The Oldest Remaining Municipal Wooden Conservatory in the U.S.

“It was done by Miss Scarlet, in the Conservatory, with the lead pipe.” Miss Scarlet was so beautiful; she could get away with anything, including murder. The Conservatory, well, I had never been inside a Conservatory before, so where better to “do someone in”? And yes, it was always the lead pipe, no matter how many times I played the board game of Clue, the lead pipe was the murder weapon more often than not.

As a child, I didn’t have any electronic games, so my friends and I enveloped ourselves for hours on end playing board games. I loved the game Clue-- I loved the mystery, and I loved the fancy-schmancy house that it took place in. So this past summer as we were exiting the northeast side of Golden Gate Park I couldn’t believe it when I saw my “Clue Conservatory”-- an elegant white Victorian jewel-box sitting majestically on a green velvety hill. We didn’t have time to stop, but I knew we had to come back someday. And, since this was “Someday Summer”, we did.

It took us about a month before we were able to return to the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. But, it was well worth the wait and the long trip back up to the big city. If you have never been inside a Conservatory, come along with me, I’ll share with you what I discovered!

The architecture of this building is spectacular. This elaborate greenhouse has a central dome rising nearly 60 feet and the surrounding walls are made up of 16,800 window panes.


With construction completed in 1878, the 12,000 square-foot greenhouse remains the oldest existing glass and wood conservatory in the United States. The building and grounds look as if they were snatched from a fairytale. The 1,700 rare and exotic plants inside the building continue the illusion.



Each of the five "rooms" in the Conservatory has a particular focus with its horticultural exhibits and floral displays. Four galleries have permanent displays: Lowland Tropics, Highland Tropics, Aquatic Plants, and Potted Plants; while the fifth room houses changing exhibits. Today, to the delight of my daughter and her friend, the fifth room contained carnivorous plants.

The Lowland Tropics exhibit is the first gallery you see as you enter the Conservatory. Above and below are a couple of photos of that area.

We then made our way to the East, through the Highland Tropics gallery.

We had a difficult time taking photos once we reached the Aquatic Plants room since it was so incredibly humid there, our camera lense kept fogging up. The humidity also made it uncomfortable to stay too long. That said, this really was my favorite gallery because of the giant water lilies, native to the Amazon River in Brazil. These lily pads can grow up to six feet in diameter, and have been known to support the weight of a small child.

After feeling like we have had a steam bath, we headed back the direction we came, to see the Potted Plant room.

The photo below describes the photo of the Penging Garden above.

Above, the Carnivorous Plants gallery. I think the employee working in that area was upset with the girls (smiling mischevously below) because they went around and poked all of the Venusfly Traps, causing them all to close.


What a dazeling array of rare and endangered tropical plant species. I have learned that the Convervatory of Flowers is an amazing living muesum of gorgeous plants from all over the world. So now you know what can be inside a Conservatory, are you up for a game of Clue? I think I hear Col. Mustard calling . . . I'm coming Colonel . . .


For more information about the Conservatory of Flowers go to:

http://www.golden-gate-park.com/index.php/attractions/conservatory_of_flowers

http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/atconservatory

A Beach Lovers Paradise, Yet No Footprints In The Sand?

That’s right, McWay Cove located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, is one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen, but it's actually illegal to go onto the beach. That’s okay. It adds to the mysterious grandeur knowing it is forbidden. And there is a peacefulness knowing it will go unharmed by humans. As you can see, the view is accentuated by a rare coastal waterfall, making it one of the most photographed waterfalls in California.


Why hadn't we been here before? Well it is a bit out of the way. We just happened to be heading south on Highway One to Cambria last summer, and my hubby said we had to stop on our way to see some waterfalls.

I thought, “If these waterfalls were worth seeing, we wouldn't we have done so in the past 18 years we have lived in this area?”
Boy, was I happily wrong!


Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is located 37 miles south of Carmel along Highway One. The parking lot is on the eastside of the highway, and the parking fee is $10. There are other hikes you can take from here, but to see the McWay Falls you take the signed trail toward the Overlook Trail. The path leads through a tunnel under the Highway.


Veering to the right, the trail leads you to a gorgeous view of the Big Sur Coast.


As you are hiking you will come upon the first overlook of the McWay Falls, cascading 80 feet below into McWay Cove (this is where most people take photos of the Falls).


But my favorite vista of the falls was further down the trail, towards the former site of the Waterfall House. I loved the huge palm tree framing the view of the cove.

