I was riding in late to work, and as I passed the pier at the top end of Van Ness. I thought since I was already late, I’d go to the end of it to take a panorama of the marina and Ghirardelli square. There was one other guy on his bike taking pictures with his camera phone when I got there. As I set up to take my shots, the guy asked me, “Excuse, me. Do you know what bridge that is over there?” pointing at the Golden Gate Bridge. I politely told him the name of the bridge, and took my shots. He then asked me how to get to the bridge. I told him.
After living in San Francisco for the past nine years, there are certain thing you begin to take for granted, especially how beautiful this regions is. You also assume that such landmarks as the Golden Gate Bridge are known and recognizable by all. Interacting with the other guy on his bike, this morning, makes me wonder how much of this other guy’s world is foreign to me. What great landmarks does he take for granted, that I’ve never know existed?
You can see full sized version of the panorama I took from the pier by clicking the small one below.
And, yes, that red-orange bridge in the far right side of the photo is the Golden Gate Bridge.
I have the same experience living in Washington, D.C. I see the Washington Monument and the White House ever day, but I don’t even think about them anymore. After awhile, I guess you go native in the city you’re living, and the big landmarks that matter to people outside your city don’t matter so much anymore. It’s actually kind of sad — I used to be really excited about looking down 16th St. and seeing the Washington Monument lit up at night …
Whenever I see the red-orange thing, I am pretty convinced that how lucky I am to live here…
I mean, the “Golden Gate Bridge” ;-P