Lake of Mercy

Went with husband and baby to Lake Merced today--it's actually four lakes combined, as it turns out (in spite of 10 total years of living in SF, this is my first time visiting the lake). A sign along the North Lake says that Spanish explorers visiting the lake in 1774 christened it "La Laguna de Nuestra Senora de la Merced" (The Lake of Our Lady of Mercy)." So they were there two years before Bautista de Anza visited Mountain Lake? Nothing was mentioned about Bautista de Anza, but the north shore of North Lake Merced also features a large statue of the Spanish explorer on horseback, which was given to the State of California by the State of Sonora in Mexico.

To my surprise, one can walk along parts of the north lake without being bombarded by traffic noise. A path winds through and beyond the picnic area and golf course; large crews in dragon boats were energetically plying the waters of the main part of the north lake, while in the small eastern portion of the lake, only shorebirds and, sadly, one large dead turtle could be found. A couple elderly Irish men had stopped on a pedestrian bridge to gaze down at the turtle as it floated among some reeds on the shore; they didn't realize it was dead and were staring bemusedly at it, wondering aloud if it were asleep. I didn't realize either that it was dead, but my husband said he could tell right away. He didn't want to break into the reverie of the two older men, but a less considerate young man walking across the bridge said in a loud voice to his girlfriend, "That thing's dead." How on earth such a large turtle (as big as the green sea turtles one sees in Hawaiian waters) arrived at Lake Merced is a mystery. At any rate--seeing the turtle did not put too much of a damper on the walk as a whole, and it was wonderful to find yet another spot in San Francisco for relaxing with a kid and daydreaming.