Google Earth view of San Francisco Bay and my 18 mile ride over the Golden Gate Bridge from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito and back.
Sunrise over Fisherman's wharf.
There are many paths around the Presidio area of San Francisco.
The Golden Gate suspension bridge was constructed between 1933 to 1937. It spans 1.7 miles across the strait between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, connecting the City to Marin County on the north. (It's the big red bridge in the background.)
There are 14 lanes at the Toll Plaza. Cost is $5 for autos entering the City from the north.
The towers of the bridge tower 500 feet above the roadway.
The Golden Gate is 246 feet above sea level. Someone jumps off the bridge on the average every two weeks. It takes 4 seconds to hit the water, at about 75 miles per hour, with a force of 15,000 pounds per square inch. In short, hitting water at that speed is like hitting concrete. Hitting feet first will usually plunge one so deeply into the 350 foot deep water that you haven't a chance to surface before drowning. The steel wall along the walk/bike way is only 4 feet high.
A view of the City and the Bay Bridge from Sausalito.
"The Rock", Alcatraz Island, was a military fort from 1859-1934; a federal penitentiary from 1934-1963; occupied by American Indians from 1969-1971; and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Just had to visit Ghirardelli, and just had to have a Dark Chocolate Mint Hot Fudge Sundae.
Donna "catching" the Cable Car at AT&T Park. Home of Barry Bonds and the Giants.
Photos taken by Laurel during our cruise on the lake.
The US Salt Plant has been in business for over 100 years. Wells extend into the earth for over half a mile to tap into an unlimited reservoir of underground salt created by the evaporation of sea water more than 300 million years ago.
The small white structure in the clearing on the hill is the Lakeside Inn where we stayed while in Watkins Glen. Not quite "lakeside" and quite an uphill 5-mile bike ride from the town. The owner was very friendly, though, and gave us a ride into town. There is taxi service only twice a week in town, and on days when the taxi has to come from another town the fare is $45 for the 5 mile ride.
A Northern view toward Geneva. Seneca Lake is the largest of the Finger Lakes and measuring 38 miles long, it is the second longest. It is fed by underground springs and is replenished at a rate of 328,00 gallons per minute.
Hector Falls on the East side of Seneca Lake. We will be biking on that bridge tomorrow so more pictures to follow.
As the story goes, back in the late 1700s when General John Sullivan was avenging the Wyoming and Cherry-Valley Massacres, he chased a group of renegade Iroquois, up from present day Athens, Pennsylvania (then known as Tioga Point) to a point somewhere along the cliffs of Seneca Lake. The Indians escaped down a narrow footpath to canoes that they had hidden earlier in the underbrush. They used these canoes to paddle across the lake to safety. Later they came back and painted these paintings in commemoration of their escape.
A Bald Eagle soaring overhead checking us out. Nice telephoto shot, Laurel.
What's so funny?
