A Walk To Remember

You never know what you’re going to see when you go across the Golden Gate Bridge. Several years ago I watched as police stopped a man from jumping to his death and I’ll never forget running through the dense fog with thousands of others during the San Francisco Marathon.

I’ve crossed the bridge hundreds of times, but today’s walk was one to remember. The weather was beautiful, sunny and unusually warm. The majestic span stood tall against the backdrop of the clear sky and the deep blue ocean. The beauty of the bridge still amazes me, like the first time I saw it. People come from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the mighty Golden Gate and I feel so lucky to be able to see it whenever I want.

My friend Laurie joined me for the walk and we headed out towards Sausalito. Along the way we ran into hundreds of tourists taking pictures and riding bikes across the bridge, but the rock stars of the day were the bridge workers. They were painting the railing on the eastern side of the bridge and they looked like they were having a great time. Dressed in their overalls and hard hats they smiled at everyone that walked by and even posed for pictures with their paint brushes.

Adding to the great scenery was the special appearance by the Coast Guard helicopter. We could hear and feel the thumping of the rotor blades, but we couldn’t see it. Then, all of a sudden the bright orange chopper emerged from under the bridge! Everyone around us stopped in their tracks. It was so cool. I had seen the Coast Guard chopper do that maneuver before from a distance, but this was a whole new perspective.

We eventually made it across the Golden Gate and down to Sausalito. Laurie and I enjoyed lunch at a small water front café and headed back to San Francisco. We topped off our fantastic walk with an iced coffee at Starbucks, just another wonderful day living in the city by the bay.