angledge | adventures in San Francisco

effrontery asked me for some LJ entries documenting my "adventures in San Francisco". I haven't had too many adventures so far, but I suppose yesterday's outing qualified. I went for a hike on Angel Island with my friends Carrie & Jil to look at the spring crop of wildflowers.

That's the green island in the Northwest corner of the map.

The trip started with a ferry ride. I met my co-worker Jil at Pier 41 & we took a Blue & Gold ferry out to the Island. Carrie met us there, having caught a ferry from Tiburon in Marin County. The ride over was an auspicious start to the day, since the weather was absolutely perfect & the views astonishing. Arriving at Angel Island, I was struck by how strange it was to be on a fairly undeveloped island, located in the middle of one of America's largest urban centers.
Island and city.

At 10:30 AM, we started on a hike led by a Park volunteer, who was well-versed in the local botany & pointed out numerous species of flower, all just starting to burst into bloom. This photo shows the group walking underneath enormous ceanothus shrubs, which were covered in both blue flowers & bees.
Ants marching.

Not quite all the plants on the Island had gotten spring fever. We passed through one section that had been subjected to a controlled burn.
Tree and sky.

But for the most part, we spent the day wandering through groves & fields filled with flowers. It's a great time of year to be outside - nearly everything was blooming.

Forest.

California poppies, scarlet pimpernels, & blue dicks.

The hike took us to the top of Mt. Livermore, which at 788 feet isn't exactly a Munroe, but it did provide us with some incredible views. Looking Northwest into Marin County:
Marin County.

Looking South into the City:
Streets of San Francisco.

Looking Southwest out into the Pacific:
Golden Gate Bridge over silvered water.

Six hours later, full of sun & ice cream, Jil & I finally made our way back to the City. I met up with my housemates on Haight Street, where we went music shopping at Amoeba & ate baby-leg burritos at El Balazo. The next morning, I discovered that spring has arrived even in my backyard.
For an untended semi-jungle, it's awfully pretty.