The Vallejo Ferry Terminal is located on the Napa River just across from the old Mare Island Naval Shipyard. While the Navy base was closed in 1996, the island is undergoing a transformation. Many of the old navy buildings are being preserved and turned into an historic museum, while other parts of the island are being developed for businesses and residences. The old docks are full of life again.
The ferry leaves the Napa River and then crosses the San Pablo Bay before heading into San Francisco Bay. It takes about an hour, but on a day like today you can't help but sit back and enjoy the ride.
We soon pass the East Brother Island Lighthouse located on East Brother Island near the tip of Point San Pablo in Richmond, California. It marks the entrance to San Pablo Bay from San Francisco Bay.
The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. After several years of neglect, a non-profit group, East Brother Light Station, Inc., was formed in 1979 to restore the landmark. Government grants, private donations, and volunteer labor restored the structures on the island, which are now used for the bed-and-breakfast. For a few hundred bucks, you too could stay in a lighthouse. We'll have to put that on the list for the next time we are in the area.
Just before we go under the Route 580 Bridge and into San Francisco Bay, we can see Mount Tamalpais (or Mt. Tam as the locals refer to it). Mount Tamalpais is the highest peak in the Marin Hills, which are part of the Northern California Coast Ranges. The elevation at the East Peak, its highest point, is 2,574 feet. The West Peak, the mountain's second highest peak, where a radar dome currently stands, is at about 2,563 feet.
Here we get a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As we get closer to the city, we can begin to see the wharfs along the waterfront with Coit Tower looming over the tourist mecca.
Since we already covered a number of tourist attractions on our last visit, we decided this trip would be about finding a couple museums to spend time in. We wanted to get a little more information on the history of San Francisco, including the big earthquake. As we walked uptown, we ran straight into a "police emergency." Of course, no one in the crowd knew what was happening, so we heard everything from accident, fire, bomb threat, movie shoot, presidential visit, alien invasion, etc. Did I mention that these lookie-loos were all eating Sabra hummus and pretzels. Sabra just happen to be in the area giving out free samples. You gotta love this city. We ended up walking several blocks out of the way to get around all the closed streets. [Ed. Note: Heard on the news this morning it was a suspicious backpack. No bomb. False alarm.]
We finally made it to the San Francisco History Museum. The museum has over a dozen rooms, each dedicated to a different aspect of San Francisco. We started with the Gold Rush, then learned about the Barbary Coast. We found the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915 to be fascinating.
The exhibit on the earthquake was not as comprehensive as we hoped it would be, but we did learn an interesting fact about the recovery. Over 5,000 wooden shacks were built to house survivors. Walls of the "cottages" were redwood, the floors were made of fir, and the shingles were cedar. Stoves cost extra, and toilets were communal facilities that were built in the parks. Shack tenants paid $2 per month toward the final $50 cost of the structure. When the refugee camps closed in 1907, 5,343 of the shacks were moved to private lots by horse and wagon. Some residents who were unable to afford moving costs disassembled their homes and carried them away in pieces. Only 32 of those cottages are known to still exist today. The Western Neighborhoods Project maintains a website that provides much more information on the history and current status of the refugee shacks.
We could go on and on about the history of San Francisco, but then you wouldn't have anything to discover when you come to visit. So, we'll leave you with a few of our favorite rooms. Kathy really liked all the old radios on display.
Dave spent a little extra time in the Hippy Room reliving one of his college experiences.
All that time travel builds up a powerful hunger. What better way to satisfy said hunger than with a trip to our favorite bun shop. Last time we were here, we had baked buns. This time, we wanted the steamed ones. However, the young woman who waited on us last time was not in the shop. In her place was her 70-something year old mother who spoke no English or Mandarin. So, with a little pointing and counting in Chinese, we managed to almost get what we wanted. The chicken buns were great with a little savory sage spice. The red bean paste was sweet, but not too sweet. However, we ended up with BBQ pork and not the pork and veggie. They were still pretty tasty. This bun shop came highly recommended by one of Katie's Asian friends, and that was good enough for us. The buns were fabulous and we recommend it. Just walk a couple of blocks uphill on Powell from the intersection of Powell and Union. Look for the blue awning that reads, "Here You Can Eat the Best Dim Sum." It's worth the walk!
After lunch, we walked down to Fisherman's Wharf to discover the Musee Mechanique, one of the world’s largest privately owned collections of mechanically operated musical instruments and antique arcade machines. The museum has more than 300 items, ranging from orchestrions, coin operated pianos, antique slot machines, and animations. Most of the machines have been upgraded to accept quarters. We happily wandered up and down the aisles playing antique baseball and basketball games, as well as enjoying some of the animated games, such as the mechanical puppet show. We took turns looking at some of the original coin operated picture machines - car races, train crashed, three-D photos from the great earthquake.
After racing through our stack of quarters, we ventured outside to hang with some of the tourists who congregate along the piers.
We also stopped to watch some street performers. Before long, it was time to head back to our hotel (which we got on PriceLine), and get ready for dinner.
Tonight we set our sights on a little live jazz. We did some Googling and found Cafe Claude. The Mad and Eddie Duran Trio was to play from 7:30 to 10:30. We checked online and scored 7:30 reservations. The restaurant was hidden down an alley. It was tiny and a jazz trio was stuck in a corner by the bar - not exactly what we were hoping for. We had hoped for a true jazz club like Blues Alley in Georgetown, or Iridium in Manhattan, or some of the jazz clubs in New Orleas, but we made the best of it. As it turned out, the trio was really good. David bought a CD from them. They played some classic jazz and some bossa nova. The problem was that the clientele was ignoring them and talking so loud that we couldn't hear the music very well. After we ate, we finished our drinks at the bar so we could enjoy the music.
Besides offering good jazz, Cafe Claude serves French cuisine. We both started with French onion soup. Kathy had duck confit and Dave enjoyed coq au vin. Instead of dessert, we shared a cheese plate and had the absolutely best Camembert cheese EVER! Kathy later learned that it was a Chantilly Camembert. She found some more at a cheese shop at the Ferry Building and we had a chance to enjoy more of it after we returned from San Francisco.
We wrapped up our jazz night around 10:00. The fifteen minute walk back to the hotel from the restaurant was pleasant and we enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city after having spent so many months in mountain valleys and the high desert. We fell into bed and knew nothing.
After sleeping in a bit and enjoying a hearty breakfast, we headed back to the Port of San Francisco to take our ferry back to Vallejo. This morning we could see the fog rolling in from the ocean. Here Alcatraz is about to be swallowed up in the mist.
As the ferry turned to head up the Bay, we watched the city slowly disappear behind our wake, with a lone sailboat to witness the scene:
Looking to the west, we could just about see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge peeking out of the fog.
By the time we reached the San Rafael Bridge, we had passed through the fog. The sun was warm and the breeze pleasant. After docking, we found Great White and headed back to the RV.
We spent the rest of the day catching up on emails and playing with the cats. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am sure it will be an adventure.
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