Bay Walks

After a six-hour flight to California this spring, we needed to walk.  Between the BART station and our hotel, we stumbled onto our first great find of the trip when we decided to get lunch at Lefty O'Doul's.  Talking with local friends at dinner the next night, we found out that Lefty's is a local institution.  That was nice to know, but we had already convinced ourselves that it was a good place to eat when a trio of SFPD cops sat down at the table next to ours.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and set out on foot, against the advice of the local tourist center lady who warned us, "it's pretty hilly."  She's a marathon runner.  I was eleven days from starting the Appalachian Trail.  She was going to have to try harder to scare us.

I wanted to see Coit Tower, because it was the only thing I had wanted to see on my previous trips to SF that I still hadn't visited.  We walked north until we saw the tower, and adjusted our course accordingly until we arrived at the top of Nob Hill, in front of a sign informing us that the tower was closed, and would be until April.  We still had a pretty commanding view of the city and the bay.

I'm pretty sure this bridge is famous.

I was a little disappointed, but maybe it will be open the next time I'm in town.

Coit Tower, designed to look like the nozzle of a fire hose, is a monument to firefighters.

We worked our way down the hill to Fisherman's Wharf, where we engaged in our usual harborside activity of picking out boats we can't afford and planning a life at sea aboard them.  I think the topside deck should be large enough for basking with a drink and a book.  I also think every ship that has a crow's nest is automatically ten percent cooler.

My camera has a lot of cool features, which I am still learning.

When I toured Alcatraz many years ago, I was disappointed with everything The Rock got wrong about the prison.  I'm still ok with the car chase.

I made a joke about how they had given up and ceded entire docks to the sea lions only moments before we saw a sign telling us that's exactly what happened.  Apparently, the sea lions were happy with the territory they controlled, because we didn't see them anywhere else.

I pocketed the free samples I was offered at Ghiradelli square for later consumption, but we ate the ice cream sundae there.  They don't keep well.  To preserve The Girl's legs for her marathon, we took the 30 bus back to our hotel, where we read in a tourist guide that "the 30 bus through Chinatown is an experience in itself."  To us, it was just another (recommended) adventure we stumbled into without trying.  I think we have a knack for finding great things to do.  Come to think of it... Lefty's and the bus were both her idea.  Maybe I don't have the knack after all?