07 May, 2006 (Sunday) More San Francisco

Japanese Tea Gardens
The Japanese Tea gardens sit in the heart of the Gold Gate park. For $3 you can wander it's paved pathways, contemplating the still waters, moss covered rocks and zen gardens. It's a peaceful place, once you filter out the screams of the children and the inane chatter of the besotted. Sean practiced his photographic skills while I tried to soak in the tranquility. My soaking abilities require more work. (Picture: Japanese Tea Gardens)





Walking the Golden Gate
The Golden Gate was swarming with tourists, mainly of asian ancestry. To escape we walked the Golden Gate's span. It took us half an hour each way. The bridge is an amazing construction, composed of huge steel cables painted a orangey-red. The walk isn't hard, but it is busy. Along the way the two of us couldn't help but marvel at the view (I dread to think how many pictures I now have of San Fran in the distance), and how low the railings were. There were warnings on some of the pylons cautioning people that jumping off the bridge was hazardous and could result in severe injury. With the up draft we definitely felt safe. (Picture: The Grove at night)

Caution with railings morphed into a conversation about the effect that a major earthquake might have on the bridge. We explored a scenario where, during a major earthquake, the bridge broke apart; would it be preferable to jump straight off the bridge as it started to break up, or to hang onto a bridge fragment for as long as possible before impact? Neither of us physics majors, we still persisted to discuss the merits of being shattered upon hitting water, over being crushed beneath a ton of falling debris, over having one's body squashed by your velocity when the bridge fragment that you are riding abruptly decellerates as it hits the water. A difficult decision. (Picture: The Golden Gate Bridge - beats a postcard, no?)