Visiting Wild America: San Francisco

Whew! What a day! And its not over...im still in a McDonalds typing about my life here. Like I said before, I was up very early to ditch the overpriced campground. Check. Then I went back to the Point Reyes Visitor center to search for some California specialty birds. Check. Found California Towhee, Oak Titmouse, White-tailed Kite, and California Quail. Then it was off to a nearby beach to do some shore birding and finally put my feet in the water. Check. Quick nap and snack food before heading out of the park? Yup. Next back to visitor center to order that part for my busted tent. Check. Ok, it's noon, time to head to San Fran. But wait, what about Muir Woods! Now we can't drive all this way and not see the towering Redwoods, can we? Course not. Detour into Muir Woods National Monument to see 275foot tall Redwoods, some of the tallest trees in the world. Check. Ok, now lets go to San Francisco. The short drive took a lot longer than planned. All roads leading to and from Muir Woods are like being on a roller coaster. The roads are literally banked to help your car through the turns. In fact most of the area is driving like this. Switchback after countless switchback, up and down hills. It seems to me like a lot of extra pavement was laid down and a lot of extra effort was put into building these roads. But I guess that's what makes California so special. Everything has to be on a grand scale, even their roadways. Alright, stepping off my soap box.
San Francisco baby! Last time I was hear, I was just a little 6th grader being held at the arm by my grandmother, as we toured along the coast, beginning in San Fran, and eventually making our way to San Diego. We were part of an elderly tour it seemed, and although we got to see all the sights on that trip, I have always wished to go back, not necessarily to see the same touristy locations, like Alcatraz or the historic missionaries that dot the coast. No, I wanted to go back to explore the wilds of California on my own time, free to come and go as I please. Enter this grand trip! Although San Francisco isn't one of the natural spectacles that I've been writing mostly about so far, it still is a great city, and I wanted to see a bit of it before heading further down the coast. I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge- completely enshrouded in fog coming off the ocean- and parked at an overlook just below the bridge (which I still couldn't even see). I ended up doing an hour long run, one of my longest of the trip, from the bridge down to Fisherman's Wharf and back. I avoided the big hills of center city, but still got a great taste for the local culture and atmosphere. Runners, wannabe runners, cyclists galore, dogs, beaches, swimmers in the shark infested bay, foggy views of Alcatraz, homeless people, the smells from bayfront restaurants, boats on the water, even some free flying parrots. This city is also known for it's gay communities, and I saw a few men holding hands too. All in all, a very cultured run, and probably one of the most scenic I've ever taken had. Afterwards, though I was beat, and as my meals havent been so healthy lately (can't remember the last time I've had meat), I decided to tour the eateries of Fisherman's Wharf. I scored big! Thanks to a tip from Mark Vorensky, a fellow IC runner who has been to the area before, I found a new fast food restaurant, the In'n'Out burger house, and feasted on a double cheeseburger and fries. Next, I went to a nearby Italian Resaurant and had a bowl of clam chowder and a Roy Rogers (coke and grenadine, hit...the...spot). I was surprised that they also provided me with a basket of bread. Of course I stashed that in my sweatshirt to eat for later. I figured I'd go for desert, so a bowl of cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone capped off a fantastic little trip, and all that food for just about $20? You bet! San Francisco, you've done well in my book. Despite your crazy road system and somewhat incompetent drivers (I had to show some anger towards some guy parked in a "NO PARKING" zone), I still love you. Who knows, maybe I'll stop back in tomorrow. Eh, we'll see. I have plans to head down the Big Sur. If I do that, I won't be back online for a few days, and if that's the case, I may only have one more post before getting to LA! There's a lot of homeless people gathering around this McDonald's. One guy keeps coming in and plugging his phone into the outlet over and over. He said hi to me, and I said hi back. They all seem friendly enough. But I don't want to spend too much more time in this McDonald's. It's almost 11, and I'm sitting here with an expensive camera and laptop. Im not trying to jump to any conclusions, but you'd be a little nervous too.

Some guy just tried to fist pump me.....I think I'm going to head out.
Some guy just chucked a die at some other guy....yup definitely time to go. Again sorry for the lack of pics lately. Please check back in either a few days for some. If not then, I will definitely have time to update it this weekend when I get to LA and have time to relax.