Up at a much more respectable hour this morning, since there was little or no prospect of work. We’d slept like veritable logs. Waited for Terry to come in (ate breakfast in the meantime) then said cheerio, and walked out to Twin Peaks, a couple of hills out near the barber shop. It was a nice little walk, tho’ the crooks have slapped some incredibly ugly apartment blocks up on the hillside. However, we walked up past them, and with a bit of a scramble (I was wearing flip-flops, Val her sandals) we got up to the top and were rewarded with a good view over the city. However, the wind was cold, so we soon scrambled down again, and walked down. We decided it was about time we took a look at Golden Gate Park, so we walked over that way – it was just a few blocks. A bathroom was quite an urgent priority for me, and I was relieved to find a gas station, tho’ shocked to discover that it cost 25c to use their amenity – daylight robbery. The park was nice – very green and not too open, loads of trees breaking up the landscape. A little way in there was a white building modelled on Kew Gardens – the Botanical Gardens. Very pleasant inside, but we looked at things rather superficially, neither of us being very horticulturally minded. Lay down outside in the sunshine for a time, then continued our walk. I spotted a grassy bank and rolled down it – it was great! Persuaded Val to try too, and she liked it – she never had as a kid. Tried to roll down doubles, but she gave up… said I was too heavy. Went to the museum complex, but that was too expensive, so we didn’t go in. Visited the arboretum instead (free) and wandered a while. Lay down by a nice fountain, and Val slept while I wrote. There were a couple of geese there, but they didn’t disturb her. Caught the Muni back – weird, a bus that turns into an underground train. Then ate, and hit the sack to watch TV = Mork + Mindy, then some dreadful film for about 10 mins before switching off in disgust.
Couple of notes – good to see us exploring our inner child(ren), rolling down a grassy slope. Yet another reference to our impoverished state, unable to afford museums, beefing about paying for a toilet. And that film must have been truly awful to provoke disgust.
Pamela J Blair
You finally made it to GG Park! Too bad about the museum entrance fee. You probably didn’t go into the Japanese tea house for the same reason. The band shelter next to it, in those days, held free opera concerts on Sundays. And the park extends all the way to the ocean–there are many, many different aspects to it–a herd of buffalo roam in one field; a Stowe Lake, with a nice hill to climb, is another. The thing I love about SF is its hills–there are so many places to have incredible views. Actually, where I live in Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills, I can stare over at SF, and see the GG Bridge as well. Vistas galore in the Bay Area. I’m part mountain goat, so climbing up hills to get an expansive view is fine for me.