The Grand Tour...Day 2 in San Francisco!

[charly77]

Considering how awfully I normally sleep in the US I surprised myself and the rest of the crew by sleeping in till 6.30am! I do remember having an awake time in the night but nothing major. We were looking forward to Dylan’s tour today, one of our biggest activity expense but the reviews were amazing so we had to experience it for ourselves!

All up and ready by 7.30am, we headed down to check out breakfast which was included in the hotel rate. Before we came away I joined Slimming World, I didn’t have a lot to lose but I wanted to shift half a stone which I did in 3 weeks. I wasn’t going to let this control my eating on holiday however it gave me the understanding on how to make healthier choices. I was in luck, the breakfast here was in my favour! Everyone else stuffed cinnamon buns, pancakes, waffles and syrup!

We set off towards our tour meeting point, taking a leisurely stroll via Walgreens for drinks and snacks (healthy of course!) Our tour guide turned up promptly, his name was Rolando originally from Mexico. We all loaded ourselves onto the bus and introduced ourselves, everyone else was from the US so we had lots of questions aimed at us about the UK. It’s funny but I don’t think of Americans holidaying in their own country however we discovered that they don’t actually get much holiday time off from their jobs, the average is two weeks! Therefore it is easier for them to holiday in their country, plus there is lots to see and do so it makes sense I guess!

Anyway back to the tour, we chose ‘A day in the Bay’ as this covered areas we wanted to see plus Alcatraz at the end so we killed two birds with one stone as the saying goes. We discovered that Dylan’s tour guides on similar tours decide who visits where first so there are not lots of tour groups at the same place, quite considerate I thought. We headed out to the Palace of Fine Arts first, this was a really attractive structure, and it also starred in the film The Rock.

From here we headed to Muir Woods, one thing I wanted to see whilst in California were Redwoods and Giant Sequoias sadly Mariposa Grove was closed in Yosemite so this was the next best thing for us. It is normally $10 per person to enter (not included in the tour) luckily our NPS pass covered it so that’s already $40 saved! It certainly lived up to our expectation, even the kids loved it here! It smelt beautiful, I know that sounds bizarre but it did! We took hundreds of photos as we were so in awe of the magnificence of the woodlands. We were here for just over an hour, we could have stayed longer nevertheless we were content in what we had witnessed.

Next stop was Sausalito, we drove a picturesque route hearing lots of fascinating information on our route. We were fortunate that Rolando was a huge Robin Williams fan, as are we, he pointed out many poignant locations relevant to him. We went through a tunnel that had recently been renamed the Robin Williams tunnel, a wonderful honour in his name.

We arrived in Sausalito, it had really heated up now and we took full advantage of this by heading towards a little deli we had spotted on our way in called ‘Venice Gourmet Boutique’ and grabbed lunch. I had the best salad ever whilst everyone else had a BBQ chicken baguette. We sat by the waterfront taking in the views, we could see the Golden Gate bridge from here, still coated in fog! We learnt from Rolando that the fog is actually called Carl, we thought maybe after Carl Fogarty?

From here we had a wander around Sausalito which was a charming location, we popped into a few shops and found a great frozen yogurt shop so treated ourselves (and it was fat free!). We found a little grassed area with some shade by a fountain where we sat enjoying the chilled treat. Before long we met at the bus it was now time to go to the Marin Headlands to see the Golden Gate from another viewpoint!

The drive up to the headlands was nail biting, narrow winding roads with sheer drops, just glad Rolando knew what he was doing! The temperature was slightly cooler up here and very windy but the views were fab! We got some great shots of the Golden Gate surrounding by Carl the fog! We headed back down and then drove over the bridge, yet another view, brilliant!

We then parked up at Fort Point for waterfront views of the bridge.

