Today we went on a tour of San Francisco.
It was absolutely amazing. So much information, I tried to capture as much in pictures as possible
The KOA San Francisco guided tour
When we left, it was drizzling, overcast and VERY FOGGY!
Our tour guide said this is normal and will burn off by noon.
The first sight of the Golden Gate Bridge
It was so foggy, we couldn't even see the top of the bridge.
Apparently this is normal
The bridge is help up by a series of cables.
There are 27,572 wires in each cable with a diameter of 36 3/8 and a length of 7,650 ft
80,000 miles of wire was used to build this bridge
Fun facts!
Who's that chick in the red sweatshirt?
It's me! And it's chilly!
Can you guess what this is a picture of?
This is one of the beaches. Only surfers go in the water because of the temperature and the undertow
There were actual signs that said "No swimming, people have drowned"
The Golden Gate Park was created to give San Fransicians a place to enjoy lots of different activities
Windmills were built to water the park
There is a large assortment of different types of flowers and trees from around the world
They come from every country except Peru
Horseback riding
This is for you Alyssa!
Next we stopped at the De Young Museum
It was rebuilt after the earthquake and fires
The building was made of copper which will eventually develop a patina (a green hue) with time to blend in with the beauty of the park
The view from the top of the De Young Museum
Here is the top of the California Academy of Sciences. It has a living roof
A better view
I'm not sure what this structure is
We walked past the Japanese Tea Room
We didn't have time to go in.
It was originally formed and taken care of by Japanese immigrants, but after Pearl Harbor, this family was chased out and put into concentration camps and were not allowed to return
Here's the entrance
A view from outside
Then we drove through Haight/Ashbury section and learned about the summer of love, 1967
Hippies came in droves and took over this part of town
Our tour guides grandfather had a diner in this area, he was stubborn and refused to relocate. When the druggies came in, the diner and many other establishments went out of business
Next was the victorian houses
Look Fred has his own street here!
More victorians
City Hall
That is real gold on the building
Next we rode the cable car. It used to cost 0.10 then it went to 1.00 to $3.00 and now it's $6.00 per person for a one way trip.
You can't cheap out and not take the ride
Here it comes! Yippie
Here we go!
Heading down the hill
Fred's hanging off the moving cable car just like in Three's Company
Here comes another cable car from the other way. They come very close
The conductor is getting nervous! He's telling people not to hang out too far
A nice view from the cable car
We are SO happy to have ridden the only moveable landmark
Levi's Plaza
This is where the factory began where they made good quality overalls for the goldrush men
We arrived at Fisherman's Wharf
The people and the boats give the Wharf it's name.
The Wharf is one of those rare locations where history, culture and ethnic pride form a distinction blend that sets the place apart from other places
This the Alcatraz Landing, where you can catch the ferry to the famous prison.
We didn't have time for this expedition
Here's a picture from afar of Alcatraz
I can't go past a pirate without taking a picture
AAARRRRRRRR
We ate at Boudin's.
They are famous for their sourdough bread
We got gumbo in a bread bowl, tomato soup and tomato basil and garlic pizza made on sourdough.
You know how I LOVE pizza
As usual, everything was delicious!!
We shared a table with a couple visiting from Holland. They couldn't get over how BIG the portions were in America AND how much CHEESE they put on everything!!!!!
They were very happy to get some delicious fresh bread here at Boudin's, which is similar to how they eat at home. They have fresh bread out of the oven with butter or peanut butter, and for dinner they eat lots of veggies with a portion of meat.
We watched the bread being made fresh into different shapes
Teddy bears, crabs, turtles
Snakes and lobsters
This ones a little dark, the alligator doesn't mind. MMMmmmmmm
We walked down to Ghirardeli but unfortunately didn't have time to take the tour.
We would've liked to have more time at the Wharf, but the bus was leaving and we had to double time it back to the meeting spot.
The Purple Onion where Phyllis Diller and many other comedians made their start
Next was China town. We walked to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
We had to pay $0.50 to take a picture of the women and men making fortune cookies
Fred couldn't resist buying a bag of vanilla and chocolate fortune cookie wafers
AKA: smackles
When the streets are this steep they change the sidewalks to stairs
Why would this guy park on that street?
Check out the hills of San Francisco
And the views that accompany those hills
We stopped at Knob Hill and walked down this steep driveway to observe the view the rich have
There I go. Do you see me?
Here it is. I could get used to seeing this outside my window!
Can you find the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog?
This is around around 5pm and the fog has yet to burn away. LOL!
Then I had to walk back up! It was STEEP!
Here I come
I'm almost to the top
The tour is over, we are headed back to Petaluma
One last view of the Golden Gate Bridge
The fog has lifted quite a bit, but not for long!
This is the town of Sausalito. They build the houses into the side of the mountains to maintain the naturalness of the land
We were told we can't leave San Francisco without eating Ghirardelli chocolate. We were all given a Dark Chocolate square with white mint filling
mmmmm mmmm mmmmmm Delicious!
Our tour guide, John, was born and raised in San Francisco.
Someone asked him "Why didn't they level San Francisco like they did in Los Angeles?"
And John said, "Because then we would be like Los Angeles"
Like all cities they want their own identity.
San Francisco is beautiful! I can't get over how cloudy, foggy and cold it is here. This is not what I expected! I always think of California as lots of sun and cold Pacific water. But I learned yesterday, that San Fran has similar weather to Seattle, WA (it's much drier here) and Vancouver, CA.
The North West coast is grim LOL!!!
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