A Perfect San Francisco Day
Not today, but the other day we had a day that was a perfect day. Our day began with a morning bike to the top of Hawk Hill. To get there we first to had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. However, this being a perfect San Francisco day, meant that the bridge was enveloped in a thick fog named Karl. As we pedaled across the bridge Karl hid the breathtaking views that surrounded us. From the middle, we could not see the water 220 feet below us, nor the top of world's second most famous golden arches 500 feet above us, nor the end bridge that was only 3 football fields in front of us. All we could was pedal and hope the fog would break on the other side.
After 2 miles of pedaling through the fog we reached the base of Hawk Hill. From there we climbed 923 feet over 2 mile and as we climbed something magical happened. We rose above the fog and were blessed with a breath taking view of San Francisco's iconic and beloved blanket, Karl:
We took a break at the top and reflected on how much we'll miss having this in our backyard. We then made our way back home, because the day had only just begun. You see, a few days prior Helen had declared "we're going on a date!" and planned a surprise itinerary. However, if Helen was being truly honest in that moment she would have said "we're going on 3 dates over 2 days!" Part 1 of the date was a trip to the De Young Museum. At the De Young we saw some incredible works of art both ancient and modern. Part 2 of "the date" was our bike ride to the top of hawk hill, and the grand finale was one last overnight camping trip. This is a long winded way to saying that once we got home we still had more to do. Helen baked sourdough buns; while Adam packed the bike with camping gear. After a few hours we were ready, so we started the bike, Helen hopped on the back, and we zoomed back over the Golden Gate bridge to Steep Ravine.
Steep Ravine is a campsite along the Pacific coast that came recommended to us by Tyler Black (a cousin of Helen's who was recently mentioned in Dunes Ahoy). Reservations for Steep Ravine are usually booked 6 months in advance but we were able to snag a weekday campsite at the last minute because let's face it, most people don't have time to go camping on a random Thursday. When we arrived, Adam, not knowing what to expect, was now giddy with excitement. We pulled up to the parking lot and it was immediately clear why this campsite was so desirable.
While we were logging our camp gear to the campsite we spotted an eagle who we named "Eagle McMahon," after the famous Disc Golfer.
After purchasing some firewood, we quickly set up camp so that Helen could have time to explore a nearby trail that led to some fascinating tide-pools.
Some of us were starting to get hungry (Adam). So we went back to camp to cook dinner. For dinner "we" made black bean burgers with homemade sourdough buns over a hot fire while sipping cold beer
Once the food was made we set up our chairs on the seaside to watch the sunset and took a selfie that would undoubtedly make the feature image of a blog post one day. We were both content to be back into our happy camping routine. Helen spotted a distant pod of whales making spray with their blowholes and huge splashes as they jumped. We stayed up late that night with a roaring fire, good conversation, and quality 1:1 time with our favorite person. It was A Perfect San Francisco Day.
P.S. Eagle McMahon came to wish a farewell while we made breakfast the next morning.
