![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A sunnier day than I thought it was
Mar. 20th, 2012 03:04 pmWe headed off first with the intention of catching the cable car, and we succeeded. The queue was not too long (although it got quite long very quickly, so a 9am turn-up during the week clearly works).
I didn't take many pictures on the route because I assumed that would be coming back on the same cable car, but as it turned out that was not the case. Although the Rough Guide pooh-poohs the use of these cars as a functional means of transport, they are actually quite useful for getting up the steep hills. Last night we seriously thought of waiting for one, rather than hacking up five blocks to Bush Street.
After we got to the Hyde St pier, about a 25-minute trip on the cable car, we wandered around the pier, looking at a number of historic craft and gazing unbelievably at a Chinese woman swimming in the bay. It had been well-cold overnight and the water temperature couldn't have been more than 10 degrees -- and she was about 200 yards out into the bay.
Here I came across the Musee Mechanique which I thought was a museum of old arcade machines. Well, it is, except that they all work! All 200-plus of them. Two 1960s pinball machines of designs that I haven't seen for decades. I shall return later in the week.
After a stroll along Fisherman's Wharf, we saw the hop-on-hop-off bus, and it was about to leave. So we took it.
This took us on a great tour of the city, although obviously it can't get to the really hilly parts. We bought the two-day pass,so we could use it again today and drop off at the interesting places. But we did get off at the South Side of the Golden Gate Bridge, and then walk across.
The weather was much nicer today. When out of the wind it was positively pleasant.
Unfortunately the lightly cloudy weather and strong breeze led me to fail to realize that the sun was having an impact on my face. By the evening I'd caught the sun quite badly. And the last thing that I'd thought about bringing was sunscreen!
In the afternoon we stopped off at the Wharf and looked at some horribly tatty shops, and then ate in a nice burger restaurant (Wipe Out, recommended) on the wharf. Then it was a matter of wandering about until it was time for the evening trip to Alcatraz.
This was well worth the trip, although perhaps not as sensational as I had been led to believe.
The trip is nearly three hours from start to finish, so by the end we were shattered after a long day. Barb has been heroic as she has been battling a virus all the time that she has been here (one on a par with mine in Vegas, TBH), so getting through the day must have been really tough, because I was feeling it myself, and I was healthy!
Today, breakfast with Mr Berlin, who is over here for a holiday as well. Then back onto the hop-on-hop-off, probably going to Haight Ashbury and then Union St.
( Quite a number of pictures )
I didn't take many pictures on the route because I assumed that would be coming back on the same cable car, but as it turned out that was not the case. Although the Rough Guide pooh-poohs the use of these cars as a functional means of transport, they are actually quite useful for getting up the steep hills. Last night we seriously thought of waiting for one, rather than hacking up five blocks to Bush Street.
After we got to the Hyde St pier, about a 25-minute trip on the cable car, we wandered around the pier, looking at a number of historic craft and gazing unbelievably at a Chinese woman swimming in the bay. It had been well-cold overnight and the water temperature couldn't have been more than 10 degrees -- and she was about 200 yards out into the bay.
Here I came across the Musee Mechanique which I thought was a museum of old arcade machines. Well, it is, except that they all work! All 200-plus of them. Two 1960s pinball machines of designs that I haven't seen for decades. I shall return later in the week.
After a stroll along Fisherman's Wharf, we saw the hop-on-hop-off bus, and it was about to leave. So we took it.
This took us on a great tour of the city, although obviously it can't get to the really hilly parts. We bought the two-day pass,so we could use it again today and drop off at the interesting places. But we did get off at the South Side of the Golden Gate Bridge, and then walk across.
The weather was much nicer today. When out of the wind it was positively pleasant.
Unfortunately the lightly cloudy weather and strong breeze led me to fail to realize that the sun was having an impact on my face. By the evening I'd caught the sun quite badly. And the last thing that I'd thought about bringing was sunscreen!
In the afternoon we stopped off at the Wharf and looked at some horribly tatty shops, and then ate in a nice burger restaurant (Wipe Out, recommended) on the wharf. Then it was a matter of wandering about until it was time for the evening trip to Alcatraz.
This was well worth the trip, although perhaps not as sensational as I had been led to believe.
The trip is nearly three hours from start to finish, so by the end we were shattered after a long day. Barb has been heroic as she has been battling a virus all the time that she has been here (one on a par with mine in Vegas, TBH), so getting through the day must have been really tough, because I was feeling it myself, and I was healthy!
Today, breakfast with Mr Berlin, who is over here for a holiday as well. Then back onto the hop-on-hop-off, probably going to Haight Ashbury and then Union St.
( Quite a number of pictures )
