So I did get myself out of bed, dressed and, with Lotte and Irene, headed down to the Embarcadero to start my run with the two of them before heading off on a longer run. Embarcadero was as lovely as ever, Fisherman's Wharf not as crazed as usual and the Marina peaceful enough as I headed to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. I've mentioned this before, but the turn around point for this run really is at the base of the bridge. Looking at the photo on the left you can see a car park with a flag flying, that's the turn around. Today there were surfers making the most of the swells generated by the tide hitting the bridge pylons. Usually I'd just run around and head back the way I came but I was bored with the thought of it so decided to detour.Detouring can lead to some unexpected and lovely moments it does, however, also inevitably lead to my being lost. I have no sense of direction so relied totally on my "general sense" of how the city is laid out. So off I went, heading off the beaten track onto a trail of sorts, heading for the Presideo, which I've mentioned before.
At some point I hit a "no pedestrians, no bikes" sign - ignored that and kept going (not being a native American speaker and all...). Well of course I did eventually hit the reason why (some construction going on) BUT didn't much matter as a short bush hop and I jumped the wall into the Military Cemetery. This place is very lovely and peaceful As you can (maybe) see from the picture, it looks out onto the GG Bridge and also has lovely views of the harbour. Given I had ventured in here before I knew at the top of the hill there was an exit point that would put me back on another trail. This then lead me to a lovely run through a stand of Eucalyptus trees. Lovely for the lungs! Popping out the other side I really wasn't sure where I was but did recognize some of the street names......I am still a long way from home at this point, that much I knew. I stopped someone on the street to ask how I get to the Mission - she was a little startled, noting that I had "quite a long run ahead of me". I had my Big Sur Marathon hat on, so once she had noted that she was a little less concerned. Anyway, she pointed me into Golden Gate Park, I needed to get to the other side of that and keep going. GG Park is BIG and, as we know, I have no sense of direction and haven't spent alot of time in the Park to date. That said it did turn out that I popped into the Park at possibily the only point I had seen in recent times......yuh right near where we had walked on Thanks Giving Day. Delightfully too they close down all the roads during the weekends so I no longer had to think about traffic. As I continued on my way I tried to vaguely keep on track, heading in the general direction of home. Finally though I had to concede......wasn't exactly sure which way to go next. Stopped in at a gas station and advised to head up a road whose name I did recognize. HA! Here's the thing to know when you are asking directions of a non-runner, they don't think about hills.....I was confident the road I was on would lead me into the Mission and home BUT I was also sure I didn't actually have to go up and over the hill. I managed to find a bus stop with a map in it and realized that if I swung left a little I'd hit the Castro. Castro being the famous gay part of San Fran.......rainbow flags abound. Right I definitely knew I was closer to home than not at this point. Irene and I had walked here a few weeks back so I totally knew I did not have to climb any hills! Finally found the street I needed to follow (17th as it turns out, so as you can see from the photo, it wasn't exactly hard).Eventually arrived home 16 miles later and feeling more than a little like the accidental tourist.....
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