Probably the best way to see Golden Gate Park is on wheels - bicycle or in-line skate wheels, that is. Every Sunday, the park's main road, John F. Kennedy Drive is closed to traffic from Kezar Drive to Transverse Drive. By noon, it's usually jammed with spandexed bikers and wobbly rollerbladers.
One of the park's most obvious sights, the sprawling white Victorian Conservatory of Flowers, recently reopened. So take a couple of pictures of the flower gardens and then skate, walk, or ride to the park's other attractions.
In the Japanese Tea Garden, purple irises bloom in ponds filled with koi and sprays of heavenly bamboo arch over the paths. Groups of tourists pose on the ladder-like Moon Bridge, and then have perfumed Jasmine tea served to them by waitresses in kimonos and split-toed socks.
Just down the road at Stow Lake, it's possible to rent bicycles or surreys to take you around the park. Or you can walk up to the boathouse and reserve a paddle or electric boat. It takes a leisurely hour or so to circle the island known as Strawberry Hill, passing beneath little arched bridges, a waterfall, and a Japanese pagoda. Along the shore, turtles climb on each other's backs and stretch their necks to the sun.
Spreckles Lake, closer to the ocean, is home to the San Francisco Model Boat Club. On weekends, grown-ups and boys in captain's hats aim elaborate remote controls at the model yachts and sailboats in the water, and there always seems to be at least one miniature regatta.
Not too far from Spreckles, is the bison paddock, home to a small herd of dusty and disinterested buffalo. And across from the paddock is Angler's Lodge and its fly casting pools. Open Saturdays, the pools are jammed with fly fishermen-and-women practicing their casting, their bright green and yellow lines tracing arcs in the sunlight. Out near the ocean, you'll find the Dutch Windmill, built in 1902 to pump water to the reservoir on Strawberry Hill. The windmill was restored in 1981, and now its graceful wooden arms stretch above the Queen Wilhemina Tulip Garden.
The Beach Chalet out on the Great Highway along the ocean has also been recently restored. Downstairs, the walls are covered with Depression-era frescoes of Fisherman's Wharf (when it was still mostly fishermen), Union Square, and Ocean Beach. Upstairs, there's a restaurant where you can watch the sun set and sample brewed-on-the-premises beer named after local attractions.
Boston
is one of America's most historic cities. The area is home to an immense
collection of historic sites, as well as popular modern attractions, ranging
from Paul Revere's House and the Boston Tea Party to John Hancock Tower and
Newburry Street. Choose historic lodgings in a charming neighborhood....more
Walt Disney Dolphin Resort Hotel compares well with the 188 hotels in
the city. In Lake Buena Vista, Onsite Disney Walt Disney Dolphin Resort can
be found at 1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd. Walt Disney Dolphin Resort Orlando
contains Restaurant, Airport Shuttle - For Fee, and Fitness Facility. Room
options include: Spacious room. .... more
