Beautiful Stow Lake. Photo credits go to Jay Tong.
It’s late and I have a midterm in a day to study for, but wanted to share my weekend ABA Consulting retreat because I have an awesome team and we had a blast!
This past Saturday, my ABAC team and I spent a beautiful day at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Really, we couldn’t have picked a better day. We didn’t run into any traffic, we found a perfect spot in the fields to picnic, and it was a nice, sunny day.
We parked next to Stow Lake and unloaded our food – enjoyed some pulled pork and hot dogs in the sun. After lunch, we rented out a paddle-boat and explored the lake. It was hard to paddle at first because we managed to fit five people on the boat, but we figured it out and spent the next hour enjoying the calming and lush scenery, floating by a small waterfall, the Chinese pavilion, and a bunch of wildlife.
Next on our list was the Golden Gate Park Carousel. We walked along the road for about a mile and wound up staring at a round and classic-looking building with a giant carousel housed inside. It was the original (restored to its former beauty), and riding it brought back a lot of great childhood memories. Plus, it was fun try to moving from animal to animal while the carousel was in motion!
We took a quick break at Hippie Hill (called that for a reason) and watched a group of random people sitting in a huge circle playing all kinds of drums and percussion instruments. I thought it was really cool, plus the repetition had a trance-like calming effect.
With our feet rested, we walked back to the Stow Lake area and entered a new world – the Japanese Tea Garden. From the plants to the many ponds and bridges to the koi fish and statues, this place was great to just stroll and relax. We saw a pagoda, some crazy bridges, and lots of statues. Sipping tea and staring out at nature felt amazing.
We were getting hungry, so we headed out and drove to the pier, close to Fisherman’s Wharf, to try a seafood restaurant called Scoma’s. With $30 entrees, this place was not cheap, but the tasty seafood was well-worth it. There was no wait, we got free valet parking, and we were seated next to a window overlooking the pier. I enjoyed their Dungeness Crab Risotto (mmm).
That marked the end of our retreat, and I was so glad for a fun and relaxing day out in the city with good friends. And I have a feeling this isn’t the last time I’ll be visiting Golden Gate Park.
Go Team! Golden Gate Park Carousel. Photo credits go to Jay Tong.
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Nature in the city at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
