Wanderlust in San Francisco

“Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.” – Oxford Dictionaries Online

Wanderlust is in my soul. I love to wander from place to place and today we wandered around one of our favorite cities, San Francisco. We used to live in this wonderful city and there are so many fascinating neighborhoods and pockets to explore.

I love going to the city and just wandering without a set mission of what we want to see or do. I asked Jeff to look up a new place for us to discover and mentioned that I’d like to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, if there was time. The last time we did that was 15 years ago and the views are spectacular.

The first place he took me was Grandview Park in the Inner Sunset.

This is not a typical tourist destination and it was quiet, clear, gorgeous and serene.

I was so happy walking around here, discovering something so breathtaking and new, that my wanderlust spirit was filled and it was only the beginning of our date.

After wandering around the rocky and sandy terrain, we walked through the neighborhood and just enjoyed seeing the cool houses, narrow streets and parrots flying and squawking overhead.

We got back in the car and traversed down the hill, noticing the street names of just staircases that lead to upper streets. We ended up down on Irving Street to grab a drink and use the restroom. My favorite little SF boutique, Ambiance, just happened to be open and I couldn’t resist looking around and trying on some things. This is what I love most about just wandering without a plan. When you see something you like, you just stop and pull over and enjoy the moment.

Our next stop was the Presidio. Before we got there, we drove down Haight street and took in the familiar sites. We drove down by where I used to take Christian to Gymboree with Apryl and Alex and felt nostalgic that it has been replaced with a City Target and Best Buy. It was still fun to see the changes that have happened over the past several years.

Jeff had discovered a new Mexican restaurant in the Presidio Officer’s Club that had recently opened and we decided to give it a try. At Arguello, you order your food at the bar and then they bring you your order whether you choose to sit inside or out. It was sunny and warm without any wind, so we sat on the terrace. The food was ok and the experience was great and relaxing.

After lunch, we had a volunteer docent give us a tour of the Presidio Officer’s Club which was interesting and entertaining. Again, we weren’t looking to explore a museum today, but it was offered to us and we decided to follow along.

The Presidio Visitor’s Center was also open today and so we walked through there too, as Jeff has always wanted to see it. There wasn’t much to see, but the views from the Presidio and the open space are all really appealing.

We walked back to our car and drove over near the bridge, where we paid to park. We got out and found our way to the North entrance of the Bridge and enjoyed the 1.7 mile walk across to the Marin Headlands and then turned around and headed back.

It was a warm day on the bridge and the sun shine and visibility were stunning.

We saw what we thought to be dolphins under the bridge, but soon discovered they were harbor porpoises that have returned to the bay, after we talked with a research scientist who was photographing and tracking the animals as he was working on identifying them.