The BIG Little Lies California Road Trip - 18th July 2019 - Cycling Golden Gate Bridge & Alcatraz

[smithlane]

Day 1

I thought my day was going to start at 4am but I made myself go back to sleep until 6.50. Woohoo I’ve kicked the jet lag . The beds were ridiculously comfortable so I think that must have helped too.

A word of warning for those staying in a one bed suite, they are all at the front of the hotel on the main road so you do occasionally hear the traffic. Luckily didn’t bother me though.
Hope had been up since 3.30 so she’ll be exhausted later!

View from our balcony. A very gloomy day, remember this for later!

Just about see Coit Tower in the distance

We all got ready then met the Leans in reception at 8am.
Breakfast was to be at the highly recommended Hollywood Cafe which was only a 5 min walk away. We luckily got seated right away, it’s quite small in here and VERY popular so you need to get here early.

I knew exactly what I was ordering as I had perused the menu weeks before but had to wait a while for the ‘non planners’ to catch up
I went with a cheese omelette with hash brown, toast and a Diet Coke, Jim the Denver omelette, orange juice and a coffee, Sam choc chip and banana pancakes with an orange juice and Hope the kids scrambled egg and toast and a Diet Coke.

Didn’t take too long to arrive and was so good and very filling. Just what we needed to fuel ourselves up for the bike ride

Got the bill and split it down the middle. Total for us 4 was $80 including tip.

There was a branch of Blazing Saddles next door but as we had Groupon vouchers they couldn’t be redeemed here so had to walk up to the Hyde St branch.
This was all very straight forward, just had to sign a waiver, give a Credit Card security deposit then get fitted for our bikes and helmets.
Once done we had to watch a short video showing you the bike route and safety info then we were off! I was a bit wobbly at first, it’s been a few years...

We all needed the restroom so stopped at the Starbucks at the bottom of the hill and took it in turns to go. Eventually we were ready.

The bike route is very easy to follow, we took the waterfront path up towards the Presidio.

After riding for only 5 mins we had our first casualty. Sam went right over the handlebars as he’d braked too hard! Thankfully he only had a graze to his elbow and hand plus his ego
Jim was taking the mick saying he was such a dufus and he’d done it in front of 3 teenage girls which Sam really wasn’t happy about. He hadn’t but he’s so vain he was really worried he had

After he’d dusted himself off we were on our way again. First stop The Palace of Fine Arts. This area was so lovely and peaceful with the most wonderful smell in the air.

After a few dozen photos we went to find the Yoda fountain outside of the Lucas Films building. After a bit of a detour we found it. I had read on here we could go inside so we did!

Jim was in his element being a huge Star Wars fan. You could take photos but no filming is allowed.

Sean was so excited to see the model of Kong, his favourite ride at Universal

There is a Starbucks next door so we stopped there for a drink and a snack.
2 vanilla bean frappacinos, a blueberry lemonade iced tea, a strawberry lemonade, 2 chocolate brownies, a choc chip cookie and a sugar cookie, $28 altogether. We took it outside to eat, overlooking the park.

Whilst we were sitting there, a coyote run passed us brazen as anything . Was too quick to get a photo though!

We now went back on ourselves back through the Palace of Fine Arts to the waterfront where we detoured earlier.

This area is Crissy Fields and is just lovely, lots of locals walking their dogs on the beach. Makes me miss my Boris

Now for our second casualty, Jim! I didn’t actually witness it as I was lagging behind but did see him try to style it out after. After we’d stopped laughing we did check he was ok which thankfully he was! Thats Karma for you though . Unfortunately he had broken Hopes sunglasses on his fall as he had them in his backpack. Poor Hope, she’s only worn them once since buying them at Heathrow! Jim promised to buy her another pair though.

On our way again we cycled without incident all the way to Fort Point which is directly under the Golden Gate Bridge. There was a crazy surfer in the water, bit nippy for that

We now psyched ourselves up for the uphill ride to the bridge. Jeez Louise this was hard. I started off ok but halfway up I felt like I couldn’t breathe so had to get off and walk . You don’t quite realise how high up the bridge is from the ground.
Made it in the end, much to everyone’s amusement they had been waiting for ages

Now the final leg up to the bridge. I made it, woohoo!

