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A runner's (and a dog's?) Paradise - Day 3
Posted by Angela Dawn
on
Monday, June 08, 2009
in
San Francisco
Well I started my day out a little a later than I had wanted. And it was still an early-rise, so that wasn't so much fun - but sleep is overrated on vacation, I guess (and I'm craving it right now). I hadn't finished planning my day, so I had to get up early to make sure I had all the bus connections correct.
So, my first time on the MUNI (the bus) was interesting. The lady yelled at me because I didn't pull the (what looks like a plastic covered) wire in time for the stop. Hello lady - I didn't know it was the next stop until the automated voice said so. :) However, I soon figured out that you can go to "nextmuni.com" and find out when a bus will be there and what stop is before mine, etc. - this is where having the internet on my phone has come in really handy.
After a good 30-40 minute bus ride, I had made my way to the Golden Gate Park - my first stop for the day. When I started the day out at the loft, it was a little cloudy, but now the sun was shining and there weren't too many clouds (though it was still chilly). I started at the west side of the park, planning to make my way to the east and then go for Brunch. The first stop was the Dutch Windmill:
It was rather large - but it is a windmill after all. There was also the Queen Wilhelmina's (of the Netherlands? I'm going to have to look that up) garden just below - all the tulips. Next, I was going to just continue down JFK drive (the main drag), because the signage seemed to be a little weak in the park (as I've read also - and a good map apparently isn't available except for sale at the park's entrance house, M-F - and it's Sunday, and I didn't get one). Somehow, I got mixed up and ended up going a bit south rather than east. Not sure how that happened. I asked someone (I'm a girl - perfectly okay asking for directions) the correct way. Once I was back on track I went to the Bison Paddock (yum! - though I'm sure the bison wouldn't want to know that was what I was thinking, it's their preservation area after all). This is where I noticed the brightness of my pictures. I couldn't seem to focus on the bison, they seemed white-washed in my camera, but perfectly fine minus a little sunlight in my view. I became irritated with the sun. Sure, it was a great day for walking around (I eventually de-layered after walking a bit), but it was getting in the way of having beautiful pictures. I continued on. I went around Stow Lake and up Strawberry Hill. The stairs up the hill provided some wonderful posts for camera-holding. This allowed me to get this picture (along with a few others - since my personal photographer was not with me today - hehe):
After climbing to the top, there was a group of Chinese people doing some form of what looked like Yoga (but I assure you it wasn't any yoga I had seen - no sun salutations there). This is where the frustration with the sun really kicked in. The view was amazing. I could see the whole northern part of the city, but the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge were sticking out from what looked like clouds. However, my camera retained none of that. It will have to be fixated in my memory. I strolled down the hill and headed over to the Rose Garden (I found a very pretty orange, yellow and pink one called "Dreams Come True." After that, I headed past the De Young Museum (too expensive and time consuming to go inside, but I enjoyed the exquisite architecture from the outside). Again, the "sun" was causing so many problems that I couldn't get a good picture of that. After that I went to the Japanese Tea Gardens. It had a $5 admission fee, and I didn't stay long, but I thought it was worth it for the quiet atmosphere and some good pictures (these actually looked decent). I would have sat down and had a cup of tea, but I was trying to get as much in as possible, and I don't like tea. :)
After the Tea Gardens, I went to the Shakespeare Garden. This wasn't really that big of a deal - there were some rock walls that had quotes on them, but I didn't stand and read them all, would have taken too long. Found a quote I liked from A Midsummer Night's Dream and then moved on. Next up was the Conservatory of Flowers. Now, I'm not a botanist, so maybe that's the reason I thought the inside of this place was kind of pointless. There were plants, some of which I've never heard of before, but it was a rather small conservatory and you had to pay $5 to get in. I did, and I can say I've done it, but it wasn't really anything to be all gleeful about. The outside of the Conservatory; however, is a different story. It's a large white (which was white-washed in my pictures, boo) structure that resembles a bird cage (at least to me) and has some beautiful landscaping surrounding it. That was the end of my journey in the park. I'm sure you could spend weeks exploring all it has to offer and the many trails, but to stay safe (and not lost) I kept to the main roads and to be quick I kept to the main attractions.
