Summer Vacation - San Francisco

We kicked off our summer vacation with an early morning flight to San Francisco.  None of us had ever been to San Francisco, and this seemed like a nice way to break up the long flight to our ultimate destination in Hawaii.  We arrived around noon for our one afternoon/evening to explore.    First stop was the Ferry Terminal Market for lunch.  Since the weather (as expected) was overcast and cool, we bundled up for a Big Bus tour. 

 

The first bus we got on did not have a live guide up top.  At first I thought it was due to the weather, so at the first stop, I went downstairs to ask the driver.  He was very rude and commented that only "every other bus" has a driver.  Their website and brochure very clearly said every bus did.   So we got off and waited for the next bus.   Luckily it arrived in less than 10 minutes, and we were rewarded with a very friendly and interesting guide for the rest of our tour.

The highlight of the tour, of course, was crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge.  Although there was the June Gloom, we were able to see the bridge and back across the bay to the skyline.  Alcatraz Island was also mostly visible.   It was sure windy and cold zipping across the bridge though!

 

 

After almost the full loop, we disembarked for the day at Pier 39.   We wanted to see the seal and decided to stay for dinner since there was nothing around our hotel.  The early flight and cool weather made us explore on foot much less than we would have otherwise, so we will have to keep San Francisco on our list of places to (re)visit.  We still need to see the Painted Ladies, Lombard Street, Ghiradelli Square, the Exploratorium, Dolores Park. . . . well, you get the drift.  We have more to see!  But it was a nice way to ease into our vacation.