Roaming Up and Down San Francisco

Hi Blog.  On Friday, October 11th, we took the Vallejo Ferry into San Francisco.  In order to beat rush hour traffic and make sure we could find a parking spot for Great White, we caught the 7:00 a.m. ferry. Uummmpphhh...waking up at 5:30 a.m.

The ferry boat was a high speed catamaran style.

Here we are arriving at the Port of San Francisco.  It was a bit foggy when we started out.

We walked along the Embarcadaro toward Fisherman's Wharf.  We passed the piers and warehouses that housed the America's Cup racers.  Now that the racing is over, the City is using the grandstands as an outdoor concert venue.

After walking a few miles back and forth between the Financial District and the Wharf, we finally found a place for breakfast.  Can you say breakfast burger - egg, bacon, cheese, hamburger on a toasted bun - yum!  To work off breakfast we climbed a few hills.  If you look over Dave's right shoulder below, you can see Alcatraz off in the foggy distance.  Unfortunately, the prison tour is closed because of the Government shutdown.  California is not going to pay to open the parks like Utah did. :(

We stopped at a little pocket park on the way to Coit Tower.  The fog is just beginning to lift.

We were nearly run over by a group of segway tourists.  Don't they look cute in their matching safety vests?

After arriving at Coit Tower, we donned our tourist disguises and queued up for the elevator ride to the top.  Here is Dave posing under the Tower.  Doesn't he make a convincing tourist?

After our 360 degree view of San Francisco, we headed down into the North Beach section of the City.  We took some time to browse for books at City Lights bookstore.  Dave fondly remembers this place from his college years.  However, the bookstore has undergone quite a transformation from "old used dusty grungy stacks of books piled everywhere" store to "bright, clean organized, categorized" book emporium.  There was an interesting piece of wisdom over the entranceway to the front book room:

After buying little William a book for Christmas, we walked over to Chinatown to get some steamed buns.  We got a recommendation from one of Katie's friends.  The directions were a little vague and we did stop at several establishments with blue awnings before finding the best baozi at a restaurant that says it has the best dim sum in the city.

Next stop - cable car ride.

We had to wait almost an hour before getting on, but it was so worth it.  The cars are old and rickety.  They clatter and clank up the hills, but the scary part comes when they go down!

After riding up one line and down the next, it was time to meet Katie and Justin for dinner.  They were spending a couple nights with Justin's sister, Jamie, and her husband Ted.  We stopped at a little boulangerie down the street from their apartment.  After a quick drink, we jumped in a cab to Katie's old neighborhood and one of her favorite restaurants - BStar Bar - for some amazing Burmese food.  Thanks Justin and Katie, we had a great time!

Tomorrow, we are heading out to St. Helena to meet up with Kathy's cousin Rita and her husband Chris.  After months on the road, it is fun to be around friends and family again.