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The Round-Trip Crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

 

March 12, 2018

 

Total length: 8,981 ft (2,737.4 m), about 1.7 mi (2.7 km)

Width: 90 ft (27.4 m)

Height: 746 ft (227.4 m)

Longest span (The Main Span): 4,200 ft (1,280.2 m)

Clearance above: 14 ft (4.3 m) at toll gates, Trucks cannot pass

Clearance below: 220 ft (67.1 m) at high tide

 

Architect: Irving Morrow; Engineering design by Joseph Strauss, and Charles Ellis

Construction start January 5, 1933; Construction end April 19, 1937

Opened May 27, 1937


The height, depth, and length of the span from end to end, looking west

 



The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, as seen from just north of Alcatraz Island

 

In March of 2018, 9 couples from the retirement community of Laguna Woods took a 7-day cruise trip of the California Coastal Cruise by Princess Cruises. In one of those cruising days, we visited San Francisco.

 

Charles and Christine Hwang, Whasun and Young-Ok Kim, Keith (*61) and Chongsook Sohn,
Don (*65) and Haeja Chai, Steven (65*) and Jean Kim, Wongil and Insook Choi,

Stanley (*69) and Grace Byun, Ilsung (*66) and Won K Kwak, Won-Geel (*64) and Ok-Hee Song

 

SF-GGB-2018-01.jpg

In the morning of March 12th, 2018 Monday, at the cruise ship of Ruby Princess,

we gathered at the disembarking lounge to get off the ship.

Some of the lazy and slow folks among us may not be in the picture because of the particular photographer of this picture being a rather impatient guy who hates to wait for a complete photographic pose.

 

SF-GGB-2018-02.jpg

Off the Ruby Princess, the skyline of the city of San Francisco is visible.

I had been here many times but never saw the city from the harbor. By the way, San Francisco was the first spot in

the continental USA for a Korean hillbilly to set his first footstep in 1965.

Then, all he had was $50 in his pocket and two balls. He had never guessed that, 53 years later, he would be arriving San Francisco by a luxurious cruise ship in a fancy style. You never know.

 

SF-GGB-2018-03.jpg

Before taking a self-guided tour of the town. Dr. Wongeel Song volunteered to lead us the city tour.

 

SF-GGB-2018-04.jpg

The famous Fisherman's Wharf was just a few blocks off our cruise ship. But none of us were hungry.

 

SF-GGB-2018-05.jpg

Heading for downtown. We decided to take the famous cable car up the famous hill of San Francisco.

 

SF-GGB-2018-06.jpg

  After morning walks through the downtown, we had lunch in the China Town.

 

SF-GGB-2018-07.jpg

  Unusual decoration of the stairway of a Chinese restaurant. Do they really have 1000-year old eggs??

 

SF-GGB-2018-08.jpg

  Walking up the streets of China Town to find a place for lunch. We got dizzy with too many choices.

 

SF-GGB-2018-09.jpg

After lunch, we are heading to the Golden Gate Bridge by the subway train.

I don't know exactly "when, how, or who" started to talk about crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on foot.

Somehow, we all agreed that it would be a nice memorable thing to do. Naturally, I was all for it.

Actually, I got pretty well excited for the "once-in-a-lifetime chance" that rolled into me unexpectedly for free.

I was lucky in that I was at the right time, right place with the right people. In order not to bring bad luck

by talking or getting excited too soon, I kept my mouth shut as if I wasn't interested in the idea.

When I get really serious about something, I stay quiet about it. Gentlemen, even these days, Silence is Gold !!

 

SF-GGB-2018-10.jpg

At the southern 'Vista Point" of the bridge, I took a picture of us for a record just for in case of the possibility 

that some of us may not come back from the brave and epic bridge trip?

 

SF-GGB-2018-11.jpg

  In the center of the picture, the guard-railed narrow walkway is the way to the bridge.

 

SF-GGB-2018-12.jpg

The welcome center was set as the meeting place at the end of the bridge trip.

 

SF-GGB-2018-13.jpg

  All of us started toward the bridge. No one seemed to have any hesitation?

 

SF-GGB-2018-14.jpg

One last look of the whole span of the Golden Gate Bridge from the south.

Under the gloomy sky threatening with possible rain, it seemed to be rather intimidating.

 

SF-GGB-2018-15.jpg

The entering point of the bridge at the southern end. There are two walkways in the bridge, one at the east side and the other on the west side. The western walkway is for the bicycle only while the east one was for the pedestrians and bicycles. It was somewhat windy and chilly as shown by two people in the picture.

 

SF-GGB-2018-16.jpg

Now we were walking toward the north to the other end of the bridge.

The weather had not been very good and then suddenly we were getting gentle rain over our head.

I and my wife were at the tail end of our group. After about 5-10 minutes' walk, suddenly I saw all of our group having turned around and coming toward us in a hurry. They told me that they were quitting the walk due to the rain. The gentle rain was not all that bad at the moment and it might even stop. In a matter of a few seconds, all the gentlemen and ladies of Laguna Woods had disappeared behind us and it was me and my wife who got left alone.

 

I decided to continue the crossing and my wife agreed to follow me. God only knows if or when the next chance like this would ever come to us. We proceeded to walk as the rain was getting harder in the cold wind. Our coats and pants were slowly getting wet. At that point, I decided to forget about the darn rain. To hell with the rain !! 

As there was no thunder, in the worst case scenario, we could only get wet. We went on and on what seemed to be a very long bridge. But didn't I know that already? I shouldn't have said, like a fool, that it was a long bridge.

I decided that it was not a long bridge. It was just the Golden Gate Bridge and nothing else.

 

SF-GGB-2018-17.jpg

We took a very brisk pace in our walking but took a few short stops to get some pictures here and there.

The most scenic view was on the south side. There was hardly anything on the northern end.

 

SF-GGB-2018-17a.JPG

I realized that the bridge was meant to be looked at and appreciated from far away, not on itself.

There was hardly anything to look down from the bridge except the dark blue sea water 67 meters below.

 

SF-GGB-2018-18.jpg

It was a somewhat boring walk on the monotonous concrete walkway. Probably about an hour later, 

we arrived at the northern end of the bridge. That is the North Vista Point.

It meant that we had successfully crossed the bridge. By then, the rain got slowed down.

Our pants and coats were lightly soaked with rainwater. As it was a very important moment, I shamelessly asked a guy who was passing by for a picture. He gracefully obliged like a good gentleman.

 

SF-GGB-2018-19.jpg

I took a picture of what we just walked down from. You see the beginning of the suspension cable a few hundred feet away. That meant that we must have passed the entire length of the bridge. Below us was no longer the sea water. The bridge and the highway were on the solid dry ground at this point.

 

SF-GGB-2018-20.jpg

We returned as fast as we could. The return trip was much easier in our minds as we knew

that we had done the crossing. This is another picture at the southern end of the bridge.

 

SF-GGB-2018-21.jpg

My wife deserved a kiss from me. It might not have been a passionate one (so that this picture doesn't get an R-rating.) but it was a nice warm kiss with my appreciation for her company and support in the windy and rainy bridge trip.

By no means, the trip was not a piece of cake on that particular day.

However, in the end, it was a happy ending in which we had made a successful round trip of

the crossing the entire Golden Gate Bridge on foot. By then, our clothing was getting almost dry.

Now, we will never have to do it again. Yet, I may do it again just for a fun. ㅎ, ㅎ, ㅎ.

 

Photos and story by SNUMA WM, written on 12-06-2018

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