Daddy Day Hike #5 - Angel Island
For Memorial Day Weekend, we chose a very memorial hike among the ghosts of long-ago troops. One of the centerpieces of the San Francisco Bay, once an army fort, a missile base and an immigration detention center, Angel Island, dubbed "The Jewel of the Bay," is one of the more beautiful places to capture a full 360 degree view of the area. As natives, it's rare that we fight the tourist mayhem down at Fishermen's Wharf or Tiburon to catch a ferry out to the old island. So, it had been many years (13 for me and more for Paul) since either of us visited. Grandma, who very much liked the idea of going to Angel Island (it had been 5 1/2 years since her last visit) joined us this time. Fortunately for her, we only had 2 packbacks and 2 kids to carry. She got to enjoy the hike without carrying anything but her camera and water.
We took the 11:30 ferry from Pier 41 and arrived after first stopping by Alcatraz and Tiburon for additional passengers. The Ayala Cove was lively with many picnickers, many with older kidlets who ran straight for the beach with their sand toys. After a short picnic, we started our hike around the 5-mile Perimeter Road. We paused to take in many sites and did take in a lot of photos. We were a bit late coming back and we missed the targeted 3pm return ferry, but caught the next one an hour and a half later. By then, the girls were incredibly tired and, thankfully, there were people with a sense of humor sitting next to us. As Tina literally threw herself on the ground in a sleep-deprived temper-tantrum, I'm sure everyone was glad they weren't on the red-eye to the East Coast! Beside that, it was an excellent day!
For all the pictures of our picturesque hike, click here.
