A to Z 2021 – P is for The Presidio and Pier 39

The Presidio is now a national park but it was once a military fort under the flags of Spain, Mexico and the United States. In fact, my husband’s father was stationed there for a while so he remembers staying in the houses they had for the enlisted men. It is 1,500 acres and instead of military, it is currently home to a golf course, hiking trails, restaurants, businesses and museums.

Across the street is Crissy Field, which my husband told me was an airstrip up until 1974. I thought it had always been a park.

You can see part of my gel pen collection at the top of this page. There are 4 sections like that, 120 pens! It was a Christmas gift from my daughter. They work really well and don’t smear.

It would make sense to have an airstrip so close to the military base and I guess there were a few important landings on it according to Wikipedia. Another great view of the Golden Gate Bridge too, although I suppose that landing on that strip might be scary with the bridge so close. Living by SFO sometimes it seems like we could touch them as they fly over.

The buildings around the main area all looked mostly the same, beautiful red brick.

The Lodge is open at present and you can stay there if you want to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They have free shuttles to downtown.

The Officers Club. Check out that gun! The Officers Club has been turned into a museum but it is currently closed due to the virus.

The National Cemetery. 30,000 soldiers, family members and notable figures are buried there. You can take a tour in person or online to see the graves if you like that kind of thing. I thought the gates were so impressive!

Letterman General Hospital. During World War II Letterman Hospital was the main hospital of the Pacific action, in 1945 alone there were more than 73,000 patients! In 1995 it was deactivated when the rest of the Presidio was taken over by the Park and Recreation system. Now it is home to Lucasfilm Industrial Light and Magic and LucasArt.

I think we’ll go back there again too and stop at the Visitor’s Center so that we can get a map of the area. Maybe then we can find the spot where my husband lived. It also might be fun to go into some of the museums and historical buildings.

Another great spot down by Fisherman’s Wharf is Pier 39.

The first time I went was on a drive by with my daughter. It was a Saturday and there were a lot of people out enjoying the weather and shops. We didn’t stop. We hadn’t had our vaccines yet and even though it was outside, it wasn’t something we wanted to do.

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The next time I went by myself and was able to park and take some more pictures. There is the Aquarium of the Bay, Hard Rock Cafe and down the center are all kinds of shops and restaurants. At the very end of the pier is a place you can see all the seals. There is a carousel ride and a musical staircase. It was early in the morning and none of the shops were open yet so I didn’t walk all the way down.

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I haven’t actually been to Pier 39 in a long time so I don’t know if it is still open but there used to be an auditorium and my girlfriends and I saw “Menopause the Musical” there. Hysterical play! I think once the A to Z is over and I have some free time I’m going to make my husband take me on a trip to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf for a day date.

And so we begin our third week of the A to Z Challenge. Have you been able to visit many other folks? I took a copy of the main sign up sheet and am trying to go through and visit some new to me folks. Amazing that 307 of us are taking this month to prattle on about this and that!

Disclaimer notice. The coloring book pages are from the inserts the San Francisco Chronicle put out and I mentioned them in my theme reveal so you can go to that to get the info about the artists if you are interested. I did the coloring and took the pictures. Special thanks to my husband again for this one as he took me around the Presidio so I could get pictures.