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Published: October 16th 2014
Alcatraz
The view from across the penninsula from the Crown PrincessSo we decided to wake up at 5:30am this morning to watch us sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. It's not really all that lit up, but it was still cool. Just around the bend was Alcatraz! I only knew what it looked like because of The Rock. The bay is really pretty all lit up, but it's also quite chilly that early in the morning on the first day of fall. Lots of people were out on their balconies in blankets watching!
After a nice quiet breakfast in the back of the boat, we got off the ship and headed to get the rental car from Enterprise. They had a shiny new Ford Taurus all gassed up and ready for us. It only had 426 miles and still smelled new. It was a limited version so it had lots of extras with leather seats. Terry was amazed and reminded us how much she loved it every time I was about to forget. Muir Woods was first on the list so we had to head across the Golden Gate and north. Somehow, Terry never knew that the bridge was orange. Not sure how she never noticed that in all of
2014 Ford Taurus Limited
I think Terry really liked this car...better ask to make sure. the tv shows and movie's it's been in, but she was highly disappointed. After crossing that, the roads got really windy and somewhat narrow. You couldn't set cruise control at all, but I was having fun winding through the forests. There are two types of Redwood trees, these being the Coastal variety. Not as thick as the General Sherman's of the world (), the old growth Coast Redwoods are the tallest trees on earth. They can live to be 1,800 years old and upwards of 400 feet tall. Luckily, the Kent's purchased 611 acres of land north of San Francisco to preserve the relatively few number of these giants left today due to the harvesting of their lumber.
The park is $7 per person and very much worth it. The loop that we walked was about a mile long and is on a boardwalk through the woods. The trees are impressive at first, but the further you walk, the more impressed you become. I can see peoples' necks getting sore since you look upwards the whole time! These trees are really resilient and even if one falls, new sprouts can start growing from the roots. That's why you'll often
see them growing in little groups. The occasional wildfire is ok for these trees as it creates a hole in the canopy which will let much needed sunlight now reach the forest floor.
Due to a 'bus issue', we had to go to the right out of the park. That was ok because we wanted to head that way anyway. We hopped on the Pacific Coast Highway and started driving. We've always wanted to drive this route so Kristi and I were really excited! The road here got even more narrow, not to mention windy. Oh, and did I mention that there is just a sheer drop-off to the left? I'm not talking like a drop-off into a ravine like on PA country roads, but a legitimate cliff that plunges into the Pacific, hundreds of feet below. Luckily we're going north and I have a lane between us and the water. Just a couple minutes into the drive we saw a 'vista point' for Muir Beach. Parking the car, we get the first real view of what we have been and will be driving for the next few hours. It's incredibly gorgeous, but also scary, to be honest. There
Windy Road
On the way to Muir Woods from San Fran. is a lookout down a path and out on some cliffs so we headed down. Of course there has to be a couple making out on it, which made it a bit awkward. Get a room. This was actually a lookout point for Japanese ships during WWII. The little pillboxes built onto the cliffs used to house high-powered spotting scopes that worked with others further north and south to help get accurate coordinates for the gun batteries. Hopping back in the Taurus, we get to a cool little sleepy town called Stinson Beach and realize we've been driving the wrong direction for like 20 minutes. Seriously?!
A quick u-turn and some very familiar scenery later, we arrived in Half Moon Bay. All I could picture is the ending of American Wedding when they get married at the Ritz Carlton here, but we didn't see it. Again, more cliffs, but this time there were actually some beaches, too! I was starving at this point and Rodney is always down for eating so we found a little sandwich shop called the Garden Deli Cafe. The sandwiches were huge and a little pricey, but SO GOOD! While walking down the sidewalk, it's
Muir Woods
These huge redwoods make you feel slightly insignificant. hard to not notice all the bookstores. Well, let me rephrase that. It's hard to not notice all the bookstores with Kristi and Terry pointing out each and every one. Rod and I managed to corral the girls back to the car with our wallets intact; phew.
Kris and I wanted to at least feel the Pacific Ocean so we stopped at a little public beach on the way back to San Francisco. While we were down by the water, Rod and Terry made friends with a couple of guys with a dog. It was a Yorkee/Chihuahua mix named Dink. Yup, folks, you read that right. The pup got right on Terry's lap (although her bragging rights were short lived when the guy informed her that she likes anyone who gives her attention, haha).
We got back to the Golden Gate Bridge and turned off just before to go up to another 'vista point.' The view here wasn't all that great, but you couldn't get to the view on the opposite side because of the direction we were heading. Parking was terrible, but I managed to quickly park in a no parking zone just to snap some pictures.
From here, we traversed the bridge again and headed towards the Twin Peaks. The parking here was 10 times worse than the viewpoint we were just at. I got parked ok, but I was unsure if I'd ever get out again! This is probably the best view of the city. Period. If you climb high enough, you have a 360 degree view, but we had every bit of 180 degrees from where we were. There were even people getting their pictures taken from opposite sides of these big boulders to make it look like they were hanging off the cliff (that didn't exist). I tried to get Terry to get in that pose and then I would pretend to be stepping on her fingers but she wasn't game. Now I have no idea what my Christmas card will be...
We turned the car in at Enterprise and did some shopping at a couple stores nearby on the way to Lombard Street. With eight hairpin curves in the span of one city block, it's the world's crookedest street. The in-laws did not want to scale the hills to get to it, but Kristi forced them into it. When I say
Muir Woods Path
All of the paths are really well kept here. This particular picture is in an area called the Cathedral. They ask you to not talk or make noises so everyone can feel what it used to be like here. forced, I mean she literally pushed her mom up a couple of the hills. I was even getting worn out, to be honest. The view of the street was a bit of a letdown as you couldn't really see the road from that angle. If only I had packed a ladder, it would have been much better. I guess maybe I could have packed that Little Giant ladder that Al Borland promotes late at night, but our suitcases were already too heavy, haha.
To get to Fisherman's Wharf, we got to walk downhill. When everyone came west for the big gold rush in California in the mid 1800's, some Italian fisherman decided to supply these folks with food. Crabs and fish were something they were experienced in catching and that's how this area came to be. Now it's lots of shops, restaurants, and a few still-working vessels. The fresh seafood being sold everywhere is intoxicating, but since I'm the only one who likes it, we just breezed through that area. In the distance, you can hear some barking from the sea lions that hang out at Pier 39, for some reason. There's always a crowd of people watching and
taking pictures there, so we had to make a stop. They sit on little floating docks out in the marina. I'd say there were probably 20 or so of them just hanging out, sunning themselves. I got some good pictures, but Rodney came back with just an awesome picture of an empty dock! Somehow we lost Rod and Terry on the way back to the ship and caught up with them just as we were back at the dock. Rodney's face got all red when the security guard woman joked with him about being Mr. Gray from 50 Shades of Gray.
San Fran is a really cool city in which I would love to spend more time. Maybe next time I will run into Nash Bridges and Joe Domingos!
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