Just north of the Golden Gate Bridge is Rodeo Beach. Our stomping grounds.

The beach is not made of sand but rather pebbles washed smooth from the waves. The water is the open Pacific Ocean, nothing between here and Asia except a few islands 15 miles offshore called the Farallones, where birds and marine life are protected. Rodeo beach offers a close respite from urban life and is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area located in the Marin Headlands.

We travel from Sausalito and take the tunnel through the base of the mountain. We come out and are welcomed by a scenic mile's drive to Rodeo beach.

Almost two hundred years ago, during the time of Henry Dana's, Two Years Before the Mast, the classic tale of sailing along the California Coast, small bays like this were the transshipment points for hides from the great rancheros of California. Hides were loaded into open boats, rowed out through the surf and stowed aboard the trading sailing ships.

If you have a chance, Rodeo Beach and the vacinity where hiking and biking abound is worth a visit.