Fish Head: We're Out to Discover!

So I've just been all around the past couple of days.

Heather, Trevor and I went to the beach the other day; it was a beautiful day! It was kinda weird at the beach though. First I got to see my first jelly fish not in a tank...then I got to see about 50 more. They were all washed up on the beach, ranging from the size of dinner plates down to quarters. There were also crab bits all over too from the birds eating them. The real disturbing thing was that there were quite a few dead seagulls, ravens & pelicans on the beach. Then we found a dead sea lion. :( His head was all gone. :( I couldn't tell why he was dead, just knew that he was definitely no longer alive.

Anyways...on a prettier note, the ocean was gorgeous, like she always is. We were walking up to the Cliff House and the Sutro Bath Houses. Now it's time for a history lesson!!

The Cliff House:
Is a restaurant that started in 1858 built out of lumbar salvaged from a ship that crashed on the cliffs below for $1500. Later, a new owner rebuilt it and it was mainly for horse riders because of lack of roads but grew popular after Golden Gate Park was founded. It was also popular because of the great view of Seal Island which is a little cliffy island nearby where the sea lions (the live ones) sun bathe. A few years after 1887 the building was severely damaged by an explosion of a schooner that could be felt for hundreds of miles. Rebuilt. Christmas 1894 the repaired building burned down including a guest register including signatures of 3 presidents and dozens of world-famous visitors. In 1896 Sutro built a new seven story Victorian Chateau that some called the "Gingerbread Palace"; in the same year he began working on his famous Sutro Baths on the cliffs below.

Everything survived the 1906 earthquake but burned to the ground in 1907. It was rebuilt in 1909 and is still up and running. today. So, it seems to be a doomed place but it is really neat.

Okay, then when you get up to the cliff house, there's a big lens you can look through to watch the pelicans and sea lions. Then you can climb down to the remains of the Sutro bath houses.

The Sutro Bath Houses:
They were the world's largest indoor swimming pool built in 1896. The baths included 1 fresh water and six salt water baths ranging in temperatures and a museum display of Sutro's personal artifacts. They also included a concert hall with seats for 8,000 and an ice skating rink. He used the oceans high tides to recycle the water and during low tides used a power turbine pump that could pump 6,000 gallons a minute. It was shut down mostly due to high maintenance costs and while it was being torn down, was burned down.

So now that you know the history...here's my pictures of what it all looks like now. :) (please click to see all of them)

And then...because I never have too many pictures, here's some pictures from the botanical gardens in the Golden Gate Park. I was taking pictures for about 30 minutes and was lost the other 90 min.