OK. We drive the last few blocks of California Street, heading directly west, (starting to smell the Pacific?) counting the cross streets till we get to 32nd Avenue. It’s a stately and impressive residential neighborhood. And 32nd makes a T when it gets to El Camino del Mar.
We turn left and immediately see the entrance to Lincoln Park, so we’re essentially at the end, but there’s one line in Butko’s book that makes us pull over again. He writes: “…Left at El Camino del Mar; the westernmost extant marker is hidden here in shrubbery on the southeast corner.” We have to find it. Jarrett and Bob both get out their compasses so we know for sure which corner is southeast.
There’s a beautiful home on the corner with an attractive garden, but we see no Lincoln Highway marker. I wonder if maybe the marker was removed since Brian wrote the book. We’re looking around, and I wander a few steps back up 32nd Avenue, and I happen to look into the hedge that’s there near the corner, and Eureka! there’s our marker buried deep inside the hedge! “Hidden here in shrubbery!”
Now we have to get a shot. Bob starts to unload the equipment. I suggest to Jarrett that we maybe shoot another quick video too. And as we’re starting to do that, a nice looking man comes out the front door of the house with his dog and understandably wonders what we’re doing.
We explain our quest, and the guy, whose name is Tim, says that Oh yeah, occasionally they’ll see people looking in the garden and the hedges for the old concrete marker. But yeah, he’s known it was there for quite some time.
As we continue gathering our video documentation, we meet Tim’s wife Jennifer and daughter Jessica. They’re saying goodbye to some visitors who’ve been inside, and we’re trying to explain who we are and what we’re doing. It’s a hoot.
Jennifer invites us to come in and consider shooting the spectacular view from the roof of their house, maybe even tomorrow morning if it’s clear. Bob accepts her invitation to walk up now and see what it’s like. Jarrett and I stay on the sidewalk to finish the video postcard. [See it here.]
Now the sun is fading fast. The fog is rolling in. It’s cooler right now than ever before on our trip. San Francisco, here we are. As soon as Bob gets down from the roof, we’re ready to drive to the end of the line.