Down by the Bay

 

Driving to Fremont, we started talking about last year. The year 2020 was crazy for many reasons, the pandemic obviously tops the list. What we realized during our drive was that we had not crossed a bridge over to the San Francisco Peninsula a single time during the entire year. 

No Fisherman's Wharf. No San Francisco Zoo. No Half Moon Bay. Or Golden Gate Bridge. NOTHING!

Yes, the lockdowns began relatively early in the year, starting the 9th of March. But still, being less than 30 miles from San Francisco, it shows how homebound we were. 

Even with multiple lockdowns of differing levels, we did do bit of adventuring around our side of the Bay. The place we visited most often last year is the first place we went this year, San Leandro Marina, right on San Francisco Bay. Less than two weeks into this new year, we have made our first visit to this waterfront park.

Last year we visited this San Leandro Marina five times, along with Coyote Hill Regional Park and Alameda Island, all of which are located right on the Bay.  I love visiting the water. This trip, we started out with the intention of visiting  Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge which is located right near the Dumbarton Bridge.

Having driven all the way to Fremont for Krispy Kreme and wings, we headed back long the waterfront, Once we got close to the Refuge, it was obvious that visiting it on a weekend, in the middle of a pandemic was a really bad idea. With stores and restaurants and movie theater and practically every other activity off limits, EVERYONE was at the wildlife refuge.

So after another half hour plus drive in the sunshine north, we made to my favorite spot on the Bay just in time to watch the sunset. With temperatures in the lower 50s by this time, my winter coat would have been better than the lightweight jacket I grabbed. Natalie stayed in the car while Greg and I walked around on the Pier.

We were approached by a stranger who asked if we would like our photo taken. Without thinking, we said, "Yes." Afterwards, we realized that handing a stranger our phone in the middle of COVID WORLD was really stupid. Thankfully, we still had hand wipes in the car left over from the chicken wings we bought for dinner. We wiped down the phone and our hands and are hoping we didn't give ourselves the plague because even after ten months we can't remember to social distance.

After our mini photo shoot, we drove over to the opposite side of the Marina to get a wide open view of the water. From this spot we had a better view watching the planes fly in to land at Oakland International Airport.

Natalie and I went down to get a closer view of the water and to listen to the seagulls singing as the sunset around us. 

In the photo below, you can see the hazy skyline of San Francisco in the background. In front of San Francisco is the edge of Oakland International Airport. Thought you can't see it in  the photo, we could just barely see the outline of the Bay Bridge right above the dark metal beams in the upper right corner.

Just as the sun was setting we decided to head back home. It was much easier to try and get as much driving in as possible before darkness turned to black. We headed away from the Bay, our first trip to the Bay in 2021 with the sun hanging just above the horizon. 

Hope for a good year already a bit shaky with the 'rona' still hanging on and protests turning violent in the Capital. A few hours watching water just rolling peacefully up against the shoreline is just what we needed. 

On the way back into town, we stopped at the local Dairy Queen to pick up an ice cream cake. It is time to celebrate Natalie's birthday. "Happy birthday to you..."