lionsmane's Letterboxing Trips and Events: Day Three

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Day Three - On My Own in San Francisco

Thomas has his last day of his conference today and I again am on my own. We did end up having breakfast together before we each started our own day. When I left the restaurant I walked up to Geary Street and took the #38L (again - it seems to be my favorite bus) all the way west to Sutro Heights Park. The driver I had was so nice he watched out for me and told me where I needed to get off the bus and where to catch it again to get back to Union Square.

View from Sutro Park looking South

So I started looking for boxes in Sutro Heights Park but only found one out of three and I wasn't too impressed with the boxes but I did enjoy walking around the park and I also enjoyed the views of the beach. I took some pictures of lions that are at the entrance to the park and saw a sign showing a big gate that also used to be at the entrance - it looked pretty fancy to me. I then left the park and crossed the street to the Lands End Visitor Center. There was a really nice guy working there and he helped to make sense of the area and I got a National Passport Stamp. He also gave me some maps highlighting things and told me where I could pick up more Passport Stamps. So I headed out to the Cliff House to get three more Passport Stamps and when that was done I walked down to the Sutro Bath Ruins. Walking around the ruins I was looking for a couple of letterboxes so I kept my eyes open for landmarks. I found the first landmark and a kind of looked for the box. It may very well be there but I didn't put much work into it for personal reasons I won't go into now. Then I continued on to the next box and I did look for this one but came up empty handed. So I climbed the stairs up to the Coastal Trail and started a little hike. Somehow I missed the landmark for one of my boxes and I didn't want to go back so I continued on the trail and found the next landmark. Following the clues I found Silver Eagle's Hangman Game 11 off on a side trail out of the view of anyone. I sat and stamped in loving the little stamp in the microbox.

Pelican at Lands End

After rehiding I continued on my walk and shortly came to the next trail I was looking for. This trail was a set of steps heading down to Mile Rock Beach and the Lands End Labyrinth. There were two boxes I was looking for here but with a fair amount of trying I still came up empty handed. So I walked the labyrinth and enjoyed the views of the Golden Gate Bridge from this vantage point. I also enjoyed the pelicans flying around the area.

The Palace of the Legion of Honor

And talk about weather changes - on the main trail it was cloudy, misting and chilly and by the time I got to the labyrinth the sun was out and it was beautiful. I spent about an hour here before ascending back up the stairs to the main trail. From there I made my way up to the Palace of the Legion of Honor. When I got there I followed clues for three boxes, out of the three I found only one - and that box was completely empty - so I was 0 for 3 at this place. Now it was time to leave Lincoln Park and head over to the Presidio. But I wasn't sure how to do that except to walk and that was a pretty far distance. I found a bus stop and there just so happened to be a bus parked there so I asked the driver how I could get to the Palace of Fine Arts and he told me he could take his bus to Geary and then catch the #38L again to Park Presidio and then I could take the #28 into the Presidio. Once I got onto the #28 I asked the driver what I needed to do to get to the Palace of Fine Arts. He told me he goes there and would let me know when to leave the bus - and he did just that - it was so nice not to be worried about getting off at the wrong stop.

Palace of Fine Arts

At the Palace of Fine Arts I went in search of the letterbox that eluded me on Saturday. This time I hit pay dirt and found the box. I was so happy and I have to tell you that hanging out in this area was wonderful, it is so beautiful.

Wave Organ

After stamping in and rehiding the box I walked north to the bay and followed a little jetty out to the Wave Organ. I went there because I wanted to see and hear the organ but I was also looking for two boxes. I searched but didn't find the boxes but I did sit and enjoy the sounds of the water and the views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge were amazing. For some reason when it was time to leave I decided I wanted to walk (I don't know why, I have been walking all week) to Fisherman's Wharf. So I followed Marina Blvd. and walked along the bay and around Fort Mason and onto Fisherman's Wharf.

Seals at Pier 39

I thought I would look for something to eat in this area but nothing struck me so I ended up just walking around. I took a few pictures of the sea lions and went into a couple of shops before deciding to head back to the Union Square area. I took the #8X down Powell to the Union Square - it was a quick and fast ride. I then found a store and bought a few snacks to take back to the hotel for dinner - I wasn't feeling like I wanted to sit in a restaurant and Thomas had his final dinner with the conference tonight, so I was on my own. I returned to the room, showered and then ate while watching The Big Bang Theory. Tomorrow we have another tour - this one is Alcatraz and a City Tour. I think it will be enjoyable - I am really looking forward to visiting Alcatraz.