San Rafael - 3rd St., cont. - April 14, '13

Walking Distance: 2.2 miles
Walking Time: 59 min. (5:33 - 6:32 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Montecito Plaza Shopping Center, San Rafael, CA

This segment was a continuation of my walk on 3rd Street from earlier this afternoon. I walked east on 3rd Street, which soon turned into Point San Pedro Road. Most of this walk was on sidewalks along Point San Pedro Road, with a few transitional areas (packed dirt/asphalt shoulder). This stretch of road was shown as a broken green line on the 2012 - 2013 Bay Trail Map set.)

I passed San Rafael High School on the left, and a light industrial and yacht/marine services area on the right, with signs promising live bait and bargain slip rates. A residential neighborhood followed as Point San Pedro Road curved to the left.

There was a stiff breeze this afternoon, and I watched as some birds had to work harder to land on telephone wires above me. This may have been good news to sailors out on the Bay. As is often the case, the sporadic gusts would diminish as the sun went down.

In the meantime, I enjoyed walking through a sheltered "tunnel" of trees and flowers along one stretch of sidewalk.

I chose to end this walk before dark as I'd already walked a fair distance earlier today. I eventually turned around at the intersection of Point San Pedro and Summit Ave. -- the road leading to the Marin Yacht Club.

On the way back into town I enjoyed views of boats in the water with Mount Tamalpais in the distance as the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky.

It's always good to see Mount Tam -- visible for almost a third of my walk around the Bay Trail last time.

Wildlife Sightings:

18 little brown jobs; 2 pigeons; 4 sea gulls; 1 turkey vulture; 3 crows (one was attacking the turkey vulture); 3 black-necked stilts (flying low over water); 3 ducks (mallards)