San Francisco Adventure: Walking the Embarcadero to Goldsworthy's Tree Fall and Wood Line
Let's walk from the Ferry Building to the Andy Goldsworthy art installations in the Presidio. It's a sunny June Saturday morning, 70 degrees with a slight breeze. Click any of the panoramas below for an interactive version shot with a Ricoh Theta 360 camera.
We take BART to Embarcadero, and thread our way through the art vendors and Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Outside the Exploratorium, we do a little bit of skateboarding:
Along the piers, a hundred cruise ship passengers wait for taxi cabs. We run the gauntlet of tourists at Fisherman's Wharf. We do not eat soup in a bread bowl. Here is a scale model of Alcatraz:
After watching tourists on rental bikes struggle up the hill at Black Point, we reach Fort Mason. We load up our backpacks with some books at the SFPL Readers Bookstore, and then get takeout food at Greens. Also, we learned how to spot UFOs:
We walked through the Marina Green and Yacht Harbor. Jogging, cycling, and volleyball ensued. We arrived at the crowded beach where a dog was digging a large hole:
Curious about the new approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, we left the beach path and walked on Old Mason Street, crossed under the freeway, up past the pet cemetery, San Francisco National Cemetery, and down to the Main Post of Fort Mason.
The Andy Goldsworthy piece Tree Fall is in a small, unsigned building in the square of the Main Post of Fort Mason. From a distance, it looks like a bathroom building. We sat down inside and contemplated the art:
Continuing through the neighborhood, we walked to the Lovers' Lane Trail, and found the Andy Goldsworthy installation Wood Line. A young Indian fellow who was up along the road above the trail asked what I was photographing. I showed him the Wood Line and after a short walk he exclaimed: "Wow, it's HEAVY!" I couldn't have said it better myself.
The area on the map at the top of this post where we double back is where the Wood Line is. We walked it both ways. Here's the view from the top:
If you're in the area, Andy Goldsworthy's Spire is also worth a visit. Exiting the Presidio, we walked through Pacific Heights, and down to Civic Center BART for the journey home. San Francisco is yours to experience. Put on those walking shoes and roar!
