California without a car Day 3

[ali-s]

California without a car, Day 3 San Francisco, Aug 11th

Well, today was the day I’d been alternating between dreading and looking forward to; we were going to attempt to bike the bridge. I used to cycle a lot, but neither DH or I had been on a bike in years, and the boys had never ridden theirs on the road, so this could be interesting !

We were out of the hotel by 8.15am. I went next door to the Holiday inn-I was still looking for muni passes, 2 days now ($16 I think ) instead of 3days and I’d overheard one of the cablecar guys telling someone they could buy multi day passes at the Holiday inn – turns out you can, at the one in the city,but not at the one on the wharf. We wandered up to the Powell Mason turnaround, which was deserted at this time of the morning – 2 cable cars waiting and no customers ! the kiosk was still closed, the cablecar guy told me it opens at 10.30 ! another couple had overheard my question and were speechless when I told them the answer – like us, they wanted to ride when the queues were non existent. We trekked over to the Powell/Hyde turnaround – feel like I’ve been in this city for months – this road is looking SO familiar ! The cablecar guy at Mason had said the Powell/Hyde kiosk opened at 8.30am, WRONG, it opens at 10am, the only kiosk open early is the one at the city end of Powell/Hyde- and you get there by riding the cablecar that you have to buy a pass for !Grrr! I can’t believe that so many people know so little about something that is so important to tourists !

We jump on the powell/Hyde car, buy more 1 day passes ( a one way trip is $5 each, so no saving doing that ) we ride right to the end, but it is now about 9.45, and the queue to get back on the car is huge- think we waited almost an hour to get back on.



Arrived back at Powell/Hyde by 11.30am and crossed the road to Ghiradelli square.This is a bit of a disappointment, a few odd shops- a cupcake shop and a pet shop that sells clothes ( proper coordinated outfits )for your dogs, we stood at the window and had a good giggle until we got a dirty look from the proprietor ! And of course, the Ghiradelli chocolate shop. We had drinks and snacks at Loris diner and then we could put it off no longer, we walked over to the ‘Blazing Saddles ‘ bike rental on Jefferson st to hire our bikes.On the map this looked the closest rental office to the bike path.

The road bit was better than I was expecting – literally no more than 100ms on the road and it’s a sort of cul de sac area where there is no fast traffic and what cars there were gave way to the cyclists no trouble, not like over here where ‘scaring the cyclist’ is a sport !. We then left the road and biked alongside the water- a sort of promenade, we noticed some cyclists had chosen to go the road way- there was a cycle lane and they had tarmac whereas we had gravel/sand, but we had the best view. The bike route goes alongside the marina, over a hill through a mini park, then a long straight bit to the ‘warming hut’ a wooden refreshment/toilet stop that DS12 ( who was feeling a bit poorly – probably anxious over the ride )made good use of.


Then came the worst bit. Everyone tells you there is one short, steepish hill, Well, everyone is a liar. That hill is a nightmare. The boys and I got off and walked and it was hell just pushing the bikes up. The bike path is now on the road and is narrow, so we were blocking the sadists who were trying to pedal up. DS12 was in tears – he needed the toilet again – after seeing the hill, I needed the toilet as well ! We coaxed and cajoled our way to the top- it helped that DH had gone on ahead and I wasn’t quite ready to leave him yet ! When we finally reached the top it got confusing, no one seemed to know which was the bike path. There were 3 tracks leading off from the carpark /pedestrian area, the most promising was marked with a wheelchair sign- so we were going to avoid it, until we saw a couple of ‘professional cyclists’ ( you know, the ones with the spray on lycra and aerodynamic skulls )sneer at us and go whizzing off down this track. We followed and soon found ourselves on the bridge. There were a lot of pedestrians- at certain times, one side is open for bikes only, but we had to share with the walkers, it was a bit hairy trying to avoid them, we got off and walked a couple of times. The fog had come back in so we could see nothing.We got to the first tower and decided enough was enough, it was just so busy but at least we had got there, we felt like we had achieved something. We about turned and walked/wobbled our way back to the entrance. It was now downhill all the way- think I shouted myself hoarse yelling at DS ‘use your brakes, NOT your shoes’. The downhill route was on the road- no cycle path, but the cars were very considerate, it felt quite safe. We tried the ‘road way’ back to the marina instead of the gravel/sand path, much easier, but as I said, no view.We returned our bikes , it had taken us about 2 hrs and was great fun, except for the saddles -I had bruises on my bum for the next 4 days, those saddles are so NOT comfy.



