A true icon…
It’s one thing to sit back and make plans to travel to a destination - from here straight to there, but then the plan grows and takes on a bit of a life of its own. A quick couple of days here (for a huge event) and a cheeky little stop up there, because it came up.
Turns out the cheeky little stop didn’t need to happen after all and could have been avoided, but where’s the fun in that? It gave me an opportunity to visit somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, to see something I’ve always looked at photos of longingly, and always been fascinated with…. and so I ended up in San Francisco.
Booking accomodation in the heart of the Marina district, we were steps away from shops, cafes, restaurants, even the Apple Store. We were also, more importantly so very close to that incredible example of the beauty of engineering, that famous iconic landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge.
Picking up a hire car we drove a couple of blocks down the road, following the curves, around another bend, and through a tunnel.
Next minute there it was…the Golden Gate Bridge, and we were on it. Driving over it. I felt angels should be singing to celebrate the occasion. I wanted to be driving but also didn’t want to be, if that makes sense. I wanted to take my time and look around, look above me and look beside me.
I had met up with my mother in San Fran, and she did video the my first drive over the bridge. Its fair to say my vocabulary was rather limited to a few choice phrases, and most of them should be bleeped out.
Seeing the bridge with my own eyes, and driving over it repeatably I could really understand why. Driving over it the first time, the second time, actually every time, I was so thrilled, so excited, so very very happy. It was one of those absolutely surreal moments.
The GGB as it’s locally known, is an alluring structure, graceful and majestic it stands tall and proud, linking San Francisco City to the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, and has been providing that link since it opened in 1937.
It has to be one of, if not the absolute most photographed and most famous bridge in the world, shot from all angles, in all kinds of weather, at all times of the day and night.
Each viewing location I visited was teaming with people. A group of girls took their camp stove and cups up, making hot chocolate to sip while watching the sun set.
What a magical experience. The whole two days I was there I spent my mornings and evenings around the bridge, capturing it from different perspectives, in different light. I didn’t get everything I wanted of course, so I guess I’ll just have to go back sometime, hopefully in the not too distant future :)
I drove through the city, while picking up and dropping off my hire car - so easy to arrange and pick up, and would you believe it, another brand new car, Terry the Tucson.
Two days really isn’t nearly enough time to capture everything I was hoping for but I made a dent in my shoot list, and we did manage to venture a little further than the bridge, even exploring a little up the peninsula too.
More on that later… ;)
