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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

San Francisco

We started the day with breakfast and John asking for directions to the closest BART station (Bay Area Rapid Transportation). Our waiter was trying very hard to explain and John was trying very hard to understand. The waiter finally said he would be back. He came back a little later with his cell phone and was trying again to explain to John using Google maps. Now, combine an oriental person with a person who claims he is NOT hard of hearing and it is hard to get the message across. So, I pulled out my cell phone and the waiter said, OH, you have GPS? He then came over to me and we spoke the universal language-----GEEK TALK----and we were able to get directions.

Once we found the BART station we were able to figure out how to pay for our parking, buy our tickets and get on the right train. Between the two of us we can do anything. After getting downtown we had to take a trolley car to Fisherman's Wharf. What a hoot that was!!!


We decided to take a boat trip tour around San Francisco Bay. It was a bit chilly but the sun came out for us so it wasn't too bad. It was about 90 minutes long and we sat outside on one of the upper decks. The boat went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island. We also saw sea lions. It was a fun trip even though the seas were pretty choppy.





After the boat trip we took an open air double decker sightseeing bus trip around the downtown area. The bus was fun but toward the end of the 90 minutes it was getting pretty chilly. We enjoyed all the sights we saw, including the gate that leads into China Town.




Tomorrow is 90% chance of rain so not sure what we will be doing our last day in San Francisco. Whatever it is, it will be fun.---Penny

I do not do GEEK TALK, just draw me a map. We had a bad forecast, but the weather gods took pity on us. It turned out to be a pretty fair day. With Penny handing the GPS and I driving, we made the BART station in Daly City without a problem. The BART ticket purchases are much like the METRA in Chicago. We then took the F-line trolley to Pier 39. Here is were you can buy tickets to several tours. We selected a package that included a boat ride that went under the Golden Gate bridge and circles Alcatraz and a bus tour. The weather around San Fran is very complex due to the cold currents of the ocean past the bay. You get to the Golden Gate and the temps are 10-15 degrees lower than the harbor. It was awesome to go underneath the bridge and around the "Rock". We then went on a 90 minute open air bus tour of downtown. It is now getting cloudy and chilly, but the tour was great. One highlight was seeing the street where they filmed the famous car chase from the Steve McQueen movie Bullet. The ironic thing was that they were going the wrong way on a one-way street. -John 

1 comment:

  1. CHINATOWN!! Did you bump into Gracie Law, David Lopan, or maybe Jack Burton!! Was there "Big Trouble in Little China"? Glad to hear your having a great time! A tour of the rock would have been sweet.

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