San Francisco - Day 2

I've fallen behind on getting out the posts about the honeymoon, so I'm going to try to rush through these...

On our second day in San Francisco, Mrs. Cormack and I headed out in the morning to do a bit more sightseeing. There is a 49 mile long scenic drive there, helpfully called the "49-Mile Scenic Drive." Since our difficulties with United Airlines the day before, we didn't have as much time to see as much of the city as we had planned. So we thought hitting some of the spots on the drive would help us see a bit more of the city.

The first stop we made on the drive was at Golden Gate Park, the large park that slices through San Francisco. There we visited the Dutch Windmill, which was built in 1903 to pump water for irrigation in the park.



Then we headed up to Ocean Beach, and saw the Pacific Ocean (which was a pretty big deal for two people from Arkansas).





At Cliff House, I had to get a shot of this place...



The drive then went up through The Presidio, and a few more overlooks of the Golden Gate Bridge. I took a ton of pictures of the bridge...

This is the view of the bridge from one of the old gun batteries that sat perched on the hills above the water.



The view was amazing...









From there we headed further into the Presidio, which is an old military base that was converted into national park land. This is the view from Chrissy Field, with the old Coast Guard Station.



From there we headed back into town and visited the very touristy Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. We didn't linger too long, and boarded one of the famous cable cars. The cable cars are a great way to see the city, and are much better than walking up the steep hills.















And a view from the cable car as it was heading up the street...



And the end of the line...

San Francisco - Twin Peaks

Our next stop was Twin Peaks, an amazing overlook that sits atop one of the tallest hills in the city. From the overlook, San Francisco spreads out below you like a blanket. This is the view looking towards the skyline...



And no, we didn't see Laura Palmer up there.



From Twin Peaks you could really appreciate just how dense San Francisco is. The buildings here seem to rise and fall along the curves of the hills, stretching far along the landscape.





I was just amazed at how dense everything was here. Especially since I'm from a city that sometimes seems to love nothing more than knocking down old buildings and replacing them with parking lots.



We stood at Twin Peaks for awhile, waiting for dusk. It was a bit windy up at the top of the hill, but the view was worth the chill. This is downtown San Francisco right before sunset...



And then after dusk...



And for a panoramic view, click HERE!

San Francisco - Alamo Square

From the Golden Gate Bridge, we drove back into the city and got some lunch in the Mission District.  From there, we drove by the Mission Dolores.  Built in 1776, it's the oldest surviving building in the city.  This is the newer church that is connected to it (new in that it was built as recently as 1918).   



From there we went into the Civic Center and went by the San Francisco City Hall. It's a really neat building, so we decided to stop and take a closer look.



The City Hall was opened in 1915, replacing a city hall that was destroyed during the 1906 earthquake. The building's dome is the fifth largest dome in the world.



From there we headed up the hill to Alama Square. You might remember the Alamo Square. It's one of the most popular views of the city. There were a bunch of people perched on the hillside with cameras, and a lot more people singing the "Full House" theme song.



It was nearly impossible to get a picture that didn't have anyone walking through it, or laying down in the grass.

San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge

It's been fairly busy here the past few weeks. At the end of October, I got married to the lovely new Mrs. Cormack (I think that her being owner of half of this blog is what sealed the deal for me). It was a crazy, hectic, rainy and amazing day. And when it was over with, we got to head out on our honeymoon trip. We decided to pay a visit to San Francisco. Neither of us had been to California before, so we were eager to fly out west.

Our flight was originally scheduled to leave early in the morning, on the day after the wedding. We groggily woke up at 3:30 and started to get ready, only to find out that our flight was cancelled. The early morning flight had been chosen so we would get into San Francisco and be able to do some sightseeing on our first day. The airline, United, had kindly booked us flights for later that day. But unfortunately it would be a lot later on in the day.

So around the same time we had originally planned on getting into San Francisco, we were instead just boarding the plane in Little Rock. Our new flight plan took us to Denver, but since our plane was delayed we missed our connecting flight. Luckily we had already booked seats on another flight, and made that one without having to sit very long in the terminal. All the airport drama made me feel like I was on The Amazing Race.

But we ended up landing in San Francisco that night, and had our first dinner in California (at an In-N-Out Burger). The next day we woke up and went into full tourist mode, heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge. I have probably seen thousands upon thousands of pictures of this bridge. But it was amazing to see in person.





Looking towards San Francisco...



The bridge is 4,200 feet long, so it's a decent walk across the bridge. It was a nice and pleasant day out there over the Bay.



I took a TON of pictures of this bridge...



Construction on this bridge was completed in 1937, and it's easy to see why it's been a landmark for so long. Makes me wish they still built bridges like this. This is the view looking northeast from the bridge.



The views were amazing; of the Marin Headlands, the city and of the bridge itself.



We walked back across the bridge and then drove around a bit more. We ended up driving by one of the many old army batteries that were placed along the edge of the Bay. This is Battery Godfrey, which was completed in 1895.

It's a neat place, and also has a good view looking back up towards the bridge.



From there we headed out to see a bit more of San Francisco....

Alley Mill

The last mill that we visited on our tour of Missouri is perhaps one of the most popular mills in the state: Alley Mill. We visited it last year, and I was eager to see it again. The only problem was that there was a decent chance it would be closed. The mill is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which was closed like all of the other national parks.

But we drove on towards the park. I was a bit nervous as we passed by campgrounds and access points that were shuttered and closed. But lo and behold, the area around the mill was open! Or well, not surrounded by a phalanx of plastic barriers. We happily went to see the mill, which is well worth the drive to Missouri.



Alley Mill was built in 1894, next to a spring that expels about 81 million gallons of water a day.



The spring (which is the 8th largest in the Ozarks) sits below a tall bluff. It was only the first weekend in October but there was already some decent fall color there.



The water from the spring has a really deep blue color, thanks to suspended particles of limestone and dolomite.



It's an amazingly beautiful area. My only complaint is that I wish it was a little bit closer to home.







One last shot from the mill. After that we headed back home. And luckily the drive home was much better than the return trip last year (when I got a flat tire). We would have stayed in Missouri longer if the parks weren't closed. But luckily they have since re-opened, especially since the upcoming honeymoon will take me to one of the national parks that I've long dreamed about visiting...