Golden Gate Park

Where: San Francisco, CA
When: October 8, 2010 / June 15, 2014
With: Me / Dave

When I went to visit Rachel the first time after she moved to San Francisco, I had a lot of free time to myself while she was at work. In the days before Uber, before I even owned a smartphone, I was left to explore the old fashioned way: with a lot of research and a map. 

Rachel lived right by San Francisco's massive Golden Gate Park. Developed in 1871, it is similar in shape to, but about 20% larger than, Central Park. It runs in a long horizontal rectangle, ending on the west side of the peninsula of San Francisco when it hits the Pacific Ocean. I decided I'd like to see ocean, and walking through this park would be the perfect way to get there.

However, I did not anticipate just how beautiful the park would be. It completely took me by surprise. There was such a unique variety of buildings, landscapes, trees and even animals that I never could have anticipated, and it blew me away. 

Let's start with the trees: they are massive! Walking along the many windy paths of the park, they seemed to go miles into the sky, closing in around me. It felt like I was on a different planet, not sitting inside of a city. They took on all kinds of gnarly shapes, and were just so fascinating to look at. 

Then there was the gorgeous architecture. Each building and museum contained in this park is unique and brings its own character to the surrounding landscape. My favorite was the Victorian-styled Conservatory of Flowers, built in 1879. 

The interestingly shaped building in the background is the De Young Museum, but I was shooting more for the gorgeous flowers in the foreground. 

Throughout the park are also several lakes, ponds, waterfalls, and streams, adding to its whimsical character. Honestly, I could have wandered through here for an entire week and not been bored. 

The park also holds quite a few surprises, like the bison paddock. When the number of bison in North America had dipped to a critically low number, San Francisco purchased a herd in an attempt to breed them. A section of the park was designated for them in 1899, and over the years more bison have been added as needed. 

Another surprise was the windmills at the western end of the park. There are two of them, the North and South Windmill, and their purpose is to redirect well water back into the park to keep the lakes full and the grass green. 

Now, when I reached the end of the park, I knew the Pacific Ocean would be there, and yet, it still took me completely by surprise. Maybe after walking for three miles through dense foliage, I forgot where I was, but when I emerged to see the expanse of the water, I was blown away yet again. 

The blue of the water, coupled with the mountains of the west coast, was just one of the prettiest sights I'd ever seen. 

 This may sound strange, but any east coasters reading this should understand: the Pacific Ocean amazes me with the late day sparkle in the water. If you get to the beach after 10am on the east coast, the early morning sparkles are usually gone. Yet on the west coast, late day brings that shimmer that is so beautiful. 

After my very long walk through the park, I was very excited to complete my journey by dipping my toes in the Pacific before my return walk through the park. So gorgeous. 

On my walk back, I was treated to another surprise: the Blue Angels were practicing their stunts for an upcoming show. So as I wandered back to Rachel's in the late day sun, the zoom of fighter jets whizzed above me, adding to this surreal day. 

When Dave and I visited San Francisco for the first time together, this park was my top priority for him to see. We borrowed bikes from Rachel and Aryeh, which made the trip to the ocean much quicker. The view still took my breath away. 

Love love love this park and would recommend it as my favorite thing to do in all of San Francisco!