Sunny Windswept Day at Baker Beach
Drove into the city for a picnic at Baker Beach with friends — the mile of sand tucked into the southwest corner of the Presidio, with the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands sitting out across the water the whole time.
The wind never let up. We set up against the big serpentine rocks for whatever shelter they gave, spread the blankets, and unpacked the basket. The kite went up and then mostly stayed staked in the sand, straining on its string. The girls ignored the view entirely and got to work — our daughter in her rainbow dress packing sand into an upturned bucket, her friend digging in a full Cinderella costume, blue satin dragging through the sand like it was made for it.
Lunch was chips and blackberries off paper plates, half of it gritty within minutes. The surf was rough enough that nobody went near it past their ankles.
By the end everyone was sandy to the elbows and the blankets had gained a few pounds. Wrapped our girl in a scarf against the wind for the walk back up, and the Cinderella dress went home looking like it had survived a small war.
