Journeys›Photograph

A Sunny, Windswept Beach Day by the Golden Gate

·San Francisco, California·#beach#bay area#spring#san-francisco#kids
Two adults and two children picnic on a sandy beach next to a large rock, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

A late April Saturday in 2009 called for a beach day. We met up with some friends at one of the small, rocky beaches that dot the coastline right near the Golden Gate Bridge. It was sunny and bright, but definitely had that crisp, windy quality that's so typical of the area, especially by the water.

We found a spot against a large rock formation which gave us a bit of a windbreak. The kids got right to work with the pile of plastic buckets and shovels we brought. One was in a very practical, if fancy, blue princess dress for the occasion, while the other wore a colorful chevron-striped dress. They seemed perfectly content just digging and arranging the sand.

We had a picnic basket and a kite, though I don't think the kite ever actually made it into the air. The adults mostly sat on blankets and watched the kids play against the backdrop of the bay and the hills of the Marin Headlands in the distance. It was just a simple, pleasant afternoon spent outdoors, soaking up some sun before it was time to head home.

A young child in a colorful dress plays with a green bucket and yellow shovel on the sand next to a grey mat.Two people and a child play with toys on a sandy beach with ocean waves and distant hills in the background.Two young children play on a sandy beach with beach toys while two adults sit nearby, with ocean waves and distant hills in the background.Two children are on a beach; one stands holding a blue toy, with ocean waves and distant hills.Two young children play with colorful sand toys on a beach, with an adult's hand and ocean waves in the background.A young child in a colorful dress reaches for food on a blanket on a sandy beach with the ocean and a kite.A child in a colorful top sits on a blanket on a sandy beach, reaching for food with ocean waves in the distance.A person and two children sit on sand in front of a large rock formation, with the ocean visible on the left.

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