Confessions of a Western Wino: California Gold: Sunshine in Sausalito

Watching the boats on the
Richardson Bay.

"I heard Barry Bonds lives here."
"Probably doesn't actually live here. Probably just has a house."
"Must be nice."

I made a day trip to Sausalito with my parents. We were enjoying the scenery of the boats and harbors on our left and the shops and tree-covered hills to our right. Spectacular houses were nestled imperiously among tall pines and firs. We were only a few miles from downtown San Francisco but we might as well have been halfway down the coast.

Vista Point, Marin County

The quiet town is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Prior to the building of that bridge the town served as a terminus for rail, car, and ferry traffic. Sausalito was once the site of a Coast Miwok Indian settlement known as Liwanelowa. The branch of the Coast Miwok living in the area were known as the Huimen. Early explorers of the area described the natives as friendly and hospitable. According to Juan de Ayala, "To all these advantages must be added the best of all, which is that the heathen Indians of the port are so faithful in their friendship and so docile in their disposition that I was greatly pleased to receive them on board." A few generations later, the Huimen were gone, displaced by the visitors.

Main strip in Sausalito.

We stopped into a small place for lunch called Fish. They specialize in serving sustainably caught seafood. I sat on the sun-drenched deck looking south across Richardson Bay towards San Francisco, sipping a cold Anchor Steam, watching the boats linger by, believing life could never be better.

The first European known to visit the present-day location of Sausalito was Don José de Cañizares. This was on August 5, 1775. He was head of an advance party dispatched by longboat from the ship San Carlos. The crew of the San Carlos came ashore soon after, reporting friendly natives and teeming populations of deer, elk, bear, sea lions, seals and otters. They also reported an abundance of large, mature timber in the hills, a valuable commodity for shipwrights in need of raw materials for masts and planking. Today the place is filled with expensive houses, delicious seafood restaurants, and charming little candy shops. It's also home to some famous celebrities and sports stars like Barry Bonds.

Looking towards Frisco.

Downtown San Francisco can be a high-speed, cutting edge, bundle of energy for locals and visitors alike. Sausalito, just across the bay, is a completely different story. It's a relaxing port and ebbs along much more slowly than its urban counterpart. Any visit to the Bay Area wouldn't be complete without a pit stop in Marin County in the little harbor town of Sausalito.

The Lone Sailor Memorial in Marin County, just south of Sausalito.

The statue, a replica of the Lone Sailor in DC, represents a sailor's last view of the West Coast as he sails out for duty at sea.

The plaque reads:
The Lone Sailor
This is a memorial to everyone who ever sailed out the Golden Gate in the service of their Country – in the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Merchant Marine.

A ship heading for sea passes directly by this spot at the northern end of the Golden Gate. Here the Sailor feels the first long roll of the sea, the beginning of the endless horizon that leads to the far Pacific.

There is one last chance to look back at the city of San Francisco, shining on its hills, one last chance to look back at the coastline of the United States, one last chance to look back at home.

Thousands and thousands of American seafarers have sailed past this place, in peace and war, to defend this Country and its sea frontiers. Many of them never returned. This monument is dedicated to the ordinary Sailors and Marines who sailed from this place and did their duty.