Sat Sept 20 - A Day at the Races - San Francisco
Leaving Calistoga we elected to go south on CA29 to see more of the vineyards and wineries. Seeing was made difficult by the low cloud and fog that the morning had brought. That was to be the weather for the day. Beringer's is the winery below, one of the few that I've heard of.
This turned out to have been a bad choice because, 1) CALTRAN had closed CA37 this weekend, which could have easily taken us from 29 to 101, and 2) there was a marathon on CA121, the replacement road. This necessitated a long delay while runners and autos were separated. This was an excellent example of right and left hands not communicating. We did drive past Sonoma Raceway, a road racing course seen frequently on TV. Even NASCAR races there.
Got to 101 and turned off for Muir Woods. On a good day Muir Woods is difficult to reach, hidden behind a maze of twisty little roads. Today we had the added benefit of a bicycle race taking place along those same roads. There were times when autos could move no faster than bicycles, going uphill. Arriving at Muir Woods we found that this was THE bay area destination for the day. We had to park along the side of the road more than 1/2 mile from the actual entrance. Made the hike through the woods just that much longer.
Muir Woods was breathtaking as usual. Dark and dripping this morning, even all of the people there couldn't overwhelm its majesty. And, amazingly, all those people didn't engulf the park. You could actually find places with few people and some quiet to enjoy the trees.
Since it was on the way out, we stopped at Muir Beach. It had been cleanup day at the beach, and they hauled out 100 garbage bags of stuff. Lots of dogs running free, and a group was setting up their bonfire.
A kind National Park Ranger guided me to the Alexander exit, just before the bridge, as the place to get the iconic pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco behind. The previously mentioned fog was drifting in and out, so when we first stopped at one of the lower locations you could still make out the city behind the bridge. Moving to higher locations we found the fog had completely covered the city, and parts of the bridge. That's what happens when you travel -- you get the pictures that you can with the weather you've got. I would also note that everyone who didn't go the Muir Woods, and probably some that did, chose this afternoon to go into the Marin Headlands to look at the city.
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge there are no toll stations. Everything is done automatically. For those of us who don't have a FastTrax transponder on the car, they capture the license plate and send a bill. Or you can go online and set up a license plate account. Which I did, and we'll see if that works. And it's only $7 to cross the bridge southbound. Northbound is free. Foolish us, traveling south into the city. .
We checked into the Best Western Tuscan on Fisherman's Wharf. It's right across the street from the Longshoremen's Hall. Thirty years ago we had spent a Friday night across the street from that hall (although at the Wharf Inn, on the other side of the hall) and were kept awake until the early morning hours from the loud band and noise from the hall. We'll see how tonight goes. We did go out and walk along the wharf and looked at all the touristy things.
By the way, we managed to miss Fleet Week, coming in October.
The cable cars are no longer a means of city transportation but have become an amusement park ride. The line to get on the cars in front of the Buena Vista cafe was over an hour long. And if you rode all the way to Powell and Market downtown, you'd have another line of similar length before you could ride back to the wharf. Note the girl on the front right checking her phone during the start of the cable car ride. Not taking pictures --reading email.
Segways may be the answer to cable car. And we watched them sail through the stop signs along Embarcadero without slowing. So they're fast and efficient too.
We did manage to get to Ghiradelli Square. It's been about ten years since we've been to San Francisco and it seems that there's been quite a few changes along the wharf. It's one long carnival now, where before there were commercial areas that didn't cater directly to the tourists. I guess everyone is making money here. At least when the tourists arrive. Fortunately, Ghiradelli still has ice cream, although the lines were long for inside seating. They have a carry out entry located up above and that's where we got our ice cream. It was just as good eating it as we walked back toward the hotel.
Finally, here's C's philosophy:
Leaving Calistoga we elected to go south on CA29 to see more of the vineyards and wineries. Seeing was made difficult by the low cloud and fog that the morning had brought. That was to be the weather for the day. Beringer's is the winery below, one of the few that I've heard of.
This turned out to have been a bad choice because, 1) CALTRAN had closed CA37 this weekend, which could have easily taken us from 29 to 101, and 2) there was a marathon on CA121, the replacement road. This necessitated a long delay while runners and autos were separated. This was an excellent example of right and left hands not communicating. We did drive past Sonoma Raceway, a road racing course seen frequently on TV. Even NASCAR races there.
Got to 101 and turned off for Muir Woods. On a good day Muir Woods is difficult to reach, hidden behind a maze of twisty little roads. Today we had the added benefit of a bicycle race taking place along those same roads. There were times when autos could move no faster than bicycles, going uphill. Arriving at Muir Woods we found that this was THE bay area destination for the day. We had to park along the side of the road more than 1/2 mile from the actual entrance. Made the hike through the woods just that much longer.
Since it was on the way out, we stopped at Muir Beach. It had been cleanup day at the beach, and they hauled out 100 garbage bags of stuff. Lots of dogs running free, and a group was setting up their bonfire.
A kind National Park Ranger guided me to the Alexander exit, just before the bridge, as the place to get the iconic pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco behind. The previously mentioned fog was drifting in and out, so when we first stopped at one of the lower locations you could still make out the city behind the bridge. Moving to higher locations we found the fog had completely covered the city, and parts of the bridge. That's what happens when you travel -- you get the pictures that you can with the weather you've got. I would also note that everyone who didn't go the Muir Woods, and probably some that did, chose this afternoon to go into the Marin Headlands to look at the city.
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge there are no toll stations. Everything is done automatically. For those of us who don't have a FastTrax transponder on the car, they capture the license plate and send a bill. Or you can go online and set up a license plate account. Which I did, and we'll see if that works. And it's only $7 to cross the bridge southbound. Northbound is free. Foolish us, traveling south into the city. .
The cable cars are no longer a means of city transportation but have become an amusement park ride. The line to get on the cars in front of the Buena Vista cafe was over an hour long. And if you rode all the way to Powell and Market downtown, you'd have another line of similar length before you could ride back to the wharf. Note the girl on the front right checking her phone during the start of the cable car ride. Not taking pictures --reading email.
Segways may be the answer to cable car. And we watched them sail through the stop signs along Embarcadero without slowing. So they're fast and efficient too.
Finally, here's C's philosophy:
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