Markasaurus

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit two very scenic bay area attractions.

Saturday morning, Natasha and I went to the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco to meet up with three other friends for a trip over to Angel Island. Angel Island is the largest island in San Francisco Bay. It used to be the largest immigration station on the west coast of the U.S., serving as a sort of purgatory for mostly Chinese immigrants. The island has a large (almost 800′) hill in the center and is a few miles across. Nobody lives there, but you are allowed to camp with a permit. We just went there to hike and have a picnic, which was fun but extremely hot and half the trail is very sun-baked.

As you can see, the National Park Service takes the threat of wildlife very seriously.

The view from the top is spectacular.

Today’s adventure didn’t involve a ferry, but there were more warning signs! Natasha and I went to the Marin Headlands to go birdwatching and took a short walk out to the Point Bonita lighthouse. This lighthouse marks the mouth of the San Francisco Bay and has been in continuous operation since 1855. It was working today, as was the foghorn, because of the extremely thick fog that was hovering over the exact location we decided to look for birds.

Please note that this photo was taken when the fog started clearing.

This warning sign was one of my favorite parts of the lighthouse experience. Upon walking across the bridge, where you can actually see down between your feet and feel the entire thing sway in the slightest breeze, I would definitely not put I third person on there.

It’s a short walk, but memorable. None of the wood looks like it has ever been replaced. Hopefully the bridge isn’t from 1855 too.