A dream commute, a relaxing alternative to a stressful forty-five
minute drive in to see a client in San Francisco, a “time-out” during
which I can read a magazine, check my e-mail on my laptop, talk on my
cell phone, or just daydream -- the Larkspur Ferry offers
all of these scenarios, and more. Whenever possible, I take the ferry
and am more than glad to “leave the driving” to the ferry captain.
I love to sit outside on the upper deck benches, sea breezes blowing through my hair as I watch the seagulls soaring and gliding, blissfully riding the air currents at the back of the boat. It’s fun to listen to all the different accents, some of them unknown to me, of tourists from all over the world who are also passengers on the ferry.
On the ferry I’ve heard business deals consummated, heard a guy propose to his lady love as we tootled along, heard a teacher coaching her student in the fine points of mathematics, and heard a minister earnestly counseling a recalcitrant member of his flock. Wheelin’, dealin’, teachin’, preachin’ – it’s all in a day’s work on the Larkspur Ferry.
As the ferry smoothly cuts through the waters of San Francisco Bay on its way to The City (as San Francisco is called in this neck of the woods), flying past buoys, sailboats, and motorboats, Alcatraz and Angel Island, I am relaxed and refreshed for whatever comes next in The City.
And when I arrive at the elegant Ferry Building I am always enthralled. It was constructed in 1898, with a 660-foot sky-lit main hall and a 245-foot clock tower modeled on a 12th-century bell tower in Seville, Spain. For many years the building sat vacant, but after the 1989 earthquake made it necessary to tear down the nearby Expressway, and enterprising entrepreneurs came along and now, the building is a plaza filled with people, and businesses ranging from bookstores and restaurants to shops selling specialty wines, caviars, mushrooms, cheeses, olive oils, and chocolates.
So what about you? Would you rather drive to work, ride your bike, take public transportation, or revel in the pleasures of a half-hour ferry ride? For me - there is no contest - the leisurely, lovely ferry wins my vote!
- Linda Jay Geldens, www.LindaJayGeldens.com
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