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Today we started at Alamo Square looking for the fabled money shot. We wandered [that's more walking] about the streets snapping photos of all the Victorian style mansions in the area and eventually found the photo position. Actually all we had to do was find all the people climbing out of the tour bus and point our cameras in the same direction they were pointing theirs.
After Alamo Square we headed for the Southern Windmill [we took pictures of the Northern one yesterday.] Unfortunately it's in the "Completely removed and framed in base of the new one" stage of it's refurbishment. So off to Strawberry Hill for a long walk [more walking]about the island and the lake.
Now a word of caution about Golden Gate Park, the largest city park in the US.... the squirrels can be dangerous. I sat down to change my camera batteries and within moments the squirrels began to swarm. They would get closer by the moment. They've been known to strip the shell from a nut in .2 seconds. An open camera bag, a pant leg, anything is fair game. ...and they looked hungry. Well, no, actually they look well fed.
The geese, the ducks, the pigeons, all of them are voracious predators. Poor elderly sitting on park benches are the first to be swarmed. Next, the slow walkers, and finally the joggers. ...like something from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". I mean, Bodega Bay is only a few miles to the north.
We escaped from Strawberry Hill to the Conservatory of Flowers. The entry fee had been waved so that park patrons could take shelter. ...I mean pictures. Even though the interior of the great green house has hot and humid, the flora was bright and colorful. Shortbread and I spent a great deal of time snapping photos. [at this point Shortbread began to wilt from the danger. ...I mean humidity] One room had was reserved for butterflies. We got a number of good photos of them, though we would have had more if the children didn't lunge at the poor bugs, enticing them to fly away.
We escaped the children only to find out why they were at the Conservatory and not safely secure in the Secret Playground. The Carousel was closed. We pressed our noses, I mean our cameras, up against the glass and came away with the memories of the beautifully hand carved carousel figures.
Soon the deserted Carousel was too disturbing for us to remain. We sought peace in the Japanese Tea Garden. ...and now I know why tea gardens exist. Despite the number of people there the tea garden is an incredible source of peace and tranquility. ...and very few pigeons. We saw one very fat one. [Shortbread speculated that he had eaten all of his brethren, or perhaps the squirrels.] We wandered the many secluded paths for about an hour and finally settled into the tea house for a pot of Jasmine tea and spice crackers. Shortbread has saved our cookie fortunes for posterity.
Finally we made one more try to escape the park's hungry denizens.
We drove to the far west end and slipped out to the North to take pictures of Mile Rock Lighthouse. Success! No fog. Not only could we take photos of Mile Rock, but we could also photograph Point Boneta on the far side of the bay entrance, Lime Point under the North tower of the bridge, and Fort Point Lighthouse on the the South end of the bridge. 4 Lighthouses from one lookout. [...and almost Alcatraz if it weren't for the one tree in the distance.]
Take that you no good sneaky squirrels!
After Alamo Square we headed for the Southern Windmill [we took pictures of the Northern one yesterday.] Unfortunately it's in the "Completely removed and framed in base of the new one" stage of it's refurbishment. So off to Strawberry Hill for a long walk [more walking]about the island and the lake.
Now a word of caution about Golden Gate Park, the largest city park in the US.... the squirrels can be dangerous. I sat down to change my camera batteries and within moments the squirrels began to swarm. They would get closer by the moment. They've been known to strip the shell from a nut in .2 seconds. An open camera bag, a pant leg, anything is fair game. ...and they looked hungry. Well, no, actually they look well fed.
The geese, the ducks, the pigeons, all of them are voracious predators. Poor elderly sitting on park benches are the first to be swarmed. Next, the slow walkers, and finally the joggers. ...like something from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". I mean, Bodega Bay is only a few miles to the north.
We escaped from Strawberry Hill to the Conservatory of Flowers. The entry fee had been waved so that park patrons could take shelter. ...I mean pictures. Even though the interior of the great green house has hot and humid, the flora was bright and colorful. Shortbread and I spent a great deal of time snapping photos. [at this point Shortbread began to wilt from the danger. ...I mean humidity] One room had was reserved for butterflies. We got a number of good photos of them, though we would have had more if the children didn't lunge at the poor bugs, enticing them to fly away.
We escaped the children only to find out why they were at the Conservatory and not safely secure in the Secret Playground. The Carousel was closed. We pressed our noses, I mean our cameras, up against the glass and came away with the memories of the beautifully hand carved carousel figures.
Soon the deserted Carousel was too disturbing for us to remain. We sought peace in the Japanese Tea Garden. ...and now I know why tea gardens exist. Despite the number of people there the tea garden is an incredible source of peace and tranquility. ...and very few pigeons. We saw one very fat one. [Shortbread speculated that he had eaten all of his brethren, or perhaps the squirrels.] We wandered the many secluded paths for about an hour and finally settled into the tea house for a pot of Jasmine tea and spice crackers. Shortbread has saved our cookie fortunes for posterity.
Finally we made one more try to escape the park's hungry denizens.
We drove to the far west end and slipped out to the North to take pictures of Mile Rock Lighthouse. Success! No fog. Not only could we take photos of Mile Rock, but we could also photograph Point Boneta on the far side of the bay entrance, Lime Point under the North tower of the bridge, and Fort Point Lighthouse on the the South end of the bridge. 4 Lighthouses from one lookout. [...and almost Alcatraz if it weren't for the one tree in the distance.]
Take that you no good sneaky squirrels!
