I am Tired, with a capital T talaga!  Inday, the city girl, whose idea of exercise means scouring the malls for sales, went Hiking, with a capital H! 

Instead of our usual lunch in downtown San Francisco, my tita decided to take me to Marin County for a morning hike.  I said, “Sure!” not really knowing what that entailed.  So we made plans to meet in the city, with me taking the Bart and getting off at the Embarcadero stop where she would pick me up and we’d cross the Golden Gate Bridge. 

 

I woke up at 6:30am, had my morning coffee and a cigarette and got ready for my day of adventure.  Everything went according to plan, the bus came at 8:18 and soon I was on my way to the Millbrae Bart Station.  I was feeling efficient so I decided to set aside the $2 for the bus ride.  Big mistake! Because this meant that I didn’t have to open my wallet.  And, when I got off at the Bart Station and was looking for my wallet for the Bart fare, I realized…I LEFT MY WALLET AT HOME! No credit card, no cash in my bag pockets.  Great! Thankfully, my brother was done with his meeting and was kind enough to bring me cash.  I had enough for the ride to the city, which was all I needed because my tita would bring me home. 

And finally, ticket in hand, plus $5 extra dollars for emergency, I was off to the city.  When I got to the Embarcadero station, I was surprised to find that there were two exits.  And I had no idea which one would take me to the Hyatt which is where I’d be picked up.  I closed my eyes and turned right, and as luck would have it, I guessed right.  One cigarette later, my tita arrived and we were off to Marin County.

We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and as always, I was in awe of how amazing this bridge was.  In just a few minutes, we had gotten our gear ready and we set off on our hike.  I was worried that I’d have to ask for mini-breaks but surprisingly, the photo stops were enough to keep me going.   And, of course Inday found trees and rocks to pose in front of.  In the distance, I could see the Pacific Ocean.  So near and yet so far…

There were several forks on the trail and my tita asked me to choose the path we’d follow.  I chose the one that seemed flat and hill-less.  But I was wrong, a few feet away was a hill! In fact, as we went on, there were two hills! Good job, Inday!  But we kept going and before long, we reached our destination, the beach!

We posed for photos and sat down to eat our snacks. My tita had a banana and some polvoron and I had my Marie biscuits.  A few minutes later, we were hiking back to the car.  From the hill we crossed earlier, I spotted a flat trail that led from the beach so we decided to take that path.  All along the trails, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how beautiful everything was.  Sometimes us city girls do need to take a break from all the malls and buildings and be surrounded by trees and flowers and fresh air. 

When we got to the car, I didn’t even realize that we had walked for almost two hours and had hiked 3.5 miles.  WHooohooo!  And my prize for this triumph? A sumptuous Mexican lunch in Tiburon.  In all the years I lived in San Francisco, I hadn’t taken the time to explore much across the Golden Gate Bridge, and was glad to explore this really pretty city by the Bay.  After devouring my nachos and shrimp tacos, we again took a short walk before getting back in the car for the ride home.

I’m tired, and I’ll probably be sore tomorrow, but it was all worth it. 

That’s all for now…bow.