Well that takes me up to around noon - brunch time, but I'm soooo tired. I'm going to go to bed and I'll write more about Day 3 tomorrow. Night.
So, my first time on the MUNI (the bus) was interesting. The lady yelled at me because I didn't pull the (what looks like a plastic covered) wire in time for the stop. Hello lady - I didn't know it was the next stop until the automated voice said so. :) However, I soon figured out that you can go to "nextmuni.com" and find out when a bus will be there and what stop is before mine, etc. - this is where having the internet on my phone has come in really handy.
After a good 30-40 minute bus ride, I had made my way to the Golden Gate Park - my first stop for the day. When I started the day out at the loft, it was a little cloudy, but now the sun was shining and there weren't too many clouds (though it was still chilly). I started at the west side of the park, planning to make my way to the east and then go for Brunch. The first stop was the Dutch Windmill:
It was rather large - but it is a windmill after all. There was also the Queen Wilhelmina's (of the Netherlands? I'm going to have to look that up) garden just below - all the tulips. Next, I was going to just continue down JFK drive (the main drag), because the signage seemed to be a little weak in the park (as I've read also - and a good map apparently isn't available except for sale at the park's entrance house, M-F - and it's Sunday, and I didn't get one). Somehow, I got mixed up and ended up going a bit south rather than east. Not sure how that happened. I asked someone (I'm a girl - perfectly okay asking for directions) the correct way. Once I was back on track I went to the Bison Paddock (yum! - though I'm sure the bison wouldn't want to know that was what I was thinking, it's their preservation area after all). This is where I noticed the brightness of my pictures. I couldn't seem to focus on the bison, they seemed white-washed in my camera, but perfectly fine minus a little sunlight in my view. I became irritated with the sun. Sure, it was a great day for walking around (I eventually de-layered after walking a bit), but it was getting in the way of having beautiful pictures. I continued on. I went around Stow Lake and up Strawberry Hill. The stairs up the hill provided some wonderful posts for camera-holding. This allowed me to get this picture (along with a few others - since my personal photographer was not with me today - hehe):
After climbing to the top, there was a group of Chinese people doing some form of what looked like Yoga (but I assure you it wasn't any yoga I had seen - no sun salutations there). This is where the frustration with the sun really kicked in. The view was amazing. I could see the whole northern part of the city, but the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge were sticking out from what looked like clouds. However, my camera retained none of that. It will have to be fixated in my memory. I strolled down the hill and headed over to the Rose Garden (I found a very pretty orange, yellow and pink one called "Dreams Come True." After that, I headed past the De Young Museum (too expensive and time consuming to go inside, but I enjoyed the exquisite architecture from the outside). Again, the "sun" was causing so many problems that I couldn't get a good picture of that. After that I went to the Japanese Tea Gardens. It had a $5 admission fee, and I didn't stay long, but I thought it was worth it for the quiet atmosphere and some good pictures (these actually looked decent). I would have sat down and had a cup of tea, but I was trying to get as much in as possible, and I don't like tea. :)
After the Tea Gardens, I went to the Shakespeare Garden. This wasn't really that big of a deal - there were some rock walls that had quotes on them, but I didn't stand and read them all, would have taken too long. Found a quote I liked from A Midsummer Night's Dream and then moved on. Next up was the Conservatory of Flowers. Now, I'm not a botanist, so maybe that's the reason I thought the inside of this place was kind of pointless. There were plants, some of which I've never heard of before, but it was a rather small conservatory and you had to pay $5 to get in. I did, and I can say I've done it, but it wasn't really anything to be all gleeful about. The outside of the Conservatory; however, is a different story. It's a large white (which was white-washed in my pictures, boo) structure that resembles a bird cage (at least to me) and has some beautiful landscaping surrounding it. That was the end of my journey in the park. I'm sure you could spend weeks exploring all it has to offer and the many trails, but to stay safe (and not lost) I kept to the main roads and to be quick I kept to the main attractions. Well that takes me up to around noon - brunch time, but I'm soooo tired. I'm going to go to bed and I'll write more about Day 3 tomorrow. Night.
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