So I have been working at the same company for the past two and a half years, at the same office at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. In all that time, I had always thought to walk to the end of the pier which surrounds Aquatic Park, but had never gone and done so. This morning, before leaving the apartment, I had decided that today would be the day I would go.
After a longer than expected meeting during lunch, I took a little time back at my desk working on StaffPad before leaving the office for my small adventure. Going downstairs and getting a tall Americano, I proceeded to head towards the edge of the square and on to the pier. It was beautiful out today, a clear, wonderfully blue sky, the wind rustling, feeling fresh, alive. By the time I had gotten halfway down the pier my Americano was at a very good sipping temperature, a perfect foil to the cool gusts of wind that surrounded me.
As I got to the end of the pier, I looked back at where I had come from, back to Ghirardelli Square, and thought to myself how much further it seemed away than I had thought it would be. Looking around I saw the Golden Gate Bridge from a view I had never taken, Alcatraz was closer than I had seen before, and I noticed details on the old sailing ship that I was never quite aware of.
Surrounded by water, the sun shining down, I noticed that the wind was so loud that it drowned out all the other sounds with its noise. A deafening silence, sips of warm coffee, a slow walk back down the pier. By the time I had gotten back to the beginning of the pier I had finished my Americano, ready now to return back to the office, a cool breeze and a warm smile.
So simple, how twenty minutes can make all the difference…