OVER THE BRIDGE AND INTO THE WOODS

I rented a car yesterday and had my first driving experience in San Francisco. The first thing you need to know about me (if you don’t know me) is that I love to drive. LOVE IT!

So, I also love New York City, but I never drive there - NEVER. I walk and take cabs. I love New York, but not when I'm behind the wheel. I'd rather risk my life with a New York cabbie.

You can now add San Francisco to my list of cities where I do not like to drive. The traffic is as bad and scary as New York. Plus a lot of the streets are really narrow, pedestrians walk all over the place (a la New York City) and a lot of the streets are one way, and then you get to a corner where you can turn left or right (because of the direction of the street), but the sign says no left (or right, as the case may be) turn!! **sigh** You can drive for-ev-er in this town looking for a place to turn a corner to try to get where you want to go!! It’s nuts.

If I hadn’t been going to the Muir Woods, and if I hadn’t been planning my trip for tomorrow to Monterey, I would not have rented a car. Tomorrow I will get in the car and follow the *exact* directions the bellman gave me to get up on the 101 and then I. Am. Out.

I am renting a car next weekend, too; but, once again this is so I can leave town to go somewhere else to see something in particular. In next weekend’s case, that something in particular is an IndyCar race. (Yeah!)

Now, back to yesterday’s trip to the Muir Woods. First of all, I had to find the road (Van Ness Ave., which is also the 101) which would take me across the Golden Gate Bridge and through Sausalito and on to Mill Valley, where I could then get to the Muir Woods.

*It took me longer to find my way to Van Ness on all these wacky one-way streets then it did for me to drive to Mill Valley!!* I’m not kidding, people. Seriously...

*sigh*

Once I got to Van Ness it was a piece of cake. Crossing the Golden Gate bridge was thrilling. Then I ooohed and aahhed over the view from the hills above Sausalito looking back out over the Bay toward the City. If I hadn’t been driving the car, I would have snapped some pics for ya’ll to see. :(

When I drive up to Sonoma for the car race, I’m going to try to find a place to pull over so I can get the shots I want. :)

The Muir Woods was beautiful, but there were too many people there. Okay, so I knew I wouldn’t be alone in the forest in some uber zen experience, but honestly I didn’t think there would be THAT many people there. Yikers! It were crowded... Reminded me of a day at Six Flags, or the zoo, or something.

Parking was a bit of challenge as well. When I did get the wheels parked, and get inside the “Muir Woods National Monument” it was amazing. There aren’t words for this really. So, here are some photos. I tried to shoot with people in there so you could get an idea of the scale, but even these don’t do it justice. You look up and the trees just go up and up and up... Until the sun blinds you and you can’t even see the top of them!








Then I drove back and ooohed and aahhhed again as I caught sight of that gorgeous, huge Bay - with Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge off in the distance, the gleaming city rising up beyond Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate framing it all up on one side.

The weather has been magnificent, too. Clear blue and cool (upper 60's/low 70's). As I was writing this, I just checked the temps - 65 in San Fran, 99 in Central TX. All I gotta say is, it’s gonna be tough to go back to those temps after this bliss.

Tonight I’m dining in a very nice restaurant and I’ll have a report on that in the next blog entry. Also, I head out to Monterey and Salinas tomorrow on my John Steinbeck Pilgrimage. I'll have a report and photos on that.

Meanwhile, here are some photos of my wanderings near Ghiradelli Square and up Hyde Street today. :)

Polla Filia,
J.F.