San Francisco

Today we decided to head over to Sausalito to explore the other side of the Bay. We hear that the weather is completely different than San Francisco. We were looking forward to getting out of the cool wind an clouds for a day.

We headed out after having breakfast in our cafe in the hotel, finding the bus stop to take us over to the Golden Gate Bridge. We boarded the #47 and then transferred to the #28. Once arriving to the Golden Gate Bridge Information centre we decided that instead of taking the Golden Gate bus over the bridge that we take advantage of the nice

weather and walk the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the American city of San Francisco, California – the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula – to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main

span of 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and a total height of 746 feet (227 m).
Construction began on January 5, 1933. The project cost more than $35 million, ($493 million in 2016 dollars) completing ahead of schedule and $1.3 million under budget.

Of eleven men killed from falls during construction, ten were killed on February 17, 1937. The bridge's scaffolding collapsed and took out part of the safety net with it. The platform fell into the safety net, but was too heavy and the net gave way. Two out of the twelve workers survived the 200-foot (61 m) fall into the icy waters, including the 37-year-old foreman, Slim Lambert. Nineteen others who were saved by the net over the course of construction became members of their

Half Way to Hell Club.

The bridge is incredibly impressive with its towers and running cables. Not to mention the views one gets of the bay and area on a clear day. Today the bridge was under some fog (not uncommon in this time of year), but still spectacular to walk across. Once we got to the other side we headed to the Vista Point for a different view of the bridge. By then the sun had started to come out on that side of the bay, making for some nice pictures.

We decided to continue on in our walk and walked into Sausalito - about 30 min walk into town and downhill all the way. The farther we walked the warmer the weather became. We had lots of laughs and wonderful stories to share on our walk into town. What a great way to spend the day! Poor mom is such a trooper and sure can motor along! "Mom Wait up" is my line to use as we hike around San Fran.

She has been working hard all summer to get in good walking shape for our trip. Boy her hard work doesn't go unnoticed!

Sausalito is an interesting little city in Marin County, California. It is located 8 miles (13 km) south-southeast of San Rafael and 4 miles (7 km) north of San Francisco. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to the building of that bridge served as a terminus for rail, car, and ferry traffic.

Sausalito developed rapidly as a shipbuilding center in World War II, with its industrial character giving way in postwar years to a reputation as a wealthy and artistic enclave, a picturesque residential community (incorporating large numbers of houseboats), and a tourist destination. The city is adjacent to, and largely bounded by, the protected spaces of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

We found a nice little restaurant on the waterfront serving up personal pizzas and cold drinks. It definitely was time to kick up for a while and enjoy the view. After lunch we did a little window shopping and tried to find the famous houseboat community. We stumbled across a few houseboats, but they definately needed some work. Many of them were cluttered with junk and in need of major repairs. After a quick stop at 7-11 for a Dr. Pepper and an iced coffee we headed to the bus stop to head back to San Francisco. The walk over was a great experience but I definitely didn't need to hike up-hill all the way home. What a bargain at $6.50 each and a ride back to Union Square.

We did a little window shopping at the mall and Nordstrom Rack before heading back to the hotel. This city has an endless amount of things to see and do. I can hardly wait until tomorrow!