We had lunch at Dennys next to our hotel. I’d read reports about this place as well- not sure what they said, but I ordered a salad that never appeared, didn’t matter as I had to help DS eat his fries !
We then made our way over to the no39 muni bus stop ( at Powell/Beach I think ) this took us straight to Coit tower on telegraph hill. Lovely views of the city, but I wouldn’t bother paying to ride the elevator to the top – the queues to get the elevator back down again 5 mins later take so long and the elevator was a ‘breathe in, squeeze in’ experience.. A lot of people were moaning. We got a fit of the giggles when DS ‘let one go’ while we were in line ( still feeling poorly, obviously ! )it was vile and both DH, DS and I looked at each other , imagined what would happen if he let one off in the packed elevator(doors open and 2 dozen ‘gassed’ people fall out ) and burst out laughing. There are some interesting murals painted on the inside of the tower, you can see these for free and are well worth a look.






We walked down the Filbert st steps , these are wooden ‘stairs’ built into the steepest hills to make things easier for pedestrians, you can see into peoples gardens and it’s quite interesting if you are a nosy person (like me ) this is also where you sometimes see the parrots, but no sign of them today, I didn’t mind as I had seen them the day before. Turning left at the bottom, we were back on the Embarcadero in about 10 mins, it was then a short walk to pier 33 where we were doing the Alcatraz cruise.

Our cruise was at 6pm, but they put you in the queue way before then – why, I don’t know as it’s really boring. When the line eventually starts moving, you go past the photographer for the mandatory ‘family photo’. This is where DS12 gave us another ‘classic ‘memory. He was in front of us and was just following the queue- he followed the person in front right into their family photo- but the best bit was, they didn’t realize, DS was oblivious and the photographer didn’t realize. It was only when I called out to him to ‘get out of their photo’ that the photographer asked ‘is he not in your group’? and to our endless mirth they answered’ oh, it’s ok, we don’t mind’ ! WHY would you not mind a complete stranger joining you in your family photo ? we giggled all the way onto the boat, and it became a standing joke whenever DS wandered apart from us that he was’ looking for another family’

The tour of Alcatraz was very good. You could start and stop the audio tour so you weren’t rushed. Even the boys enjoyed it. The board with the ‘extra’ tours was put up and DH REALLY wanted to hear the talk on Al Capone, unfortunately this took place outside- God knows why, there was plenty of room in the warm. It was freeezzing outside, you could hardly hear the narrator over the chattering of teeth. The talk was interesting, but the cold spoilt it and we were glad to get back on the boat to the mainland.




We nipped into Boudin bakery and got chowder, pizza and sarnies to go,and ate back at the hotel.That sourdough is an acquired taste- like the bread has been made with vinegar ! but the chowder was lovely. Into bed at 10.30 tonight, think we are getting aclimatised now, the jetlag is certainly not as bad as I thought it would be.
Tomorrow is our last day in San Francisco- in the afternoon we will head to Monterey.

[truesdpr]

Another great day Ali - a bit heavy on the old exercise - you're showing us all up!

Pam.

[Michelle]

Wow, what a action packed day

Love the photos. Would love to see Alcatraz before it crumbles away

[Jools]

A really busy day, you must have been exhausted. I hope your DS was feeling better the next day.

We are doing Alcatraz soon. I think we may give the bike the bridge a miss though

[Cyclospora]

DD and I chickened out of the bike ride but DH and DS loved it. apparently there's another killer hill at the other side too on the was to Sausalito! Instead DD and I went to Ghiradellis and we were also disappointed! They seem to be developing it as a sort of time share place?

Sorry to hear about DS. Hope he got better quickly.

[Guest]

You certainly pack alot into one day. Another brillant report with lovely photos.

[spencem]

Great report, wandering into another's photo is something I can imagine my DS12 doing, he is often in a world of his own.

[shirley]

really good report shirley

[highlander447]

Fantastic pics,

[Jools2]

Wow! you did so much during your stay in San Fran.

I'm so jealous of your trip to Alcatraz, the tours were fully booked up whilst we were there.