West of the Gate
| Facing the Pacific Sun |
|
West of the Gate |
West of the Golden Gate bridge one finds some of the most beautiful parts of San Francisco. Here, at Lands' End, the Pacific Ocean meets the San Francisco Bay seen beyond the bridge. One of the city's golf courses is seen in the foreground. |
Nearby one finds the California Palace of the Legion of Honor , actually a replica of the Parisian building of the same name. Built in 1924, it was the inspiration of San Franciscan Alma de Bretteville Spreckles (wife of sugar magnate Adolph Spreckles.) Within these walls are found antiquities from the mediterranean, as well as European paintings and decorative art. The Florence Gould Theatre is also the part-time home of The Golden Gate Opera.
|
 Legion of Honor |
 Taraval to the Pacific |
The L-Taraval line can take you from Downtown to the Pacific Ocean. Here we're trundling down the avenues at sunset. On a clear day, you can see tha Farralon islands from here. |
| Though summertime sometimes shrouds Ocean Beach with a thick Pacific fog, usually there's little more than a misty veil along the shore. Still, when the rest of the area is reaching three-digit temperatures, it can be mighty refreshing here ocean-side. |
 Seagulls and Summer Mists |
 Trimmed Cypress |
Stiff ocean breezes, not gardeners, are responsible for grooming the landscape here along the Pacific edge of the city. |
| Climbing down toward the surf-line, we get a seal-eye view of San Francsisco. This area is one of the nicest to watch the sun set over the pacific. |
 Surf and Sky |
 Wind, Waves, and water-carved Bridge |
Looking west-southwest over the Pacific ocean from Point Lobos. This area gets a fairly stiff wind and some good wave action -- but the rocky shores make surfing fairly dangerous. Natural bridges caused by wave action are fairly common along the California coast. |
| We're not really too far from the bridge here. You can see the north tower (and the Marin headlands) in the distance. |
 Round the Point |