Wandering around the West Coast - Day 14 – Dylan’s Tour & Fisherman’s Wharf

[jocat]

Index is here.

Day 14 - Monday 7th August 2017

We woke up around 8am, got ready for the day, then went for breakfast at the Blue Mermaid restaurant attached to the hotel.

Martin ordered an All American breakfast with sausage and I ordered some fruit and sourdough toast. Both were lovely. With an orange juice each, the check came to $42.15 but we had a $10 food and beverage credit from the hotel to use towards it, which is part of their resort fee.

Once we’d finished eating, we left the hotel and walked the short distance to our tour meeting point.

Three guides turned up and introduced themselves and it soon became apparent that all of the people there weren’t on the same tour. Dylan’s run several different tours - we had chosen the 6 hour Famous Tour. Our group were quickly called together and taken off to our minibus for the day. There were 9 of us in total on our tour and we all briefly introduced ourselves as soon as we were aboard. Amongst us, there was another British family, plus a couple and their daughter from South Dakota.

Julio was our tour guide - he was a local who was born and bred in San Francisco. We started our tour by driving down Lombard Street. There were only a couple of cars queuing for it at this time of the morning. See, we needn’t have worried about not managing to do this yesterday!

We drove through several of the local neighbourhoods, such as North Beach and Chinatown, which was massive! It was interesting to find out that the local Chinese community own and operate the buildings, so there’s no worrying about large chains of shops and restaurants popping up here.

Stockton Street was bustling with lots of locals shopping at the grocery stores there. Julio told us that the Chinese community tend to do their shopping on a daily basis, and that it is always busy. Apparently the fortune cookie was invented here, in a bakery off one of the side streets.

We moved on to Union Square and then the Tenderloin district - the latter I'd heard to avoid. It gets its name from the time when the Mafia ran the neighbourhood during Prohibition. It ran speakeasy bars and paid officials off with money and tenderloin, as they also ran the meat packing industry.

Julio explained the area as ‘kind of sketchy, but it’s an important part of San Francisco history with lots of heart at its centre.’ The neighbourhood runs on volunteers – one church there offers 3000 meals each day to the poor and homeless. It is an area where people are making a difference and helping those who need it most. There is lots of free healthcare centres, drug addiction centres and homeless shelters, all to help families who are down on their luck.

We passed City Hall , where we saw a bride and groom on the steps. Apparently this is a very common occurrence with several weddings there every day.

Next we were introduced to Hayes Valley. It was described as a very trendy area which benefited from an earthquake in 1989. Now you wouldn’t imagine an earthquake could be a benefit, but apparently the freeway used to run through the middle of the district. After the earthquake crumbled the freeway, it was moved outside the neighbourhood when it was rebuilt.

We drove through Castro which is home to the LGBT community. The Pride flag flew everywhere, adding to the colourful look of the neighbourhood. Julio pulled over at a shop called Phantom, with lots of interesting underwear in the window and said it was the first stop of the day! Think he was looking to break the ice and ensure we were awake, as we’d gone a bit quiet at that time.

Whilst in this area, we found out lots of fascinating information about Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay elected official in California. He was a civil rights activist/advocate who wanted to give this community a voice. There’s even a movie called Milk about him - I’ve recently bought the DVD but haven’t had a chance to watch it yet.

Our first official photo stop saw us at Twin Peaks, which is the second highest point in the city with an elevation of 925 feet. We got out of the minibus for 10 minutes to enjoy the views and take lots of photos. We were told that the safest place in an earthquake is the top of the hill. I’m not sure why we were told this - I hadn’t considered the earthquake risk before this point! While we were here, we got talking to our fellow Brits who were from Derbyshire and actually had a friend who came from our town in the Midlands. It’s a small world!

We boarded our minibus and headed to Haight-Ashbury, the original home of the hippie culture. It was also a very popular area for musicians, with Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead etc having lived here. We had a 20 minute stop here.

It was here we met a crazy, angry lady. We got out of the minibus, and the lady from South Dakota who was in the front with the driver, opened her door. It was heavier than she expected so it swung open a bit and just touched the front wheel of a bike that had been left up against a tree. The owner was behind it and took great offence and came flying over, hitting the door of the minibus with her hands. For a split second I thought she was going to hit the lady on our tour. Our fellow passenger apologised and Julio tried to calm things by also explaining that it wasn't intentional, but she wasn't having any of it. She took photos of the vehicle registration and carried on ranting. We made a speedy exit out of the way along with our fellow tour mates!

