Sausalito Ferry Terminal, South - Sept. 8. '12

Walking Distance: 2.2 mi.
Walking Time: 2 hrs., 47 min. (includes dinner break) (6:35 - 9:22 p.m.)
Start and End: Street parking along Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA

This evening's walk, was part 3 of a 3-part adventure today, that started earlier in the afternoon with a seaplane ride, followed by a nice walk in Mill Valley and Bothin Marsh. On the drive south heading back home, I stopped in Sausalito, and walked this segment in south Sausalito, from Alexander Ave., (and the road that leads toward Fort Baker) to the Sausalito Ferry Terminal.

Earlier this month, I'd skipped this stretch, shown as double yellow lines on the Bay Trail map. The double yellow lines, in this case, meant a nice stretch of cement sidewalks, but also some narrow, rather dangerous curved road on a hillside with mixed traffic (bicycles, cars and people).

As I usually do, I parked my car in the middle of the walk (near Tiffany Beach and Park) and made a loop, ending back at the car. This evening, I parked on Bridgeway (the main road running through Sausalito), and first walked south (the more challenging direction) while there were still some light left.

I followed Bridgeway, as it curved right and went uphill to Richardson, then turned left on 2nd Street (at Golden Gate Market). I made a left on South Street (or where the road curved left and became South Street) and watched carefully for traffic in both directions in spots where curves made it difficult to see traffic. Then, once I was on the straight-away, I made my way to the intersection of Alexander Ave. and East Road, where I'd stopped previously, enjoying views out on the Bay during this walk.

Views included looking across the mouth of Richardson Bay to the Tiburon peninsula, Belvedere, Angel Island, the San Francisco skyline and Alcatraz island in the distance. Overall, a very scenic walk. And all this scenery and watching for cars and bicycles zipping around corners made me hungry. So, I popped in to enjoy the dining scenery at Aurora Ristorante on the walk back through town. Thank you to the staff there for whipping up a gluten-free version of a great pasta dish. After dinner, and on the way back to the car, I made my way out onto a small spur trail/wooden boardwalk over the water -- where lights from houses on a hill were reflected on beautiful glassy water on the Bay.

I concluded my walk with a trip to downtown Sausalito to the Ferry Terminal. However, by that time, it was dark, most shops were closed, or were closing. Ferry runs had ended for the day, and it was very peaceful and quiet.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 rustle in the bushes; too dark to see anything else

Sausalito-Marin - Aug. 10, '12

Walking Distance: 2.4 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 14 min. (7:12 - 8:26 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Shopping center parking lot, Harbor Drive and Marinship Way, Sausalito, CA

This evening I took advantage of the longer daylight hours of summer and took a walk in northern Sausalito. Fingers of fog were starting to roll over the hills, cooling things down.

First, however, I needed dinner.

I checked out "Fish," a restaurant at the (east) end of Harbor Drive, by the water; it looked great. But, I was in a hurry to do some walking before dark.

So I hiked back up toward Bridgeway and I bought dinner at Mollie Stone's off Harbor Drive, near the intersection with Marinship/Bridgeway. This local grocery store always seems to have a great selection of high-quality foods that are also portable enough for walks. I remember stopping here on my first walk around the bay a few years ago.

Most of tonight's walk was along paved road, asphalt pathways, or sidewalks. However, I did take a few detours along some packed dirt transitions or smaller trails closer to the water -- particularly when I walked back closer to the water (southeast) on Gate 5 (road) and back up (west on) Harbor Drive on the walk back (not on the Bay Trail).

After dinner, I walked north along Bridgeway, the main road running roughly north-south through Sausalito, at about the point where double red lines turned into a solid red line trail on the Bay Trail Map.

I eventually made the transition to the bicycle - pedestrian path and walked north toward Marin. This part of the walk was closer to the water (Richardson Bay), which afforded great views of a variety of different houseboats (loved the colorful jumble of mailboxes facing the road), and Mount Tamalpais before sunset.

There were also several white egrets fishing near the shore, in the grasses and shadows.

I passed the Seaplane Adventures office (which was closed for the day). I hope to take a flight on one of these seaplanes soon to get an aerial view of Richardson Bay and San Francisco. I turned around at the Shoreline Office center.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 crow; 25 sea gulls; 6 snowy egrets and 2 great egrets