It's hump day, which means it's time to start planning that trip out of the city this weekend. Last weekend, SFist had a car, so we decided to take a trip across the monument to design and engineering that is the Golden Gate Bridge, destination: Marin Headlands. Traffic was a pain getting up Van Ness to Lombard, but after that it was smooth sailing. If you don't have a car, you can make the trip on a bike, too - the entire round trip was only thirty two miles!

The Marin Headlands are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which includes the Presidio and Alcatraz - all of which are former military installations. If you can believe it, the United States actually wanted to protect San Francisco from invaders at one time. Now, maybe, not so much. There are artillery bunkers from three wars hidden amongst the rolling hills of the headlands, relics from the days of tall ships and two world wars. The most recent site is a NIKE Missile base, a tactical nuclear missile launching platform meant to defend our shores from the Russian Navy.

Most of the military buildings have been reclaimed for more peaceful purposes, including housing, a marine mammal center, a YMCA retreat and an arts organization. SFist badly wants one of the single-story railroad cottages which used to house soldier's families. But the highlight of our trip was the natural features of the park. Rodeo Lagoon was full of pelicans fishing for their lunch. Vultures and hawks glided over the hills looking for small mammals. At Black Sands beach, fisherman competed with cormorants for sharks and rays. On the hike back up to the road, we disturbed a bunny rabbit and about a dozen pheasants.

Now that made SFist very hungry, so before crossing the bridge we dropped in on Paradise Bay restaurant in Sausalito for a cocktail and some calamari. A little sunburned, we headed back over the bridge refreshed and ready for another week in The City.