A longtime favorite boat ride is on the Larkspur Ferry from San Francisco.
Service was severely cut during the pandemic, which didn't make a lot of sense because traveling over water in fresh air felt like the safest form of public transportation at the time.
Until very recently, the weekend schedule was infrequent, requiring one to stay in Marin County for at least four hours in the afternoon before returning to San Francisco.
The schedule finally expanded slightly, so I embarked on a 2:40 PM Sunday ferry a couple of weeks ago in between atmospheric river storms.
The hour-long trip ends in the Corte Madera Channel, which is fronted by San Quentin Prison, an incongruous sight among all the affluence and natural beauty of this part of Marin County.
The futuristic outdoor canopy designed by architect Jacques de Brer in 1976 is still looking groovy and is still woefully inadequate as a shelter from bad weather.
There is a pedestrian bridge across the Channel to an old, small, wooden, outdoor shops and restaurants mall that was long empty but seems to be having a popular revival now that it has been rebranded as Marin Country Mart.
After a lovely late lunch at the Country Mart, I jumped on the 5:20 ferry to San Francisco.
There is a warning on the
Golden Gate Transit schedule website that this particular voyage takes an extra 20 minutes but they don't explain why.
The extra time turned out to be for a delightful detour, passing by Angel Island...
...on the way to picking up a few passengers at the tiny downtown Tiburon dock.
The Larkspur Ferry is one of the most beautiful public transportation boat rides in the world.
If you have a Clipper card, you should check it out.
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