Bridging gaps

One of the engineering wonders that I was taken to in San Fransisco was the Golden Gate Bridge. Since the climate around this time of the year through out the US of A is warm or even hot in most places, I decided against carrying warm clothes. I did take a jacket, though, for my son (thankfully) cos I was soon to experience the strong winds at the view point around the bridge, which almost threw as off our feet!!

It was a beautiful bridge constructed right across the strait. It had a pathway for people who wanted to walk across the bridge and there was a path for bikers too. We however decided to drive through the bridge, as we wanted to cover a few more places. At the time we visited, a huge container vessel that passed by below the bridge made for a picture perfect scene.

Picture Courtesy: K chitappa!

Some interesting facts that I learnt about the bridge are -

**The color of the bridge was painted an International Orange. The name of the bridge, though, did not come from its color. It is the bridge across the Golden Gate Strait that is the entrance to the SFO Bay from the Pacific Ocean. Hence the name - Golden Gate Bridge.

**Eleven men were killed during the construction of the bridge, and that was actually a safety record of that time. The expected fatality was more than 30!

Tons of other facts about the bridge are available online and make for an interesting read. :)