San Francisco and the Pacific Coast Highway

    The city by the bay- San Francisco! I have travelled a lot but I have never been to SF.  Dave had a work convention to attend and was driving to SF.  So like a good wife I agreed to go along to keep him company!  Now for those non Californians out there you may think this was a quick jaunt- nooooo! It is an 8+ hour trip depending on what wonderful traffic you get to endure.  We went the HOT route which is through the central valley.  A very fertile place if watered- groves and fields of every crop imaginable.  We passed at least 50 trucks all hauling tomatoes.  When we arrived in SF the temp was 47 degrees cooler than the valley.  We stayed at the King George which is right in Union Square and convenient for the convention and for sightseeing.  Built in time for the World Fair in 1916.  The rooms were tiny as in only one of us could be walking around at a time. This was fine but the mattress was also very aged!
    In my 2 days of walking around SF I heard more foreign languages and accented English than anywhere I have ever been! I guess SF must be a popular destination.

   

Hydrangeas on Lombard Street

That very crooked street

Looking toward Coit Tower

SF is famous for it's sourdough bread and it's seafood. A very popular dish is clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.

Me and Alcatraz

When I asked where the sea lions were I was told they were vacationing in SD!

Need a souvenir of Alcatraz?

Ahhhh…. the original location for this delicious company. I tried to resist but oh well!

That prison in the bay

Saw this too

Golden Gate Bridge.  I had planned on walking across it that day but my feet were very tired so I saved it for Day 2 and headed back to King George on a historic cable car. Pretty fun and fast whipping up and down those same hills I had walked all day.

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Day #2 I hoofed it over to the Ferry Building.  Not terribly exciting unless you are hungry.  Lots of food stores.

The Bay Bridge as viewed from the Ferry Building.

To save my feet for the GGB I hopped a street car to Fisherman's Wharf and….

…..dined on Dungeness Crab! Yum!

Then on to the GGB.  I was fortunate since only the very top of the bridge was encased in clouds.  It was very windy and cool during my 1.7 mile walk across.

Looking back at SF from the GGB

From the bridge I walked an additional 2-3 miles into Sausalito

After a few hours I hopped on a ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf

I met this good looking guy for a seafood supper.

Since I didn't want Dave to miss out I took him back to this wonderful place. I can highly recommend the sea salt hot chocolate!

I persuaded Dave that we NEEDED to travel on Hwy 1 (PCH) on the way home. From Monterey to Ventura we wound our way home. We would have bailed sooner but…. there is no getting off once you commit to Hwy 1! The views are stunning and the marine layer cleared just for us. So it took us an extra 4 hours to get home!

These fellows are Elephant Seals.  The females and babies had come and gone already but the guys were still chillin on this beach. You really should google these guys and read the fascinating facts about them.  They don't develop their elephant noses until they are 2-3 years old and only the males have these noses. They migrate 5000 miles to Alaska!   That ends my SF adventure and I believe I will be home for a few weeks now….. we have guests coming the next 2 weekends.  Looking forward to showing them OUR San Diego!