Sausalito, San Francisco and Alcatraz

Today we spent a lot of time on boats: ferry to SF; ferry to Alcatraz; ferry back to SF; ferry back to Sausalito. It was very fun, but when we got home tonight I still felt like the ground was swaying!

I'm happy to report Alcatraz lived up to the hype - it was very interesting and fun to explore. We spent a couple of hours there, and walked our legs off again. There is a lot of hiking and stairs involved on that little island!

We also had a nice stroll and lunch at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, which is like Pike Place Market but fancier. Tonight we ended up on the ferry to Sausalito after dark (5:30-6), so we enjoyed some really nice views of the city lights on the way home. Then we finished our long day with dinner at Horizons, the waterfront seafood place we went last night. Delish.

We are still making up the itinerary as we go along, but currently the plan is to spend tomorrow night (possibly two nights) in Monterey, then somewhere else between there and L.A. for one night. In between, we'll visit some missions, the Hearst Castle, and whatever else seems interesting. So that puts us in L.A. on Monday or Tuesday, where I've found a couple of good hotel options already. I'm relieved that no other city seems to be as booked up as SF yet!

I've spent a lot of time this evening on trip planning, hotel booking and photo sorting and it's already getting late, so I don't know if I'll be able to catch up on the photos, but I'll try! These are a mix from today and yesterday.

Sausalito:

Another view of our hotel

Bay

Arrival of ferry

Boarding

On the ferry

View of Sausalito

San Francisco:

Foggy/smoggy Golden Gate

Approaching San Francisco

Foggy/smoggy SF skyline

Arrival at Ferry Building

In the Ferry Building

Ferry Building ceiling

Far West Fungi

Steamed pork bun

Ferry Building exterior

Farmers' Market outside the Ferry building (every Thursday)

While eating my $8 cheeseburger on a bench in the sun, I chatted with a nice lady from Michigan, who was in town for business. She thinks Caribou Coffee is awesome, too.

Historic Hyde St. Pier

The Balclutha at Hyde St. Pier

Financial District

Old and new in the Financial District

Ditto

Occupiers protesting the day after being evicted from their camp

Lobby of a beautiful bank that is a National Historic Landmark for its contributions to the American branch system. The receptionist/guard was very nice and let me take photos.

Various views of the Transamerica Pyramid (1972), which I was quite smitten with:

Scenes from the "So I Married an Axe Murderer" movie were filmed in the bookstore on the right.

Chinatown

Contrasts

In the Beat Museum

Laundry day

A glimpse of the Bay Bridge

First big church interior with the wide-angle lens - pretty fun! This is the National Shrine of St. Francis, for whom San Francisco is named, of course.