October 25, 2024
What a glorious day! I had such a good time. Managed just over seven miles total. Took breaks when needed. Nothing hurt, but the muscles in the lower right side of my body felt weak. Got back at 3:30pm, fell asleep, and slept eleven straight hours waking at 2:30am this morning. Guess that’s a sign my body is mending.
Anyway, on to the gorgeous SF sites!
Walked the Golden Gate Promenade its length to and from Fort Point. Bay and bridge views abounded.
Fort Point was built just after the Gold Rush began and was active as a military site through WW2. It never saw combat, but it served as a powerful deterrent to those considering an assault on San Francisco. The fort is the only one of its kind outside of the East Coast. At the time of its construction, the location was considered to be in the middle of the wilderness, with the gold rush and a desire to protect America’s newly acquired state from naval attacks being the impetus for its existence. Meticulously crafted from bricks made onsite and granite imported from China, the building has withstood earthquakes and survived the creation of the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge’s architectural plan sentenced the fort to demolition, but Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss decided to preserve the fort and incorporated a protective arch into the bridge’s design.
The Promenade goes through Crissy Field, the USA’s first Air Coast Defense System on the Pacific Coast. Between wars, Crissy Field was the site of aircraft research and flying experiments/records. It was also the site of the first scheduled mail-plane landing of the US Post Office (Sept 9, 1920). Now it is a site of nature preservation with short trails along boardwalks and access to the beach as well as the main Promenade that runs its length.
