Prime Real Estate, First Sunday in March

Looking North, along the edge of Chrissy Field, out towards Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin headlands: a perfect place to stop for a snack and take in the scenery. It is late-afternoon and the tide is low - and so the waters appear smooth... Minutes from the time of these pictures, however, slack tide will ensue. Converging currents will cause swells, and the tide will change directions and then quickly begin to rise. Today's afternoon is a Bay Area rarity, a perfect day: almost no wind at all. (It is so, so rare to not see a single wind-surfer or sail boat zipping over the waters). In several weeks, Summer days starting out like this particular Spring day will be fleeting and more susceptible to sudden climate changes. Wind is much more common. The average Summer day along San Francisco waters is a chillingly cold affair; while the sun cooks the valleys and bakes most of California, the cold ocean airs will be sucked across the San Francisco Bay to relieve the inland vacuum created by the rising heat, and the fogs will roil in and slam down like a garage door, shutting the city inside it's thick layers. So, Hannah, enjoy the views, because Summer is right around the corner!