There weren’t too many choices for the letter “E” in San Francisco that I could think of and then I found Esmeralda Slide Park. My GPS led me to the back of the park and while I didn’t see any signs, I did see this little opening.
As I went through the trees, this staircase appeared.
As I got to the top of the steps I saw this little area.
Which turned out to be at the bottom of the slide. The blue bin off to the side holds cardboard pieces if you want to use them to slide down. There was a little girl there with her mom and dad (or grandma and grandpa, I couldn’t tell), so I was trying to take my pictures without invading their privacy.
I climbed the steps on the side of the slide and came to the top of the park. Here were the signs!
On the ground was a compass so you could see where you were. This was added to the park in June of 2017 during a restoration project.
Esmeralda Slide Park was established in the 70’s by a group of volunteers. They work together with the city to keep it maintained. There is a table with benches at the top.
The view from the top of the slide.
If there hadn’t been other people there, I might have taken a slide down myself but I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. Covid strikes again. Also interesting, this is in the Bernal Heights area and the night after I took these pictures I got a notice on my phone from the Citizen app that four people were pepper sprayed in Bernal Heights. It wasn’t near the park but still…
The other “E” is for The Embarcadero, which is a long stretch of road that runs along the piers from Second and King street along the waterfront to Pier 45. It runs under the Bay Bridge, which is a pretty impressive sight.
There is the Embarcadero Center, which is four huge buildings and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. I didn’t realize it until today but during the holidays the edges of the buildings are lit up and it is supposed to make it look like four giant books on a shelf. I’ll have to check that out this year! I’ll report back if it does.
There is also the Embarcadero Station where you can catch both BART and Muni (one of the other ways to get around the city). I didn’t take a lot of pictures because mostly it’s just the road but there are some interesting things along the way, which I may cover in some other letters. Don’t want to give away any surprises, you know?
And there we have “E.” No coloring book pages for this letter. I hope you are enjoying the trip through San Francisco. Have you checked out any of the other participants in the A to Z Challenge yet? I know there are a lot of good ones. I’m trying to make my way through but it is slow going, so forgive me if I haven’t hit yours yet.
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What an unusual park! I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to slide down now – too many old lady aches & pains!
A-Zing from Fiction Can Be Fun
Normally found at Debs Despatches
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I hear that, Deb. I thought I was ready to give it a try but thinking about it now, maybe I’d have trouble getting up once I got down!
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That slide looks awesome and unique. There’s a park in my moms town called Hammock Park – with 8 huge netted hammocks. It was nice to see them being enjoyed on weekends by the kids swinging away
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Oh, that sounds like a fun park! I love hammocks.
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I love outdoor staircases!
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It was so pretty too in the middle of all the trees.
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When I first saw the slide I was think ooooh, there’s gonna be a pool at the bottom of it. I love the compass. How cool is that! Hmmm I’m thinking something like that would be cool on my concrete porch. Such a bummer that you didn’t get to slide down!
Cheers,
Crackerberries
PS… I put a link to your blog in today’s post. Can you find it?
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How nice of you! Thanks. It would be fun if there was a pool at the end but then I’m sure it would be way more crowded! I may go back to slide down!
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Honored to be your “daily jump in” 🙂
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A very remote park, beautiful place! Nice to discover it.
Quilting Patchwork & Appliqué
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Thanks Frederique. I was happy to find it too!
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I enjoy being part of your exploring! I have never been to Esmeralda Park. You have to promise me to go back and actually use the slide though. Please? It’ll be fun!
Being a tourist in SF you can’t miss Embarcadero though. One day we were walking from what you may be covering tomorrow (FW) all the way to Oracle Park. We figured there must be more to see beyond Pier 39 😉
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-z-2021-dont-put-all-your-eggs-in-one.html
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Yes, Tamara you guessed correctly. I drove the length of the Embarcadero again today to get some more pictures 🙂
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You found a couple of interesting Es
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Thanks Derrick! Hoping to keep people guessing all month!
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🙂
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The compass is really pretty. A good addition to the park. Weekends In Maine
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Yes, I agree.
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Nice sights, Janet! Love the entrance at the back of Esmeralda Slide Park… like entering Narnia! 😀
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Right? Secret hideaway for sure.
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You have to go back post-pandemic and have a shot of the slides – and we want photographic evidence! 😉
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Oh for sure!
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Four books on a shelf! That’d be cool to see. You’ll remember and take a pic, right?
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Yep! Putting it in my planner right now to check it out this year.
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Ooooo such a cute park!! I really like it!
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Thanks T. I really wanted to slide down the slide but I was afraid that the little girl would have to stop and I didn’t want that.
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Awwwww!!
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