October 16, 2012

Sonoma County Fairgrounds RV Park

Santa Rosa, CA

(San Francisco)

We thought by leaving at 7:30 we would avoid rush hour.  We were WRONG.  It took us two hours for a trip that should have only taken a little over an hour.  We crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge (after paying the $6.00 fee) at 9:30 and drove along the marina. 

 The first thing I noticed was the architecture.  The houses along the marina were beautiful.  The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze wafting through the opens windows of our car.  I entered in “Lombard Street” in the GPS and a few blocks later we were driving down the famous “crookedest” street in America that is one of the most photographed places in San Francisco.  

 We found a parking place across the street where all the cars have to park facing the curb.   The angle in which we were parked was so sharp that Monte had to come around and help me get out of the car because I was afraid of falling out as soon as the door was opened.  At the intersection of Leavenworth and Lombard we took pictures looking down the hill and across the bay to Alcatraz.  (Because we only had one day in San Francisco and touring Alcatraz would have taken up half a day we decided to skip it this trip)

 

There are stairs on both sides of Lombard Street.  Monte had received an important phone call when we were at the bottom so while he was on the phone I climbed the stairs to the right admiring the houses and flowers along the way.  There were only a couple of other tourists taking pictures when I got to the top.  But a minute later, first one, then another cable car arrived with almost all of its foreign-speaking passengers disembarking.  Monte had made it to the top of the stairs by that time.  We took some pictures and then walked down the stairs to the left as most of the other people were crowded walking down the stairs to the right.

Back at the car Monte helped me in and I entered “Union Square” into the GPS.  I had done research and read that there was a public parking lot directly under the square.   But when we got there we saw it was going to be expensive so we drove around a few blocks and found an indoor parking garage on Filbert Street that costs only $11.00 for the day as long as we picked up the car by 7pm.  (It would have only cost another $9.00 to park from 7pm until the garage closing at 11pm).

 

The parking attendant gave us a city map and we set off.  We asked a policeman which route would be the most direct to Chinatown.   His directions took us first up and then down Powell Street.  I was really glad that I had worn comfortable shoes because walking (climbing) up some of the streets provided quite a challenge and having proper shoes on really made a difference.  Once we reached Sutter Street we turned left and walked a couple of blocks over to the Chinatown Gate where we, of course, took pictures.

  Once through the gate we walked up a couple of blocks, crossed the street and walked back down looking at the different wares being offered by the merchants.  The items and prices were the same at most of the stores.  We didn’t buy anything because I didn’t see anything I “had” to have and also because living in a small space has taught me to be very selective in my purchases.

Walking back through the gate we made our way over to Union Square, found an empty bench and ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I had made us for lunch.  We sat for a while people watching.  Like most large cities, San Francisco has its own quota of characters and it was pretty easy to make out who where the locals from the tourists. 

It was only a couple of blocks walk to the cable car turnaround at the Powel Street Station. 

We joined the long line of people waiting for the next cable car.  The fare for the cable car every time you board is $6.00.  We purchased a day pass for $14.00 that allows unlimited rides not only on the cable car but also on the bus.  While we waited, entertainment was provided by some street performers.  After a twenty minute wait it was finally our turn to board the cable car.  We opted to stand on the running board holding on tightly as we made the thrilling ride beginning with a steep climb up Nob Hill, passing through Chinatown and Russian Hill and then plummeting down Hyde Street to Fisherman’s Wharf. 

 

After that harrowing experience I needed to find a public restroom. Luckily we came across one only a block after exiting the cable car. 

 There was a lady ahead of me waiting to use the facility who was standing inside the doorway.  She was a German tourist who didn’t speak English and she was trying to figure out how to close the door of the bathroom that was a free standing oval structure with a pocket door.  I read the instructions that explained how the bathroom had a 55 second cleaning cycle after each use.  The doors would not close to initiate the cleaning cycle if anyone was standing inside.  I motioned for the lady to come out and when she did, the doors closed and we could hear water running inside.  The doors opened when the cleaning cycle was complete.  After the woman had her turn in the restroom I had to wait for the cleaning cycle to be completed again before it was my turn. 

I found Fisherman’s Wharf to be an interesting place with no shortage of restaurants offering all kinds of fresh seafood dishes. 

 We checked out the menus posted outside the restaurant doors looking for a possible place to eat dinner later that evening.   I don’t eat seafood so nothing really appealed to me but was willing to order a salad if Monte found a place he really wanted to eat at but nothing appealed to him either and it was just as well because most of the places were a bit pricey.

We entered under a sign welcoming us to the famous Pier 45 that is the home to a submarine, the USS Pampanito and to the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, one of two remaining fully functional liberty ships of the over 2,700 built and launched during WWII.  We skipped the tour for both vessels as there was an admission fee. 

The pier is also home to the Musee Mecanique, an antique coin operated arcade housing vintage games.  While we were at the pier we saw the Oracle, a catamaran that we overheard someone say will be competing in the next America’s Cup.

 

Continuing along Beach Street we passed a marina full of tour and fishing boats, more restaurants and shops.  Across from The Cannery, we entered the Hyde Street Pier, designated a National Park.  There were several ships moored there that were open for tours at a $20 admission fee.  We were able to go on the boats for free with Monte’s America the Beautiful Senior Pass.  We have lost count of the amount of money having that pass has saved us.  It is good to know that being a senior has some perks.

 

We boarded just in time for a ranger-led tour, the Balclutha, a three-masted square-rigger built in Scotland in 1866 that carried cargo all over the world.  The ranger explained that it took a crew of 26 men to handle the ship.  Not all of the crew was willing sailors, some having been shanghaied into service.  We also went on a self-guided tour of the Eureka (originally named Ukiah and re-christened Eureka in 1923), a wooden-hulled side wheel paddle steamboat built in 1890 as a passenger and automobile ferry.  The exhibit also contains antique autos.  Construction of the Golden Gate and Bay bridges signaled the end of the ferry era.

Located directly across the street from Hyde Street Pier is the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Visitor Center where I was able to stamp my passbook.  The center contains high-tech exhibits that tell the story of San Francisco’s colorful maritime history.  The center offered several films that we would have liked to watch if we had more time but it was getting late and there were still so many things we wanted to see and do so we skipped the films.  We realized that budgeting only one day for San Francisco is just not enough time to really tour the city.  But the RV park rate where we were staying was too high and the distance to the city too far to warrant staying another night to tour the city the next day. 

We moved on to the cable car turnaround near Ghirardelli Square where there was a long line of people already waiting for the cable car. 

 While we waited, Monte noticed the Oracle had capsized.  There were several support boats surrounding the catamaran trying to right it.  It was still on its side when we boarded the cable car.  We experienced another thrilling ride back to Market Street and the end of the line. 

We were in the mood for pizza so went into Blonde’s where we ordered a medium pie for $10.00.  We waited for our order to be ready in the downstairs dining room.  The pizza was okay-we have tasted worse. 

There were still so many things that we wanted to see but we were getting tired and it was getting late.  If we stayed past 7pm it would cost an additional $9.  We decided to leave so we got back on the cable car going towards Fisherman’s Wharf and hopped off at a stop a couple of blocks from where our car was parked.

Back in the car, I entered “Golden Gate Park” in the GPS.  We were going to park there and take a walk but we hit traffic and by the time we arrived there it was already getting dark.  I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of walking in the park after dark, not knowing if it was safe, so we just continued on our way back to the Fairgrounds where we were camped.  We made it home in just over an hour.  It had been a wonderful adventurous and tiring day and we were both glad that we had made the decision to tour the city.