Started the day early at 6:00 in the morning. I left the apartment with Ankai and caught a bus to China Beach, near the eastern end of Land's End Park. The streets were very quiet that early in the morning, and it was a bit scary walking down to the beach area all alone. But I saw this guy and a girl swimming in the water; I can't imagine swimming in that temperature. Next, I followed the Coastal Trail and Land's End Trail in the park and stopped at the viewpoints along the way. It was a nice hike along the shore with glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge and historical landmarks along the way. I got to the California Palace of Legion of Honor at 9:30 right when it opened and stayed for about an hour. Afterwards, I headed west and reached the Sutro Baths, Seal Rocks and Cliff House. It was a nice view of the coast and watching the waves from the Pacific Ocean crash into the rocks along the shore. I also stopped by Ocean Beach after I left Land's End Park. For lunch, I ate at a deli and ordered a lamb gyro; it was actually pretty good.
By lunchtime, I was already tired from the whole morning's walk, but I had to walk across the entire Golden Gate Park. The park is huge. I walked to the Bison Paddock expecting to see Bison grazing, but instead I found an empty field with no Bison. After the disappointment, I walked for about 20 minutes until I reached Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill. The lake is in the shape of an "O" and Strawberry Hill lies on the island in the middle of Stow Lake. I think that was the best part about Golden Gate Park. I saw people paddle boating and rowing on the lake. Next, I walked to the Japanese Tea Garden. It's not very big, but everything inside was really pretty and neat. I'd definitely recommend going to Stow Lake and Japanese Tea Garden. The de Young Museum is right next to the Japanese Tea Garden so I went there, with free same-day admission with the Legion of Honor's ticket. The de Young museum is an art museum, and by that time I didn't have the energy and patience to go through every exhibit thoroughly, so I skimmed most of it besides the photo galleries. From the museum, it was a 15-minute walk to the east side of Golden Gate Park, and then I walked east on Haight Street. It's such a hippie neighborhood. I didn't go into any stores because it was mostly tattoo/piercing stores or stores I wouldn't go in to begin with. Next to the Haights is Buenos Vista Park, supposedly with a good city view from the peak. So I trekked up the hilly streets and steep slopes; it felt just like going up Libe Slope. At the top, I saw glimpse of certain angles of the city, and the rest were blocked by trees. It was a disappointment. By this time, my ankle was hurting from my high-tops rubbing against the back of my ankle, and I had to put a band-aid because it hurts with every step. I walked to Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies. On the lawn across from the Painted Ladies, there were a bunch of people taking photos of it. I, like a typical tourist, blended in with them, but left right after I got a good shot. I didn't want to be affiliated with those typical Asians taking photos with weird poses. I walked to Japantown after, stopping along the way to fix the tissues that I stuffed in my shoe to replace my lost band-aid. Japantown was really nice and all the Japanese stores have such cool stuff. I got two animal mugs, a turtle and a hippo. One of them will be my mug for next semester, and the other one I haven't decided what to do with it yet.
After finishing my 13-mile route, I hopped on the bus and successfully made it back to Ankai's apartment without getting lost. Now I'm finally resting my feet. They're in so much pain.
China Beach statue with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Land's End.
Lamb gyro for lunch!
Some fancy french mirror in the de Young Museum
The Painted Ladies at Alamo Square with the city skyline in the background.
My 13-mile route.
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