908. From there we drove through the arts district of Haight-Ashbury to check out the Grateful Dead House which was the communal home and headquarters of the band from 1966 to 1968 and has since been designated an Historical Landmark. We sought out the pastel-painted Victorian homes known as the "Painted Ladies" standing shoulder to shoulder on the slopes of Steiner Street on the edge of  Alamo Square. 

From there we headed on up to Twin Peaks to get a glorious view of the whole city. Instead we got a glorious view of the unfathomable fog. I recognized the very spot where Ken Block made donuts in his famous You Tube video driving the streets of San Francisco. Cool! Check it out...

We continued driving the city (not like Ken Block), enjoying the rise and fall of the streets, as if we were teetering and toppling over the edge at the top of a roller coaster. San Francisco   felt familiar as we had seen it so often in films and TV shows. We enjoyed looking out for the parking meters touched by Adrian Monk and Mrs. Doubtfire's house. We stopped for a stroll around the Palace of Fine Arts down by the marina. Built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the extravagant, neoclassical icon stood with a quiet dignity, the idyllic pond still and serene, even the grey herons were sleeping with their heads tucked under their wings. It was very quiet down there. Nevertheless, Kim and Henry were keeping a beady eye open for robbers and car jackers.

After such an early start we were all absolutely ravenous so we headed to Chinatown for a late lunch/early dinner. After finally figuring out the color coding for the painted curbs to determine where we could park, we found a spot right at the Dragon Gate. The stores reminded Kim and I of our time in Malaysia- lots of waving cats, jade jewelry, fancy bowls and chopsticks, beautiful Kuan Yin statues, colorful dragons and some incredible antiques spilling out into the streets. We followed our noses to a Dim Sum House, grabbed a selection of hot food and sat outside eating the steamed dumplings as we watched the bustling world go by. The dim sum was phenomenal and we scoffed the lot! Of course we were thinking of Kim's sister Teresa, who loves dim sum. It was her favorite Chinese food when she came to visit us when we lived in Penang.

The journey back over the Golden Gate Bridge at the end of the day was much clearer and we could see the two 746-foot tall towers of the spectacular suspension bridge in all their glory.