From here we drove up to Pacific Heights via Presido Park (which was good as we discussed visiting here tomorrow). We parked up by Mrs Doubtfires house, for us this was fab and the other people on the tour seemed to agree. Rolando said that when Robin Williams passed away the actual home owners moved out for a week to allow his fans to mourn his passing.

On our back way towards Pier 33 where we were to catch the Alcatraz ferry from we drove through Chinatown which I didn’t find particularly exhilarating but it was another area that we got to see in San Francisco.

Rolando dropped us off at Pier 33 and we collected our Alcatraz tickets. We had to wait a while before boarding the ferry which gave us time to get a drink. Once boarded it didn’t take too long to get to The Rock, it was a pleasant crossing although very breezy!

Alcatraz did not disappoint, the audio tour was fantastic. We all went off at our own pace and both the kids were completely mesmerized which is a first! We all really enjoyed it and even now still talk about it! One thing has us baffled though, in the office there was a ‘contraption’ which had a date on it (see photo below). This happens to be my birthday and I was actually born on a Sunday but we are unable to find out why this actual date was on show…

We were at Alcatraz for a couple of hours, basically until we couldn’t stand being cold anymore We caught the ferry back just as the sun was setting which was perfect timing. Once back on dry land we decided to grab ‘In and Out Burger’ as a take-out and eat in our hotel so we could chill for the evening, then the kids spotted another eatery called ‘Chipotle’ and opted for that instead. Myself and DD went and grabbed some beers (and soft drinks) whilst the boys sorted the food and we met back at the room. It was a great end to a lovely day.

Steps Walked; 17,383

Floors climbed; 35

*Tip of the Day…Layer up for Alcatraz!*

[jocat]

Dylan's tour sounds like a great way to see the city.

[charly77]

Originally Posted by jocat

Dylan's tour sounds like a great way to see the city.

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It is! I would highly recommend them.

[tocpe321]

Fantastic day. Like the look of that tour. Thanks for information about it. Re the NPS Pass do you have to pay entry fees at most parks in California? Couldn't find a definitive list. For instance like you we are staying at Half Dome Village. Do you need Pass for Yosemite if you're staying there? Thanks.

[Melbatb]

You certainly packed a lot into the day! Love the photos of the trees and the bridge!

[Disney Wishing]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Fantastic day. Like the look of that tour. Thanks for information about it. Re the NPS Pass do you have to pay entry fees at most parks in California? Couldn't find a definitive list. For instance like you we are staying at Half Dome Village. Do you need Pass for Yosemite if you're staying there? Thanks.

See more...

Yes you pay an entrance fee when you go to Yosemite. I think its around $30 for a car including passengers which covers you for the week.

[Disney Wishing]

Another great day. We did the famous tour with Dylans tour and loved it. Muir Woods is beautiful.The light through eh trees gives it such a magical feeling. Love all your photos.

[tocpe321]

Originally Posted by Disney Wishing

Yes you pay an entrance fee when you go to Yosemite. I think its around $30 for a car including passengers which covers you for the week.

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Many thanks for this. Think it makes sense to get the annual pass.

Originally Posted by Disney Wishing

Another great day. We did the famous tour with Dylans tour and loved it. Muir Woods is beautiful.The light through eh trees gives it such a magical feeling. Love all your photos.

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Really want to see Muir Woods now.

[charly77]

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Fantastic day. Like the look of that tour. Thanks for information about it. Re the NPS Pass do you have to pay entry fees at most parks in California? Couldn't find a definitive list. For instance like you we are staying at Half Dome Village. Do you need Pass for Yosemite if you're staying there? Thanks.

See more...

Yes, you pay an entrance fee of $30 for 7 days.

nps.gov/state/ca/index.htm

nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

These links may help.

[charly77]

Originally Posted by Disney Wishing

Another great day. We did the famous tour with Dylans tour and loved it. Muir Woods is beautiful.The light through eh trees gives it such a magical feeling. Love all your photos.

See more...

Thank you. It most certainly does. We too loved Muir Woods