We wandered up and down the street for a little while, before going into the mini market and purchasing some water and a snack for later. As we walked back to our meeting point, we spotted the angry woman from earlier going back to her bike. We kept a safe distance until she’d left.

The next part of the city we passed was Alamo Square, with its famous Painted Lady houses lining the edge of the park. This looked to be a lovely area.

This then led us on to Pacific Heights, which again was a lovely looking area. We caught a glimpse of the house from Mrs Doubtfire. It has just been sold and was currently being remodelled, with workmen visible in the windows. Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the minibus to grab a photo.

We made another photo stop on the edge of Pacific Heights. It had great views of the Palace of Fine Arts, with the Bay behind it and Sausalito in the distance.

Next we drove through Presidio, which was a former military base. We noticed here that it was the first part of the city where the houses looked similar to each other. They were all former homes of officers from the US military, but now command a monthly rent of $6000 - $8000. As we went through Presidio, we spotted the Walt Disney Museum.

We passed by Crissy Fields, which used to be a military airfield before it was transformed into its current recreational area, and then found ourselves at our next photo stop, which was next to the water by the Golden Gate Bridge. We were lucky that the fog had lifted somewhat by this point. We stopped for about 15 minutes before it was time to board the bus and cross the bridge itself.

We spotted this cute little fellow swimming close to us

Once we were on the other side of the bridge, we drove up to Marin Headlands. We went right to the top for a panoramic view and a quick 5 minute stop for photos. It started getting foggier/cloudier on our way up though.

We arrived in Sausalito at 12:45 pm where we were given 45 minutes to grab some lunch. We went to Venice Gourmet deli and ordered some sandwiches. We chose a Club House on sourdough, a BLT on a French roll and a Pepsi Zero. We crossed the road and sat by the water, eating our lunch and enjoying the views. We browsed in a couple of shops on the way back to the bus, but there was not really enough time to see what Sausalito had to offer, but it seemed a lovely spot.

At 1:35 pm, we were back in the minibus to head for Muir Woods, arriving there around 2pm. We were given 90 minutes to explore. In the absence of seeing giant sequoia this trip due to Mariposa Grove being closed for renovation, then coastal redwoods would suffice. We spent a pleasant lovely hour or so walking the trails. They are seriously tall trees! I love how they grow in family circles.

We met back at the bus at 3:30 pm to begin our journey back.

We crossed the bridge again and headed for the Marina area. We got to take a closer look at the Palace of Fine Arts. It has weeping women statues on the corner pillars, which are dedicated to the people who died in the earthquake and fires of 1906.

As we entered the final part of our tour, we were given a little quiz by Julio. Unfortunately we all failed the first question. Oops! Do you know what the official colour of the Golden Gate Bridge is?

We were let off though as we answered all of the other questions correctly, which proved we’d been listening. Either that, or my trip notes were good!

The answer by the way is International Orange.

We were dropped off at Ghirardelli Square, where we stood and chatted to our fellow passengers for a good 10 minutes or so before we parted ways.

We got back to our hotel just after 16:30 to drop off the bag, then headed back out at about 5pm. When we were in the lift going down to the lobby, we stopped at the floor below us to pick up more passengers - it turned out to be the other British family from our tour. We had no idea each other were even staying at the same hotel, and it turns out that we were both visiting Alcatraz the next day too, plus both leave on Thursday!

We left the hotel and walked up towards Pier 39 and found ourselves at Fisherman's Wharf itself. I noticed a sign for Musee Mecanique, which I'd read about as being a museum full of original old arcade games and juke boxes. I didn't realise they were actually working and you could play them for about 50c per game. We spent a few minutes walking round. Some were relics from our youth, such as Space Invaders, Galaxian and the sit down Pacman for 2 people. Some of them were downright scary looking though!

The scary looking thing!

We continued up to Pier 39, browsed in a few shops, then headed to watch the sea lions. Some of them were very entertaining! They ranged from just lazing in the sun, to others who were really guarding their territory and woe betide any others who tried to get on their bit of dock.

