Bay Area Fun

This piece is somewhat of a Bay Area-centric story, but don’t stop reading just because you live in Florida. You never know when you might make a trip out west to visit San Francisco, and if you do, there’s a good chance that you will cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County.

Just for fun let’s just say you live here or have plans to make it out sometime in the near future. Here’s a cool place to put on your ‘to do’ list.

Directly across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco is the Marin Headlands. The Headlands have a long military history dating back to 1890s, and during World War II the Headlands were occupied by U.S. Forces as a defensive fortress against any hostile ships that may have tried to enter the SF Bay through the Golden Gate. Later, during the Cold War, the large guns protecting the Bay were decommissioned and replaced with antiaircraft missile sites.

Today, the Marin Headlands are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and you can visit and explore the old military bunkers, the locations of the gun batteries, and even take a tour of a Nike Missile site complete with a dummy missile that still resides underground. On clear days, the Headlands provides panoramic views of the bay including the Farallon Islands, Angel Island, Alcatraz, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the East Bay.

(Since the point of the article isn’t necessarily the Headlands themselves, but rather a place within the Headlands, I will leave you to google the “Marin Headlands” if you wish to learn more.)

Located at 2000 Bunker Road, just before Rodeo Beach is the Marine Mammal Center.

From their website they describe themselves as follows: “Our mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals—their health and that of their ocean environment—and to inspire their global conservation. Our core work is the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, supported by state-of-the-art animal care and research facilities, a corps of dedicated volunteers, and an engaged community.”

Tanner and I went for a visit yesterday and as a rehabilitation center for injured marine mammals. We found almost 120 sick or injured mammals such as sea lions and elephant seals that were easily accessible for viewing. We stood back and watched as the full-time and volunteer staff worked to isolate one of the sea lions for a check up before being released back into the wild. It was interesting to watch and fun to hear the grunts of all the elephants seals competing with the barking of the sea lions.

We were also able to visit a hands-on classroom for a view of the kitchen where they were preparing the meals for the mammals and even the hospital itself where they care for the injured animals when they are first brought in.

Tanner and I see California seals and sea lions quite frequently around the Bay and on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, so it was a cool experience to get ourselves closer than ever before to have a look at these beautiful animals.

I certainly enjoyed the visit and I know from all the questions that Tanner had that he learned a lot that day. I’m sure he now has a better appreciation for these creatures, as well as an understanding of how humans can have a negative impact on these animals from careless and irresponsible behavior. According to the Marine Mammal Center, “nearly 10% of the animals we rescue have been impacted by human interaction and hazards like net and fishing line entanglements, gun shots, illegal pick-ups, and boat strikes.”

As mentioned earlier, the Marine Mammal Center is located just before Rodeo Beach, so bring a picnic to enjoy down at the beach after your visit to the center. The center is constantly releasing and rescuing new patients so you never know what you might find when you visit. If you are in the area, stop in for a visit. It’s educational, fascinating, fun and free with donations welcomed.

Tagged as: aquarium, bay-area, summer