Iconic Golden Gate Bridge is most photographed in the world

At the time of its opening in 1937, the Golden Gate was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 4,200 ft and a total height of 746 ft

From Baker Beach; the U.S. Navy originally planned on painting the Golden Gate Bridge black with yellow stripes (can you imagine?); the famed International Orange color was supposed to be a sealant

From Marin Headlands; I had never walked across the bridge so one day I parked on the SF side and made the 1.7 mile trek to the Marin viewpoint and then retraced my steps; the views are just spectacular!

This view from Coit Tower shows a common occurrence as fog starts to envelop the bridge; most days of my visit the fog would not come much further into the bay or the city but stayed on the Pacific side

Currently a $200+ million physical suicide deterrent system is being installed on the bridge making it a little less photogenic; a series of stainless steel nets is being added to what is the most used suicide site in the world (1500+)

Angel Island is the 2nd largest island in SF Bay and was home to the Angel Island Immigration Station (1910 to 1940); unlike Ellis Island which often processed immigrants in a day, discrimination against Asians made this more a detention center

When completed in 2018, Salesforce Tower became the tallest building in SF surpassing the Transamerica Pyramid; one of the founders of Salesforce is Parker Harris who is from Greensboro (our mothers play bridge together often)

By chance, I was in SF in 1987 for the bridge's 50th anniversary when they closed it to traffic and still regret not attending the celebration (1,000,000 did); a huge crowd (300,000 at the time) flattened the bridge and caused concerns it could collapse

This view from Alcatraz shows a cruise ship entering SF Bay; originally, experts said a bridge could not be built across the 6,700-ft strait, which had strong tides and swirling currents, with water 372 ft deep at the center and frequent strong winds

Millions of military personnel have shipped in and out of SF - especially during World War II; the Lone Sailor statue is representative of sea service members' last view of America's West Coast before reporting for duty at sea

Alcatraz, the new section of the Bay Bridge and the port of Oakland; it took only four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge (1933 - 1937) but the recent rebuilding of the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge took 11 years (2002 - 2013)

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world; tolls ($9.05) are only collected electronically and only southbound

SF from Marin viewpoint; in the 2020 Census SF had a population of 873,965 (70,000 more than in 2010); it is part of the greater 12-county San Jose-SF-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, whose population is 8.75+ million (5th-largest in the nation)

The starting gun for the 1999 San Francisco Marathon found me in a porta-potty so I knew there would be no fast time for me that day; instead I was able to enjoy the run and chat with my besties along the scenic course

I was only running my 2nd marathon (#481) back in 1992 when the SF Marathon started on the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge and we ran across at the beginning of the race; logistics and traffic problems caused future marathons to abandon the bridge

My last day in SF was warm and sunny until I arrived at Baker Beach when the fog soon rolled in; SF is roughly 42% White, 33% Asian, 15% Hispanic, and 6% Black

Fort Baker, on Horseshoe Bay, in Marin County sits opposite Fort Point on the SF side as they guarded the entrance to SF Bay; Fort Baker began in 1850 when President Fillmore created a system of coastal defense positions and logistic support facilities