Day 5 – Visit A Part of Your City You’ve Never Been To Before
I was so excited to wake up to this morning’s challenge, and I knew instantaneously where I wanted to visit in San Francisco – Golden Gate Heights.
Despite living in San Francisco for over seven years, I have never made the four-mile journey over to the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. And so after a beautiful morning of mass to celebrate The Epiphany at Notre Dame de Victories, Renata, Skye, and I drove over to the Golden Heights neighborhood.
We started our urban hike at the nearby, though lesser-known Hidden Garden Steps. These steps were gorgeous. Mushrooms, flowers, and butterflies emerged out of the mosaics as we ascended to the top.
Nearby, we made it to the base of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. A small crowd had gathered, each group ascending at a snail’s pace to take in the sights and snap a photo of the stunning backdrop behind us. I loved the sea-theme of these steps, and we wished we could have added an octopus to the menagerie with our love and good wishes to inspire any passerby.
We meandered around this beautiful enclave for twenty more minutes. The views of the waves crashing in the Pacific in the distance were breath-taking. The serenity of the air and quietness of our surroundings were noticeable. We felt like we had traveled hours from the honking, yelling, and madness of downtown.
We left this slice of heaven within San Francisco and continued to enjoy the chilly, clear winter day. We stopped for lunch at Beach Chalet and then admired the courageous wind surfers on Ocean Beach. Today’s challenge helped me feel grounded and rooted. Just last night, I was googling online quizzes to determine where to move!
Today, I felt proud of my city and thought, for the first time, ever, maybe, just maybe, we could make our mark – and our home – here.