Angel Island - By Sea and Land

Could be one of the all time perfect days!

Glenn and I had made a date to go to Angel Island to hike. For our anniversary I had gotten him a gift certificate to Arch Rival to get him some suitable shoes. He keeps referring to his leather hiking boots from eons ago... I think it dates him. We picked up a pair and backed our bags and jumped on our boat. Its an all too rare occurrence that I get on our boat! Glenn and the guys race Hazardous Waste on the Bay, and somehow, there are too few of the lazy days of just getting out.

We motored over to Angel Island.

It is a little known fact that for the Younglings there is a great history there.

Glenn's Great Grandfather was an immigration officer, back in the days when Angel Island was the Ellis Island of the West. We don't know a lot about his time there, but we know that is where he worked, taking the Ferry everyday.

When Glenn was in college, he not only worked on Angel Island, but he wrote a book on its history. He drove an elephant train and gave tours. One infamous tour for some Octarians was when the train broke down. After offering them a refund he gingerly led the elderly group to safety. They all were quite jovial about it and called it a grand adventure. This could have been his first sign of being a great lawyer, no one even thought about suing! Also while he was driving the bus he even met a woman who was a child on the island in the OLD days, who remembered his Great Grandfather on the ferry playing cards on the trips to and from the island. She invited him to come to her house in the Avenues where she told him about her time on the island and gifted him with a book of matches that said Fort McDowell.

When Glenn and I were looking for a home to buy, we took our little boat Thalassa over to moor overnight at Angel Island. We woke up and saw the peaceful oak studded hillside and the sparkling water in the cove and announced to each other "I just want to wake up with a view like this!" That weekend we saw our home in Mill Valley with its view of the National Recreation Area and short of the water... we almost had it.

Allison, while she was in college, trained to be a docent at Angel Island. She traveled by ferry and learned all the history that her father had known for years.

So you see this island has a special place in the Youngling lore. What better place to escape, train and be with my honey....

Hop on Hazardous Waste and see Angel Island like...a native.

Leaving Clipper Yacht Harbor in Sausalito you say hello to some very happy seals sunning themselves on some sunken dock.

A sailor would tell you - this is not REAL sailing, but for the two of us... it works just fine. A motor and Glenn and me snapping pictures.

Everytime we are out there I think, what a beautiful place we live. I am a Realtor, as you know, and I love to see Marin from the water. A. it is very pretty and B. it means I am not working!

Coming into Ayala Cove. There are moorings for tying up and docks for day trips.

Looking down at the cove as we start up to Perimeter Road.


Perimeter Road goes entirely around the island (thus it's name). Most of it is quite wide and suitable for a tour bus to drive on. The views are quite spectacular and encompass the city, Marin and the East Bay. The word panoramic was made for the views from this road.


Our country's history is full of events that some people point to as shameful. I suppose in some people's eyes the immigration station at Angel Island would be one symbol of such a time. The government thought at the time of the opening of the Panama Canal, there wold be a huge influx of Europeans immigrating to the US via Angel Island and so they built this center to accommodate them. Turns out that never happened, but an influx of Chinese did happen around this time. The center has recently been renovated at great cost, and now spotlights the history of the Chinese who came through this station. There is poetry on the walls of the men's dorms that laments the sadness of their time on the island.

Glenn's Great Grandfather was there during this time. How this compares to the worry and concern over our border with Mexico now, I will leave to you to wonder about. Your opinion of history often takes on the values you have today. Sometimes, I wonder what people will think of the values we hold and choices we have made.

The beach above in my memory evokes one or more Fourth of Julys on our little boat and the sight of three guys swimming to the beach with beer in hand. And of course the show they would put on once they got there. (Enough said)

This was the old hospital.

I didn't notice any lights on.

Peek a boo

Views

Views

50 cents for view

My honey

Marin...Including Belvedere, Corithinan Islands and Tiburon.

Fort McDowell

more...
Century Plants at Fort McDowell
The road at the Fort down to the water and ... port-a-potties!

This building has bricks that were carried around the horn as ballast.

They bricks look brand new.

These are the parade grounds looking up toward the Doctor's house. There was a guy who lived here for many years who dressed the part of a surgeon and gave informational tours. He would shoot off the canon on the tour and we could hear it at our house.

The old pier

Some woman in a pink hat

The fire at Angel Island last year lit up the sky. It was very frightening to people who loved the island. People who knew we were going to take this hike asked if it was open all the way around. The answer is yes, and where there was evidence of a fire, the regeneration has begun.

This it the old stone crusher. During the fire, a very industrious and creative firefighter from Larkspur came up with the idea of shooting the up the gravel chutes with foam.

It kept the structure from burning.

Glenn had mentioned the Nike Missile Base to me before. I had never been in shape enough to hike over to see them. Here is one hatch with a brand new lock!

There are a few more hikes to be had on the island, like to the top of Mt. Livermore. I think I will leave that for another day. One thing on my personal agenda is to camp here. Hopefully there will be a day, but until then... it's a great day trip. If you don't have your own boat, take a ferry from SF or Tiburon. At the end of the hike, (At mile 6.7) we noticed one change to the days when Glenn worked here. Now there is a Cantina. In the old days... no alchol was sold. We were glad for a cold Corona. If you believe the guy who served me, I got the last lime....

I hope you are enjoying this blog and you find one or two hikes you'd like to take.

I can't tell you what this time has meant to me. It is a time to reconnect with people I love, and not the least of which is MYSELF! I still pinch myself thinking that I am actually going to be walking 20 miles, 3 days in a row. I bet NONE of my old P.E. teachers would even believe it.

As I do at the end of each of these entries I am going to remind you to DONATE

We are counting on you. More importantly, women with the diagnosis of Breast Cancer need the chance to survive. The chance to walk and hike and climb in health for years to come. DONATE and be part of the reason they can some day say, I am not just suriving... I am thriving.