The crossing wasn’t as bad as I thought with not too many pedestrians and bikes to negotiate. We stopped a few times for photos, really lovely up here, shame it was cloudy though.

Now for the easy bit, downhill all the way into Sausalito. We had split up along the way with the speed demons zooming off in front but we met up in the centre of town right by the water.

Arty bird shot for you Amanda

What a stunning town, I could definitely see me living here! We cycled through to the other side to find some free bike parking, we’re too tight to pay $3 a bike

A short walk back into the centre to find something to eat, I think we’d deserved it!

After reading good reviews we headed to the Bridgeway Cafe and found some seats outside.
Helen and I shared the chicken quesadilla with a portion of fries, Jim a tuna melt, Hope a portion of fries and Sam shared the fish and chips with Jenny. All with a soft drink each.

This food was amazing, really recommend. It was the perfect amount for me, I wouldn’t have managed a full portion.

Jim had spotted a Christmas shop and asked if I wanted to go and have a look. Er, is the Pope Catholic? Of COURSE I want to
Wow, what amazing decorations! After much deliberation I decided on this cable car decoration. $6.99 which I thought was reasonable.

REALLY wanted one of these retro TV sets with the Christmas scene inside but didn't know how I would get it home

We now headed back to the bikes and then to the ferry terminal as I was NOT cycling back up the mile long steep hill we had come down earlier! The tickets are $13 each and we had got them at Blazing Saddles this morning.

The queue was huge with a boat just leaving so we had to wait for the next one which was in 40 minutes time. Helen and I went and got everyone an ice cream while we waited. Vanilla in a tub for Hope, mint choc chip for Sam, double choc for Jim and butter pecan for me. $18.50 altogether. These were good!
The next boat pulled in and it soon became obvious we weren’t getting on this one either. Not good!
I enquired about a taxi back to San Francisco but at $20 each it was just too expensive.

They allowed you to leave the queue if someone would stay with the bikes so I went to have a mooch about. Went in the first gift store I could find . They sold pre owned license plates so I looked for the States we had visited with the idea of putting them up in our downstairs loo as a type of arty decoration (They are still sat in a bag in my wardrobe )
Could only find New Jersey and California so that would have to do for now. These two were $33 altogether.

I spotted a nice hoody I thought Hope would like so went back to the queue to get her. Helen and Jen came too to have a look. Hope got the hoody I’d found, $41 so not cheap but it’s really warm which she’ll need tonight plus hoody’s are all she ever wears at home!

We could see the boat on its way back so went back to the line. Got talking to a nice family from San Diego who were just in front of us. The Dad recommended a few breweries for while we’re in Oceanside, they do tours which Jim and Nick would like.
We definitely got on this boat so parked the bikes and headed up to the top deck.

Lovely views looking back to Sausalito.

Boat journey took around 20 minutes, but also took about that to get off the boat! It was fairly chaotic but we got there in the end.

We rode straight back to Blazing Saddles as we were cutting it fine for time as we had our Alcatraz tour tonight at 6.30 and it was already 5pm and we needed to go back to the hotel first to change into some warmer clothes.

Helen was after some trousers as she’d left all of hers at home. On the way back to Blazing Saddles we popped into The Bay Company but they didn’t have any so tried Patagonia but the cheapest pair she could find were $100!
We returned the bikes with no drama just paid the $52 for the boat back.

Popped into the Walgreens a couple of doors up from the hotel to get some bottled water and cookies for the room.
Once back in the room it became apparent we were all burned quite badly! It was so cloudy and chilly we honestly didn’t feel the sun at all .
After a quick wash and change with aftersun applied liberally to us all we then walked up to Pier 33, this only took 15 minutes.
Got there for 6pm so had a little wait to board.

Started boarding at 6.20 and as it was freezing we stayed inside and got some seats by the window.
It’s only a 15 minute crossing so were soon on the island. We met a guide who took us up the hill to the prison.

Picked up a headset and started the tour. This took 45 minutes and was very interesting. It took you through the inmates cells, the dining hall, explained about the foiled escapes and general prison life. They had past inmates and guards as narrators which really brought the stories to life.

It ended with the usual gift shop which I of course had to get the standard magnet and postcard.

