Hike #3: First urban hike- Marina/North Beach

Location: San Francisco, CA (Pac Heights, The Marina, North Beach)

Distance: 5 miles

Entry fee: $0

Blisters: 2

This whole week it has been POURING, which has really put a damper (ha) on our ability to do any serious hiking.  So on Thursday Molly and I decided we were going to brave the rain and set out on Urban Hike #1 (still trying to come up with a good name for it.)  Decked out in rain gear and galoshes, we started out at my apartment, heading over Divisadero, through the Marina, up to Aquatic Park and North Beach, and finished up by the TransAmerica building in the Financial District.  Because the weather was so bad, we decided we should probably take shelter periodically to avoid getting too cold and, you know, pneumonia.

First shelter we found was the Fish Bowl, ~.6 miles from my home.  I actually met Molly there.  She was alone at the bar.

We made our way over Divis without much trouble.  Molly demonstrated some of her x-treme hiking technique, but my camera is apparently not extreme enough to fully capture the skill involved at night in the rain.

Though this wasn’t an originally scheduled stop on our trip, our spontaneous break at Donahue’s in the Marina turned out to be (not surprisingly, look at the name) one of the best of the night.   We made a ton of new white, slightly overweight, middle-aged male friends and got some free drinks from the owner, Tommy Donahue.  Sully, the bartender, also provided me with a few Donahue coasters.  We’ll be going back.

Next we stopped by Ghirardelli Square to see the gazebo that Molly designed.  It was VERY cool and made me feel like I have accomplished little in life, you should go see it.  Or maybe even sit in it.

We also made a visit to the Buena Vista cafe, where the first Irish Coffee was made.  Who knew.  Molly’s roommate, Laura, met us there.  She joined us for the remaining 1.3 miles.

1.8 miles after Donahue’s we made a stop at La Trappe for a little taste of Belgium.  The night quickly deteriorated from there.