So we decided today would be the day for Golden Gate park. We took the Muni subway to the park. The park was lovely and we walked through seeing the Chinese Pavillion, Stowe Lake the Japanese Rose Garden and the Botanical Garden (which we had to pay $7 admission for).
After the park, we went down to the Haight-Asbury section so I could get my picture taken at the famous corner.
This was not my favorite area of town. We stopped at a place called the Magnolia Pub and Brewery for some lunch then took the bus back to the hotel.
We planned to brave the masses and see the fireworks at the amphitheater in Ghiradelli Square. I tried to tell Nick that the locals on Trip Advisor did not recommend this but he would not be deterred. Before walking there, we had a pizza crawl of North Beach eating slices of pizza at Pizzelle di North Beach, North Beach Pizza and Tony's Pizza (our favorite).
Then we walked all.the.way.to.the.marina. Ben looked it up and I think it was 1.5 miles each way, so 3 miles total. When we got there, it was a veritable sea of humanity. We waltzed in at 9:15 pm for the 9:30 fireworks like we were just expecting to find a seat waiting for us. But surprisingly, we found a spot of concrete just big enough for all 3 of us, and when the fireworks started, it ended up being the perfect seat in the house.
When the show was over, I was really worried we'd never get out of there but it was actually all very organized and peaceful and we had no problems. I did feel very sorry for the poor people who thought driving anywhere in the vicinity of the fireworks was a good idea though.
I woke up in the middle of the night with my legs aching. By this point, I am dreaming of a massage and wondering if my legs will ever recover. Thank goodness the next two days will be spent mostly in the car driving through Napa Valley.
