Our Saturday Trip To The Marin Headlands

So Saturday we went to San Fransisco for the day... well actually just north of SF.  The area to the north and west of the Golden Gate bridge is called the Marin Headlands.  It has spectacular views of the Golden Gate, the Golden Gate Bridge, SF Bay, and the Pacific ocean.  

The Marin headlands is now generally a recreational area and an afterthought but from pre-civil war period and forward, it was an important Military and Commercial area.  Set high above the water, Military forts with cannons and then later defense batteries in concrete bunkers (much like Ft. Stevens in Oregon).  However also at the very tip of the Marin Headlands, the southernmost point and lowest point is Pt. Bonita.  And on Pt. Bonita is the Pt. Bonita lighthouse.  But we'll get there in a bit.

So we packed a lunch and had a picnic... the kids were excited.  JP talked 2 hours non stop about getting to see a lighthouse.
So we had lunch.  It was warm but VERY windy...  thus the jackets... still, 65 degrees in March is Warm for San Fransisco....  and yes, JP has developed my love of Pepsi and so of course it was there... nature, nurture... you be the judge....
The picnic area we chose had a great view....

And at last, Pt. Bonita lighthouse.  The first lighthouse was built high on some of the larger hills in the area but when the fog rolled in, the light shone above the fog... oops...  This rocky outcrop is Pt. bonita and is 50 yards above the sea.  The light shines for 18 miles or so out to sea.  It also has a fog horn.  Before the horn they used cannons.  

The bridge to get to it is because the natural land bridge has crumbled between the shore and the rock that the lighthouse sits on.  The bridge was built in the 1950's and is designed to mimic the Golden Gate Bridge.  

The lighthouse was built in the 1850's, torn down and rebuilt here.. the Fresnel lens is the original 1852 Fresnel lens.  The coast guard operates this light.   Jp was upset because he wanted to climb the steps up to the light but we were not allowed to.  Still we got to walk out and see the lighthouse base, the bulbs the coast guard uses to light the station now (better than the whale oil it was originally lit with), and the great view of the Pacific and the Golden Gate.  The kids loved it.

Rebecca and I agree on one thing...  lighthouses are romantic from a distance and functional close up.  But the life of a lighthouse keeper in 1880 was one of solitude... in fact, this particular lighthouse went through 4 keepers in 10 years at one point.

So the rest of our trip we don't have pictures for... we went into San Fransisco and went to China Town, bought a few trinkets for upcoming birthdays and looked at the open air markets... the kids got the experience of crossing both the Bay Bridge and The Golden Gate Bridge twice (about $9 in tolls combined), seeing ducks being prepared, open air chinese markets etc...  we ate dinner in China town then drove home...

we were exhausted and the kids went right to bed but we had a great day....