The view and disappointment
at the 'San Francisco Bay Discovery Site'
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By Miguel Pérez
This is the “San Francisco Bay Discovery Site,” the 1,200-foot summit of Sweeney Ridge, where the 1769 Spanish expedition led by Captain Gaspar de Portolá first saw what became known as the largest landlocked harbor in the world. I like to go to places where Hispanic accomplishments are undeniable. But frankly, I thought that checking off this bucket list item would be much easier. According to my GPS, I would be able to drive all the way up to the summit. No problem, I thought, I have rented a powerful SUB! Yet, halfway up a series of steep hills, I reached a closed gate, and I met people who told me I would have to hike the rest of the way to the summit. “It’s 1.7 miles, and sometimes it gets very steep,” a young woman told me as she came back from the summit looking exhausted. Mind you, she wore a large hat and a hiking outfit with strapped water bottles and other accessories. And she was carrying two hiking sticks! |
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LOL It was scary! I had none of that. Nada. But I went anyway. It took me more than two hours in the scorching sun, my Apple Watch kept telling me that I was breaking all my exercise records, but I made it to the summit. “If I die here,” I kept telling myself, “people will know I was doing what I love.”
Yet I was disappointed to see that Portolá’s monument has been vandalized. Someone chiseled off his name and the date of his discovery, as if his immense contributions to American history could be erased. Surely, I will be writing more about this. I’m exploring a part of the country where Portolá is a huge figure. But for now, what do you think? I worked very hard to get these photos. |
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CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP/25
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