Today's 12-mile walk

Today's route

Another great 12-mile training walk with the Warming Hut Hotties!

Today's weather was quite unusual for San Francisco. We were in the fog for most of the morning, but it was also oddly humid and warm. Weird. It was definitely a day for dressing dressing in layers.

We walked through the Presidio, and into Golden Gate Park. We passed the beautiful Conservatory of Flowers along the way.


Conservatory of Flowers

We then went through one of my favorite areas of Golden Gate Park: the AIDS Memorial Grove. This grove is just so beautiful, so serene, and is so touching. It really is a special place.


The entrance to the AIDS Memorial Grove


The AIDS Memorial Grove Circle of Friends

After leaving the park, we walked down 9th Ave, where we passed a balloon girl in front of an Othrodontist practice building. The funny thing is, this balloon girl looked just like one of our walkers, Sandy! Unfortunately, Sandy was too far ahead of me to get a photo, but you'll have to trust me on this one. She often wears her long brown hair in pigtails, and has recently gotten braces! (the balloon girl is braces on!) Anyhow, it was pretty funny, and we just had to get a photo.


Here's the FABULOUS Judy posing with Sandy's Doppelganger Balloon Girl

After a quick break at UCSF's Student Union, we continued up Parnassus, UP Stanyan, and yes, UP the stairs to Tank Hill. It was still plenty foggy by the time we climbed to the top, so we didn't have much of a view, but we all felt plenty good about making the climb!


the view from the top of Stanyan


Warming Hut Hotties at the top of Tank Hill

We walked downhill onto Twin Peaks Blvd, which became Clayton. Somewhere along the way, we passed this really cool graffiti in a construction area.


The Question is the Journey

We walked down 17th Street quite a ways, then turned onto Ord, then UP the Vulcan Stairway. I love these tucked away stairs, and the gardens that are built around them.


looking down on the Vulcan Stairs

Somewhere along Masonic, we passed by the Four Seasons Victorians. I never knew of them before, but they were pointed out to me today. You can see the house on the left has a snowflake design on it. That's Winter. The next three are Spring, Summer and Fall. Neat, right? I looked online, but couldn't find any information about them.


Four Seasons Victorians

We continued down Masonic, onto Presidio Blvd, onto Lyon Street, and went through the Palace of Fine Arts. We were in a pocket of sunshine while we walked around the Palace of Fine Arts. It was really beautiful.


Palace of Fine Arts

We walked back onto Mason, then onto Beach where we followed the path back to the Warming Hut.

What a great walk, and the last training walk of the season for our teammates who are walking in the Avon Walk next weekend!


Today's stats