Local Tourists - Fort Point

You know how when you get back from a really great vacation, you get the post-vacation blues? I got hit hard after spending a glorious week in the Keys. Back to the daily grind.... and no more snorkeling. (Snorkling isn't something you can do in the Califronia Bay Area. Visibility is 0 and anyone who can stand more than 2 minutes in the ocean without going numb should be scientifically studied.) To combat the reality that we probably won't be going to the Keys again any time soon, Connor and I have decided to be local tourists and do some aggressive sight seeing here at home. We started out with Fort Point.

Thank-you to the nice lady who took our picture

I didn't even know Fort Point existed until about a week ago. I was researching a possible hike by the Sutro Baths when I came across it. (I was looking to see where to get a Golden Gate Bridge patch. Who's surprised? Probably no one. It's a new obsession.) And I think I know exactly why. It's located under the Golden Gate Bridge. Unless you are walking along the bay side of the bridge it just isn't very visible.

It was a really neat place to see though. Fort Point was built around the American Civil War to defend the bay. Connor and I noticed that it had many architectural similarities with the Dry Tortugas' Fort Jefferson. The brick arches were laid similarly and the number of levels on the building were identical. Or would have been if Fort Jefferson had been completed.

We ate lunch by Fort Point before deciding to walk across the Golden Gate. It looked like there once was a path from Fort Point to the bridge path. That is closed, so there is a longer route to take instead. We walked 2.6 miles (4k) from Fort Point to the vista point across the other side of the bridge, then another 2.6 miles back. It was a lovely day and we both shed our coats part way through the walk. But we were both ready to sit down after all our exploring.

No fog in Fogust? That would be my storm-like superpowers coming into play.

Through my research, I had found several possible shop locations with patches. The Fort Point gift shop ended up being the only one we went to that we could find what were were looking for. (And that included the Warming Hut and the Golden Gate Pavilion.) We chose a Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point, and Alcatraz patch. Connor and I have been to Alcatraz independently of knowing each other. I figure we earned it. After walking the bridge, we also picked up a magnet for the fridge and got one of those state park stamps on a bit of paper from the pavilion.

I'm excited about the idea of being a local tourist. There are many places that are within 4 hours of us and could be done as a weekend trip. Has anyone else been doing local tourism? Are there places you've been dying to go but just haven't yet?