Markasaurus

Post-ceremony walk down the grand stairway in the City Hall Rotunda

Looking for something to do in San Francisco over your lunch break? Go to a wedding! On Friday, I rode my bike to City Hall from my office and watched my friends Brian and Corrina get married. They weren’t sure they would be able to get married in the Rotunda without a reservation, but as it turns out you can get married anywhere in the building. The judge was more than happy to marry them at the top of the stairs in front of the Christmas Tree.

The boardwalk at the Palo Alto Bayfront Park

On Saturday, Natasha and I went birdwatching at the Palo Alto Bayfront (see yesterday’s post for the conversation I overheard). The Bayfront Park also hosts the Palo Alto Airport and a golf course, which makes for an interesting “nature walk” experience. One part of the walk is next to the runway, so you can watch rare marsh birds from one side of the path and people taking off in small airplanes on the other side. The last third of the walk the ranger suggested took us around the back of a golf course, through a parking lot and up the side of a road.

If you go when it’s a bit warmer out, they rent canoes and kayaks. It looks like it would be a great place to do one of these activities since the marsh itself is beautiful. The duck pond near the entrance is also highly recommended, but don’t sit down- there is bird crap on nearly every horizontal surface.

Palo Alto Airport runway

I overheard pieces of a woman’s cell phone conversation today at the Palo Alto Duck Pond while walking in to the visitor’s center. In order to set a mental picture of the scene, the woman was overweight and in her late 30s or early 40s and carrying a very expensive SLR camera with huge telephoto lens and a camera bag.

“No, it’s not worth going to jail over. No, stop. It’s only $7. Look, I just talked to the ranger and it’s definitely illegal. It’s only $7! Give me the money and I’ll give it to him tomorrow. It’s really not worth going to jail over.”