http://www.sfgenealogy.com/boards/sfmemory/messages/177.html http://www.sfgenealogy.com Picking just one winner went beyond hard. All entries proved that San Francisco leaves lasting impressions, especially for those of us with genealogical links to her as well as our own recollections. They were great memories of our waterside attractions of the past. It's not surprising that the Ocean Beach / Lands End are garnered most of the mentions but of course the Embarcadero and old Fisherman's Wharf were remembered as well. We decided three entries deserved special recognition, the first two below tied for first place. The three entries were: Posted by Raymond Tompkins - A most difficult decision to try and condense almost eighteen years of youthful exuberance into a favorite time and place. Frolicking in the Pacific Ocean, Playland at the Beach, Sutro's, fishing off of Muni Pier and the other pier's along the Bay. Hmmmm. I guess it would have to be the Pacific Ocean when I was about 5-6 years old in 1944-45. We lived on 43rd Avenue, 1758 to be exact, between Noriega and Ortega, and there were still a lot of vacant lots and sand dunes. Places for a youngster to roam about. We, my friends and I, would walk down to the beach just to jump in the water, look for shells, especially dollar shells, watch the water reseed and try and dig up the shell fish where they left indentations in the sand. I remember the barbed wire on the beach and seeing soldiers now and then. But we were young and playful and full of fun. We could walk all the way to Playland without a care. Chase seagulls. Watch the fishermen with their long rods and huge reels. One of the more interesting excursions happened around Sutro's. Someone said there were guns on the hill overlooking Sutro's. So, up we went, climbing the hill, oblivious to the danger below. However, I remember looking down and certainly having second thoughts. Once at the top, we were disappointed. No guns! And, finding out we could have walked around the corner and not had to climb up the steep, sand and rock hill. The carefree days of my childhood and many days playing on the sand and in the water of the blue Pacific. Posted by Donna Dale Elliott - San Francisco's Ocean Beach is my absolute favorite waterside. It was across from "Play Land at the Beach". The Beach is still there, Play Land is just a fun memory. As a child my family went to Ocean Beach all of the time. The beach was clean then with lots of sand dollars and sea shells and at certain times of the year lots of creepy seaweed. My parents were young and from the mid-west and found they loved the Ocean and taking their three children to run on the beach several times a month. When our Midwestern relatives came to San Francisco to visit the Ocean was the first place they wanted to go; they were always amazed at its greatness. I collected seashells, unbroken Sand Dollars, beach glass and rocks; I kept my collection in several cigar boxes. I loved that I could see the Cliff House from where we frolicked. As a teenager summer days at Ocean Beach hanging with my friends, laying in the sun getting tanned with my own super suntan oil (baby oil with iodine in it). Watching the sunsets; Beach parties at night always with a big bond fire blazing. We always had so much fun. When life would get too overwhelming, decisions having to be made, just thinking about life and what it had to hold. I would bundle up in a heavy coat, tie a scarf on my head to keep warm on a cold, foggy morning and set out to walk along the Ocean Beach the surf crashing, the white caps high and strong and beautiful. It seemed the colder it was and the louder the crashing the easier it was to think. I continue my love of Ocean Beach sharing it with my children, grandchildren and yes, my little great granddaughter. My relatives that come to visit still make sure that the first place I take them is to see the ocean. I still walk at Ocean Beach but now only on warm sunny days. I no longer bundle up to walk on cold foggy mornings to think. Now when I need to think, I bundle up bring a hot cup of coffee and sit in my car to watch the whitecaps crashing against the beach. The louder the crashing the easier it is to think. Posted by Donna Madrid - My favorite waterside spot is the Embarcadero area with a view of Alcatraz. Sailing out of the City last January at dusk, I looked at Alcatraz and was struck by the beautiful shades of blue in the water, the island and the sky at that time of evening. As I watched Alcatraz's lighthouse flashing it's guiding light, I reflected on my ancestors. As a 5th generation San Franciscan, my ancestors arrived here in 1864, just 10 years after California's first lighthouse was built, here on Alcatraz. "Our" lighthouse was now guiding me safely OUT of the bay as it had guided my ancestors INTO the bay those 142 years ago! Raymond Tompkins and Donna Dale Elliott will each receive signed copies of San Francisco's Lost Landmarks and a prepaid search on Researchity at http://www.researchity.com/. Donna Madrid will receive a signed copy of San Francisco's Lost Landmarks. Thanks to all for all your fine entries. We'll definitely need to do this again. If you haven't read all the entries yet, please do so. Folks put a lot of thought into them and they're a a fun walk around the City's waterside. Jim -- James R. Smith Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks ISBN: 1884995446 www.HistorySmith.com <http://www.historysmith.com/>