Road Trip to Serendipity

It was four years ago today that I decided we should take advantage of summer in California and get out in the gorgeous weather and scenery. James loves the Golden Gate Bridge, and I was missing the SF Bay Area of my years growing up. We talked my friend into coming along for the drive and we all zipped in my car down 101, drinking it all in.

At the bridge, the fog was boiling over the coastal hills and blowing through the gate, but there was no fog horn. James LOVES the foghorns on the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked a bit on the bridge. When the fog is coming in, however, the wind can make is hard to stay upright.

A guard saw us and came over. I explained that James was hoping to hear the foghorn, and asked what triggers the foghorn, because we could not see across the bridge because of the fog. He kindly explained that the fog has to be socked in low on the water before the foghorns turned on. He was watching James as he danced about in the fog, and he could tell there was something special about him.

"I tell you what," he said. "I'll radio to the engineer to go flip the switch and turn on the horn." Wow! Really? They could do that? No trouble at all, he assured us. It would take about 15 minutes for the engineer to get to the control room and get things started. We thanked him many times. James decided he wanted to head back to the car, so we did.

We pulled up to the first turnout on the Headlands side of the bridge, looking at the cool, roiling, silent fog that already hid the entire bridge from view. A few minutes later ... the fog horns began. Just for James. I will never forget it.