A Day in San Francisco

riding the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf

The end of the line on the cable car at Fisherman's Wharf

Danny in front of Ghirardelli Square. The "G" is lit up with red and green lights for Christmas.

Kara's cupcakes in Ghirardelli Square. We ate one of the chocolate ones in the right hand corner.

Our cupcake tucked away in a cute box.

pretty mermaid fountain at Ghirardelli Square

found chocolate bars as big as Danny's hand

Fisherman's Wharf

Took a boat ride around the bay on this fleet

homes are stacked up the hillsides in San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge which isn't golden but red!

Alcatraz

Lunch spot at Fisherman's Wharf

Sourdough bread in the bread basket....so yummy

goat cheese with pesto and sun dried tomatoes

Crab Cake

French Onion Soup and Garlic Fries

Pier 39 with Alcatraz in the background

Pier 39....a hangout for the Sea Lions

This one claimed a pallet all to himself and dared anyone to try and get on it

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge

Muir Woods...home of the Redwoods

we saw all manner of fungi growing on rotting wood. It was very interesting to see how they were preserving the natural order of things in the park.

Once again we packed in a full day in our one day in this city! The weather today was calling for a chance of rain and was very overcast. We ate breakfast in our hotel and then left the hotel to find the cable cars for a ride to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. We are within just a few blocks of the end of the line of the cable cars which was really cool because we got to see them unhook the car, pull it onto a wooden turntable and slowly walk it in a circle until it faced the opposite direction and was ready to go back the way it came. There was nothing electronic about it which is why I guess I thought it was so cool. We rode the car the full length of the route, sitting along the outside bench, from Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf. We picked up people and dropped off people all along the way. Once we were off the cable car, we walked just a few blocks over to Ghirardelli Square. Ghirardelli the chocolate company got its start in San Francisco and we took advantage of our time there to sit down and have a hot chocolate with whipped cream. Danny really liked the flavor of the chocolate in the hot chocolate and I made a mental note to pick some mix up for him next time I'm in Monroe. There was a really cute little cupcake shop there called Kara's cupcakes. Of course I was drawn like a bee to honey and Danny asked if I would like one. Given that I was now full of hot chocolate, I said yes but I wanted to take it with me. I asked Danny if he would like one and he said yes and then ordered ONE Chocolate Velvet cupcake. When I asked why he didn't order one for himself, he said he did because we would share it. That was NOT my plan in getting my cupcake but at that moment, I was too full of chocolate to disagree. We walked over to Fisherman's Wharf and took a boat tour on the Red and White boats. We took the Golden Gate cruise which goes out into the harbour and under the Golden Gate and then comes back around Alcatraz to the dock. It started to rain off and on at this point which made taking pictures a challenge. We were given individual audio guides to wear which was great because you could move anywhere on the ship and still hear the commentary about what you were looking at. We thought it was interesting that we and one other person were the only Caucasians on the boat among ALL Asians. The other Caucasian man was married to an Asian woman! After the boat ride, which was a highlight of our day, we ate lunch at the Wharf at Boudin. They make their own sourdough bread (which we've eaten a lot of here) and our lunch was outstanding! We left lunch to walk down to Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions. I had been watching them on their live webcam during lunch to make sure we had something to see. How entertaining! There are pallets secured there for the Sea Lions to rest on with railings so people can watch their antics. This part of my day was also a highlight for me. We walked back to the cable car so we could ride it back to the hotel and take out our rental car. Danny wanted me to see the Coast Redwoods which meant a drive to Muir Woods outside of San Francisco. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge (which is red not golden as I thought) to get there and drove along a very very winding road. It was still misty with rain and walking among the woods was very quiet and dim. There are walking paths to follow and because it is December, there were very few people there which made for a very pleasant and quiet afternoon. It was amazing to walk among trees that were centuries old and to see how much care has gone into preserving as natural an environment for regeneration as is possible in a park setting. On our ride back we pulled out the cupcake we had carefully carried around and shared it. It was delicious and even though it was close to dinnertime, I wished we had each had our own because it was so good. After returning to the hotel, we ate at a well known establishment, John's Grill. Once again we had a nice meal with some of the fastest service we have ever had. It was so fast, that we were able to go and see The Hobbit in 3D which opened today. We have weary legs, but we have had a full and wonderful day. Tomorrow we begin our trek down the coast. Until then....