We woke up. It was pouring rain. We walked to the bus stop. It was pouring rain. We entered the subway. The first train did not show up. We got on a bus. A 5K stopped us. We arrived at the Pier, several minutes after the ferry should have left. We got lucky.
Continuing our good luck with ferries, a mechanical problem had resulted in a change of boats, delaying departure long enough for us to make the trip. It was still raining.
You may wonder why we chose to go to Angel Island on such a lovely day. The truth is, we are cheap. In honor of the re-opening of the Chinese Immigration Station, ferry tickets were just $2 and there was no park entrance fee.
The rain apparently didn't stop anyone else either. Although the ferry looks pretty empty in this picture, imagine hundreds of people packed together in tight quarters in the warmer, drier inside cabins.
Visiting the Immigration Station was an excellent experience. Although we chose not to participate in the 1.5 hour ceremony because we had hiking to do, we stopped at the station to learn about the detention experience for thousands of immigrants. Although we originally imagined that maybe Angel Island was not such a terrible place to be detained, as it is quite beautiful, it turns out that the detainees were hardly even allowed to go outside. Miserable. The walls are filled with amazingly carved, inscribed, and painted poetry.
Next, the hike around the island's perimeter road including some old military stations and beautiful views.
Then up the 781 foot Mount Livermore for more views.
The weather and light changed throughout the day, resulting in beautiful views most of the time. It also resulted in pelting rain and slight misery some of the time.
I highly recommend this walk, rain or shine. I am glad Matt kicked me out of bed at 6:30 on a weekend morning in the rain. And that's saying something.
1 comment:
The one photo of the abandoned military building does not even begin to delve into the creepiness of these parts of the walk. Imagine building upon building of black, empty windowpanes. Parts of the buildings crumbling. No signs of habitation. It made me think of a bombed-out war zone. Very disturbing. It was all I could do to walk through it with my head down, staring at the ground.
Other parts of the hike though, were beautiful. We even walked on an honest-to-god trail at one point, a first for us in the bay area!
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