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| Rhododendron Display in Golden Gate Park |
I walked down to Ocean Beach after the rain let up late yesterday morning and was pleasantly surprised when I got there to find offshore winds blowing spindrift off the backs of a clean swell. One of the two main groups of surfers I could see was a good distance south of Noriega, and the other just north, but I only had my phone camera with me. After taking a few minutes to fill up on the beauty of the ocean I turned around to walk home and was treated to a fantastic display of tattered storm clouds.
At home I grabbed my FZ80 and rain gear, then biked back down to the beach by way of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, where I was stopped by a sensational rhododendron garden at the top of Lindley Meadow. I've been appreciating the blooming rhodies and azaleas all over the park for some time, but this display went above and beyond.
I eventually reached the beach and rode out the Upper Great Highway (the southbound lanes were closed to cars) back to Noriega Street, but the wind had shifted to side-shore, the tide had come in a bit, and the swell had mostly turned to mush.
I hung around for a while anyway, but my hope of getting at least one decent surf shot finally ran out. The sky was threatening rain again, and I had been sprinkled on pretty good for a few minutes, but I was a little disappointed, since I was dressed head to toe in rain gear, that it didn't start raining again in earnest until well after I got home.
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