Golden Gate Park

It's been a pretty hectic schedule since I've been in San Francisco, it's a great city and there's so much to see and do.  Two of the recent highlights have centred around Golden Gate Park, a large (think two hour walk across) rectangle of revegetated land to the west of the city that leads to the Pacific Ocean.


Yesterday was the annual Bay to Breakers run, a 12km run that in Australia would have had people training for weeks, decked out in lycra and the latest runners.  In San Francisco it's more of a walk and the emphasis is on the outlandishness of the costume, or lack thereof, and drinking.  At the end of the event the majority of 'competitors' wend their way through Golden Gate Park on the way to the beach. There was a moment yesterday I was watching some of the 40,000 strolling by, mentally thinking; superhero, chewbacca's, cactus man, penis, muppets...  A very San Francisco experience I think.

At the other end of the spectrum, although also in Golden Gate Park, is the Californian Academy of Sciences.  The closest a science nerd could come to reaching nirvana in this life (not that I would know).  Hiring a pushie from the centre of town I headed out again today to Golden Gate Park.  The building itself is fascinating, with over 2.5 American football fields of native grasses planted on a roof shaped to reflect the numerous hills of San Francisco.  The green roof moderates the temperature of the building meaning it is passively ventilated, requires no cooling, with only minimal heating required.  The energy required for the heating is augmented by a canopy of solar panels that surround the building.  Significant consideration has also gone into the materials selected through the building, such as the use of second hand denim for insulation, and the approach to water conservation.


Inside there's a raft of aquariums built into the building and aquatic environments, from marine to estuarine and swampland.  Combined with the numerous aquariums that split differing levels is a three level atrium with differing butterflies and plants from around the world.  I think the most gratifying aspect however was the level of excitement on the numerous schools kids I shared the visit with today.

Tomorrow I head off after being in San Francisco for a week, to start a four day drive north along the coast through the Californian Redwoods to Portland, stopping at small coastal towns along the way.  I was unsure whether to head north or south initially, but as I've spoken to people they've been very positive about Portland and the north, that and well, it's the subject of Portlandia.