We left the pier, and feeling desperate for a drink we spotted the Hard Rock Cafe. It had been years since we've eaten at one of those, so we decided to get a table. We arrived at 6:15 pm and were given a pager, with an estimated wait time of 10-15 minutes. At 6:35 pm we were seated. A server said he'd be with us in a minute. 15 minutes later I asked someone else who our server was and after 5 minutes he appeared. He said the computers were down to take payments but he'd get us some water. I asked for a Diet Pepsi instead and Martin asked for a beer. My drink arrived, Martin's did not. I was getting crosser and crosser by this point.

After another 15 minutes, with no sign of Martin's drink, I asked another server how much my drink was, as we were going to leave. She told me I didn't have to pay.

I also mentioned to the person at the podium on my way out that they shouldn't seat anyone else as we'd been waiting for 35 minutes for someone to take our order, and there was still no sign of that happening. They offered to get a manager. I declined as I won't be returning. This was not like me at all as I am never normally confrontational by any means, particularly in public.

Our server had been more interested in chatting up a couple of ladies on a table across from us, who he said he was trying to take their payment when the computers froze. I took a photo of him actually sitting at their table! He did not serve anyone else in all the time we were there. Even though the two ladies were finished and supposedly leaving, he managed to bring them another cocktail just before we walked out. I have never walked out of a restaurant in my life, but really didn't appreciate being ignored.

Our server sitting at the table opposite us

We walked back in the direction of our hotel, which seemed to be in a quieter area of Fisherman's Wharf. We ended up going into the restaurant opposite our hotel, Capurro's, who seated us, served our drinks and took our order within 5 minutes of walking in the restaurant. It was a completely different experience and made us feel like we mattered!

Four our food we ordered a fish and chips and a salmon, plus a Moretti and a Prosecco. Martin's going to look like a salmon soon! Both meals were very nice. Our bill came to $67 and we left $80. We walked back across the road to our hotel and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

[Melbatb]

The tours looks such a great way to see a lot in a short time!

Not surprised you walked out of Hard Rock - unacceptable service!

The fish and chips looks delicious!

[tocpe321]

Dylan's Tour was brilliant.

Shame about the Hard Rock, but it looks like you ended up having a really nice dinner.

[Pussycat Doll]

Sounds like a great way to explore the city. Shame about your Hard Rock experience, I don't blame you for walking out though!

[Disney Wishing]

Ooo they've changed the Dylan's tour since we did it last year. The stop in Sausalito is a nice addition. Shame about Hard Rock but I don't blame you for walking out.

[jocat]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

The tours looks such a great way to see a lot in a short time!

Not surprised you walked out of Hard Rock - unacceptable service!

The fish and chips looks delicious!

See more...

The tour was definitely a great way to see the city.

The Hard Rock experience was just dreadful.

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Dylan's Tour was brilliant.

Shame about the Hard Rock, but it looks like you ended up having a really nice dinner.

See more...

Glad you enjoyed Dylan's Tour too, and I'm sure it was due to your post about a discount code that we got it for less money too, so thanks for that.

Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

Sounds like a great way to explore the city. Shame about your Hard Rock experience, I don't blame you for walking out though!

See more...

Dylan's was fab. I won't be rushing back to any Hard Rock after this though.

Originally Posted by Disney Wishing

Ooo they've changed the Dylan's tour since we did it last year. The stop in Sausalito is a nice addition. Shame about Hard Rock but I don't blame you for walking out.

See more...

I think there's a few different Dylan's tours now. Julio also told us that no two tours are the same, as the guide can change the order of things as they go. Think they get a bit bored otherwise. Sausalito was lovely - it's a shame we didn't get back to see more of it.

[tocpe321]

Originally Posted by jocat

Glad you enjoyed Dylan's Tour too, and I'm sure it was due to your post about a discount code that we got it for less money too, so thanks for that.

See more...

Glad it was of use.

[WileyCoyote]

That's a brilliant tour, even though we have seen some of SF, I would definitely look at doing that tour, it's great, it fits in so much. Excellent choice !
Oh dear at the Hard Rock, thats very poor and totally annoying. Glad you had better service and a nice meal near the hotel.
What a great way to seE all the main sights .

[Macca04]

We didn’t have time to do Dylan’s tour last time we were there. Will definitely book it if we go back next year.

[Animagus]

I've heard good things about Dylan's Tour before. Certainly seems like a great way to see the city.
Shocking service at The Hard Rock - don't blame you for walking out and making your grievances known.