We were completely flagging by now so decided to get the 8.40pm ferry back instead of the 9.25. It was a shame as I’d have liked to of gone on one of the guided tours.

We were back on the mainland by 9pm and made the walk back with the intention of getting a takeaway pizza delivered to the hotel but on the way we found a pizza restaurant that did take out so stopped there instead.
One medium 4 Cheese and one medium BBQ chicken came to $50 . This city sure is expensive!
They took ages to come out, it was gone 9.30 and we were half asleep on the table by the time they did

Got back to the hotel in 10 minutes and tucked into the pizzas which certainly weren’t worth the money but they filled a hole.
Bedtime came very shortly after what had been an exhausting but brilliant first day in California

[KayLouise]

Wow what a fantastic day. Lovely photos, I would love to do the bike ride and Alcatraz looks great too.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by KayLouise

Wow what a fantastic day. Lovely photos, I would love to do the bike ride and Alcatraz looks great too.

See more...

Thank you. I would highly recommend hiring bikes and cycling over the bridge, even though it was hard work the views were amazing!

[Goldia]

Seems like you picked the jet lag. What a day, you must have been shattered! The bike ride sounds funny with the 2 fallers. Really interesting to read about your it all. The photos are fab, can't believe you got burned seems like it was cloudy in every photo. But I guess the sun is stronger than you think.

[WileyCoyote]

Well, what can I say, a stray coyote and an arty bird shot. I am honoured !

Love the pics from the bike ride. Looks fantastic . I was knackered just reading mind let alone trying to get up to the bridge. Not seen the Palace of Fine Arts pics before, looked brilliant

What a great day and wow that you managed to get out to Alcatraz as well. Some really great pics

Eesh that was expensive pizza ! You must have all be shattered.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Well, what can I say, a stray coyote and an arty bird shot. I am honoured !

Love the pics from the bike ride. Looks fantastic . I was knackered just reading mind let alone trying to get up to the bridge. Not seen the Palace of Fine Arts pics before, looked brilliant

What a great day and wow that you managed to get out to Alcatraz as well. Some really great pics

Eesh that was expensive pizza ! You must have all be shattered.

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It was such an amazing day, but yes absolutely shattering! I think we (I!) packed too much in, in hind sight I should have booked Alcatraz for the following night.
Have you seen the film The Rock with Sean Connery? The Palace of Fine Arts features in that so Jim really wanted to find it. It’s such a stunning place though, felt really peaceful
Thank you for reading 😃

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Seems like you picked the jet lag. What a day, you must have been shattered! The bike ride sounds funny with the 2 fallers. Really interesting to read about your it all. The photos are fab, can't believe you got burned seems like it was cloudy in every photo. But I guess the sun is stronger than you think.

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Oh Abby it was so funny, especially after Jim fell 😂
I know, we couldn’t believe it either. The sun barely made an appearance so we couldn’t understand how we got that burned, it was crazy! We certainly learned our lesson from then onwards.
Thank you for reading 😃

[Fuellady]

That sounds like an incredible day! You sound like I was on a bike when we did the cycle tour in Central Park NYC. I was always behind, and really struggled with the hills It sounds like a fun time though, and Sausalito looks lovely on the other side.

Interesting tour of Alcatraz, a great way to finish the day.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Fuellady

That sounds like an incredible day! You sound like I was on a bike when we did the cycle tour in Central Park NYC. I was always behind, and really struggled with the hills It sounds like a fun time though, and Sausalito looks lovely on the other side.

Interesting tour of Alcatraz, a great way to finish the day.

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I honestly didn’t realise quite how unfit I was on the holiday! With hindsight I probably should have done some training in the lead up to it 😳. We would have loved to of hired bikes in Central Park, not sure why we didn’t!
Sausalito is so pretty, I wish we had more time to explore the town.
Alcatraz was very interesting, somewhere everyone should visit whilst in San Fran.
Thank you for reading along 😀

[juliab]

What a brilliant first day you had, you managed to pack do much in.

Great photo's of your bike ride. We didn't do that but we passed loads of people on bikes and most of them seemed to be pushing the bikes up that hill! That would've have been us

Glad you enjoyed Alcatraz.