Just a short distance from the waterfall are the ruins of an old stone "waterfall house", owned by Lathrop and Helen Hooper Brown back in the 1940s. Not much is left of the house, but it is an interesting site. It is amazing to think that someone actually lived here, surrounded by such beauty. What a life! The park was named after Brown’s friend, Julia Pfeiffer Burns, who was a respected resident and rancher in the Big Sur region in the early 20th century.

This is where the trail ends, at the site of the old Waterfall House. The Big Sur Coastline to the north was again, breathtaking.

The easy hike to view the falls and to the site of the old Waterfall House was only about 10 minutes one way. Well worth the while! What a fun tasty treat on our way to Cambria, it was as though we had taken a sidetrip to a tropical island!

(Below: Video of the view from the Waterfall House and a peak at the McWay Falls--enjoy!)

Crosswinds and the Golden Gate Bridge

How to get across the Golden Gate Bridge? We had driven across numerous times, on our way to somewhere else, but this time we wanted to cross just for the sake of experiencing the bridge itself. We thought of walking across, but how would we get our 10 year old daughter to walk the 1.7 miles to one side, and turn around and walk all the way back? My husband suggested walking halfway across, and then back. That would never do. I could never boast to my friends, “I have walked half-way across the Golden Gate Bridge!” So we decided to park our SUV on the north side of the bridge, ride our bikes across the bridge, towards the city, and then back again. Sounds easy, right? But I didn’t realize that the bridge was really alive! That is right, the bridge bounces from the movement of traffic, it roars from the traffic crossing it, and it is laced with intimidating crosswinds off the ocean and oncoming traffic. I wasn’t psychologically prepared for the undertaking—but it was too late, I found out all of these things once we had already begun our journey! We had spent the entire day biking around Golden Gate Park, and decided to tackle this little jaunt towards the end of our day. Needless to say, we started riding our bikes on the east side of the bridge, heading south towards the city, during evening rush hour.

So, as I rode my bike along the narrow path sandwiched in between the oncoming traffic and the outside bridge railing—one side looking like the edge of the earth, the water looming 245 feet below—I was horrified when the first large diesel truck drove passed me. Whoosh—the bridge lashing out a crosswind that shoved me towards the water. Okay, this is not the joy ride I had in mind. Yet the view, the span of the reddish Art Deco suspension bridge pointing towards the city, was beautiful beyond description. The evening fog from the west was just starting to roll in. I looked ahead, hubby and 10 year old daughter were just buzzing along—they were not getting beaten to the bridge's edge by the crosswinds. Hmmm, hubby weighs a lot more than I do, and daughter is so tiny—she is closer to the ground than I. I had never heard anyone talk about these crosswinds, so I knew there must be a solution. I glanced over to the west side of the bridge, at bikers traveling north. They were not being beaten by the winds. But I noticed they had their heads tucked low, against their handle bars. Problem solved—I needed a lower profile. The enjoyment now began. I had conquered the beast! We stopped at the first tower to admire the surrounding scenery. But my eye caught something I had never seen when driving across the bridge—a bright yellow box labeled “Crisis Counseling”.

This bridge is dotted with 13 call boxes, a reminder that the bridge is not just a light-hearted-material-logo for the city of San Francisco; it is also the most popular place in the entire world to commit suicide. According to statistics, there is an average of one new suicide every two weeks. How sad, something so beautiful having such a dark reputation.

As I battled the crosswinds to stay safely on the bridge, I couldn’t imagine—looking below at the kiteboaders dancing on top of the waves—someone actually jumping off of this bridge.

Hmmm, moving right along . . . here are some interesting facts I found out about the bridge. It took 4 years and cost more than 35 million dollars to build. Upon completion in 1937, the Golden Gates’ 4200 feet long main span was the longest suspension bridge span in the world. The weight of its road is hung from two cables that pass through two main towers located towards each end of the bridge. There are 80,000 miles of wire in the main cables. The paint color of the bridge is officially called International Orange, chosen to compliment the surrounding area and make the bridge stand out in the fog. The two towers rise 500 feet above the roadway. There are 5 traffic lanes; yellow markers are moved to adjust to the traffic flow. The road going across the bridge is part of both Highway 101 and Highway 1. The toll is $6 per vehicle going into the city. Outbound traffic, pedestrians, and bicycles are toll free.

Above: Family on the south (San Francisco) side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Below: Heading back across the bridge.

I was relieved to find out when we were riding back, going with the flow of traffic, there were no more crosswinds to contend with. Whew!

After we had completed our ride, I felt a big sense of accomplishment. What a rush—a real “high” from life. Even my daughter was amazed at the feeling she was left with after crossing that red sleeping giant.

Check! Another thing marked off of my “Someday Summer List”! Now off to Ghirardelli’s to celebrate!