So after our picnic in Alamo Square Park we jumped back into the car and made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge!
We got close and Stephanie kept saying..."You should be able to see it by now!" But...we couldn't see it. It was soooo foggy! Remember I told you that the famous fog in San Francisco had its own name? Yes...its name is Karl! Karl the Fog is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and is HILARIOUS!
But that day...I wasn't fond of Karl the Fog! I wanted to see the beloved Golden Gate Bridge! We found a parking spot and got out anyway. I had hope that maybe the fog would disappear any moment! Not only was it extremely foggy....it was FREEZING! The 70 degree weather we enjoyed during our picnic had turned into 50 degree windy weather at the Golden Gate Bridge! All thanks to Karl the Fog!
Of course we had on shorts and short sleeve shirts and conveniently left our jackets at Stephanie's house...an hour away! But I was still going to try to walk across that bridge!
We made our way and stopped at a spot where you were supposed to be able to get a good view of the bridge. You can kind of see a little bit of it in the middle part of my picture.
I made my boys stop and take a picture with me anyway. So at least I could say I was there...and saw a sliver of the bridge. Can you tell that my boys were freezing???
I knew right then and there that there was no way we were going to be able to walk across the bridge that day. It was just too cold for the kids. Stephanie offered to let me walk it on my own and she would drive to the other end with the kids and meet me. But I didn't want to do that.
The kids wanted to visit the gift shop so that's where we headed. And it felt nice to get inside where it was warm! I ended up buying a souvenir shirt that said, "I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge." I thought it was pretty cute...touristy but hey that's what I was! And yes I had to try it on since I wasn't sure of my size since I'm losing weight. I had to buy an Extra Small!!! :-)
The gift shop was pretty neat! The kids found so many things that they liked lol! They also had on display a replica of the test tower from when the bridge was built. Pretty cool reading about how it was built!
We also talked to one of the employees in the gift shop. We asked her about the crazy fog. She said that when it was really hot further inland (like where Stephanie lived...it was 101 degrees that day) that the warmer air coming across the cool Pacific Ocean caused the fog. She said summer time in San Francisco was usually foggy and cold.
To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I was devastated! I had traveled all the way across the US and I just wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge! The employee told us to go out to the flag pole and see if it was a little clearer. She also said you could see more of the bridge on the opposite side.
So we ventured back outside into the cold and headed towards the flag pole. We stopped for a few pictures along the way.
But the view from the flag pole wasn't much better. We could see a little part of the bridge but not enough to be able to tell it was the Golden Gate Bridge.
I decided I wanted to at least step foot on the Golden Gate Bridge. So that's what I did!
We then walked a cold walk back to our warm car. And then it was time to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge! It was amazing driving over it!
Once we got to the second tower the fog started to clear a bit!!! Yay!!!
We made it across and immediately pulled off onto Vista Point! I was so happy because you could see some of the bridge!!!! We got lucky with a parking spot and jumped out! It was beautiful! We couldn't see the entire bridge but at least we could see some of it!
We walked over to see another beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean! The water is so pretty there! And even though I was mad at Karl the Fog for ruining my view of the bridge...it really was amazing and beautiful seeing the fog roll in like that.
The kids also wanted a picture with this statue dedicated to the Coast Guard.
So that was my first experience with the Golden Gate Bridge! For those of you who are wondering...yes I did get to see the Golden Gate Bridge with no fog! But that's another post! ;-)
QOTD: Have you ever been to or seen the Golden Gate Bridge?
