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Monday, April 19, 2021

A to Z 2021 – P is for The Presidio and Pier 39

The Presidio is now a national park but it was once a military fort under the flags of Spain, Mexico and the United States. In fact, my husband’s father was stationed there for a while so he remembers staying in the houses they had for the enlisted men. It is 1,500 acres and instead of military, it is currently home to a golf course, hiking trails, restaurants, businesses and museums.

Across the street is Crissy Field, which my husband told me was an airstrip up until 1974. I thought it had always been a park.

You can see part of my gel pen collection at the top of this page. There are 4 sections like that, 120 pens! It was a Christmas gift from my daughter. They work really well and don’t smear.

It would make sense to have an airstrip so close to the military base and I guess there were a few important landings on it according to Wikipedia. Another great view of the Golden Gate Bridge too, although I suppose that landing on that strip might be scary with the bridge so close. Living by SFO sometimes it seems like we could touch them as they fly over.

The buildings around the main area all looked mostly the same, beautiful red brick.

The Lodge is open at present and you can stay there if you want to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They have free shuttles to downtown.

The Officers Club. Check out that gun! The Officers Club has been turned into a museum but it is currently closed due to the virus.

The National Cemetery. 30,000 soldiers, family members and notable figures are buried there. You can take a tour in person or online to see the graves if you like that kind of thing. I thought the gates were so impressive!

Letterman General Hospital. During World War II Letterman Hospital was the main hospital of the Pacific action, in 1945 alone there were more than 73,000 patients! In 1995 it was deactivated when the rest of the Presidio was taken over by the Park and Recreation system. Now it is home to Lucasfilm Industrial Light and Magic and LucasArt.

I think we’ll go back there again too and stop at the Visitor’s Center so that we can get a map of the area. Maybe then we can find the spot where my husband lived. It also might be fun to go into some of the museums and historical buildings.

Another great spot down by Fisherman’s Wharf is Pier 39.

The first time I went was on a drive by with my daughter. It was a Saturday and there were a lot of people out enjoying the weather and shops. We didn’t stop. We hadn’t had our vaccines yet and even though it was outside, it wasn’t something we wanted to do.

The next time I went by myself and was able to park and take some more pictures. There is the Aquarium of the Bay, Hard Rock Cafe and down the center are all kinds of shops and restaurants. At the very end of the pier is a place you can see all the seals. There is a carousel ride and a musical staircase. It was early in the morning and none of the shops were open yet so I didn’t walk all the way down.

I haven’t actually been to Pier 39 in a long time so I don’t know if it is still open but there used to be an auditorium and my girlfriends and I saw “Menopause the Musical” there. Hysterical play! I think once the A to Z is over and I have some free time I’m going to make my husband take me on a trip to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf for a day date.

And so we begin our third week of the A to Z Challenge. Have you been able to visit many other folks? I took a copy of the main sign up sheet and am trying to go through and visit some new to me folks. Amazing that 307 of us are taking this month to prattle on about this and that!

Disclaimer notice. The coloring book pages are from the inserts the San Francisco Chronicle put out and I mentioned them in my theme reveal so you can go to that to get the info about the artists if you are interested. I did the coloring and took the pictures. Special thanks to my husband again for this one as he took me around the Presidio so I could get pictures.



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6 comments:

  1. Hi, Janet!

    I hope you had a good weekend, dear friend. As week three of the A to Z Challenge begins, you are definitely minding your Ps and Qs. :)

    Thanks for the excellent pictures and facts about two more San Francisco landmarks, The Presidio and Pier 39. It's interesting that The Presidio was converted from military fort into a national park with a golf course, hiking trails, restaurants, businesses and museums, and another park, Crissy Field, located across the street, was at one time an airstrip. I like your pretty color illustration of Crissy Field. Those sets of colored gel pens, given to you at Christmas by your daughter, were the ideal gift for someone like you. We live within a mile of an airport that holds an annual air show. This year's show wrapped up yesterday. For an entire week and two weekends, planes of all shapes and sizes, including formations of super loud jets, roared over our house so close that the windows rattled. I'm glad the event is over for another year. Yessum, the gates on the National Cemetery where 30,000 soldiers are buried, are indeed impressive. It's fascinating that Letterman Hospital now houses the production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas.

    The Pier 39 illustration is cute and colorful. I'm sure Mrs. S and I would enjoy the Bay Aquarium because we have at least two aquariums in our Bay area that we have visited. We love wildlife and would enjoy seeing all those seals down by the Wharf.

    Great stuff, dear friend Janet. Have a wonderful day out there, please pat Benny for me, and I'll be back tamale for Q-day!

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  2. Hi there, Shady: So glad you are enjoying my little trip around San Francisco. I can imagine how that air show could rattle your cage as we sometimes get the Blue Angels flying our way. Fortunately our noise abatement windows provided by the airport really work! I have to say that I also appreciate your thorough comments. I am sorry I can't always be as detailed with mine on your posts, especially during April! See you tomorrow.

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  3. When we lived on Treasure Island (Navy base at the time) we had friends in the army who lived in the housing on the Presidio base. We enjoyed visiting them. Such a beautiful base.

    I wish I could remember the name of an eatery we went to at Pier 39. We could see the seals from where we sat, and they served delicious clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. (drooool!!)

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    1. Yes, I can't think of it either but I know what you are talking about. It's at the very end of the pier.

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  4. I do like your colouring pages. They are fun aren’t they? I love the brick buildings and so interesting to read about the history of this place and that your husband was stationed there. The bridge is beautiful no matter which angle you take a picture from.i have to look up what musical stairs are but I do love a nice carousel and would love to visit this pier and check out the seals plus the neat shops.

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    1. It is a fun place for sure. One that you need to plan to spend a lot of time at to get the most of the visit.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts!