A Beautiful Day in San Francisco

Finally the day was here...Michelle's first visit to San Francisco and our much anticipated trip to Alcatraz Island.  I still was not feeling good but obviously was going to make the best of it for Michelle as not to ruin her trip!  We got up early and headed out around 10am which would give us a few hours to explore the city itself before having to be at Pier 33 for our 4pm tour! 

Anyone who knows the Bay Area and the fact there is a bridge toll everywhere, I decided to take the more scenic route into San Francisco, even though it was a little longer, but it provided the opportunity to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.  I was not optimistic about the weather in the City as we drove closer as it was very overcast and almost looked stormy (it was raining the day before in Napa).

  But as we rounded the 101 near Sausilito, I saw it....SUNSHINE!!! 

We got to the GG Bridge and it was beautiful.  There were a few clouds but it just added to the spectacular views of the area.  We pulled over at the Presidio area once we passed the toll booth to take some pictures of the bridge and surrounding area.  It was seriously one of the prettiest days I've seen in the City.  Although Michelle's company was great, standing there really made me wish I was there with someone who's been on my mind a lot the past few days.  :-(

Next we hopped in the car and toured the Presidio area, taking a few pictures of the old buildings and beautiful scenery.  The Presidio served as an army post for three nations.

  Since the mid 1990's, it has been part of the Golden Gate recreation area.   It's definitely something to check out if you visit the San Francisco area! 

And now on to Lombard Street - San Francisco and America's most crooked street!!  It's famous hair pinned turns make it a very popular tourist destination.  Ironically though, it was the least crowded I've seen it!  There were a few people walking down but we were pretty much the only car driving down so we could stop and check things out more than normal. 

Since we were in the same vicinity, I drove her down to Haight and Ashbury which Michelle had never heard of! OMG!! Well, given that we weren't children of the 60's I guess I will let her slide but I've at least heard of it!! HA HA.

  The Haight area is famous for being the center of the 1960's hippie movement.  The whole area has the hippie vibe and all the storefronts fit right in the area with the era apporpriate decor and I love checking out the store names!

Now it was time to head back to Pier 39/Fishermen's Wharf area to get parked and checked in for our 3:55 Alcatraz tour!!! So excited!!!  Been looking forward to this for awhile now since every time we've tried to get tickets lately, it's been sold out.   We managed to have the ultimate parking karma for once and found a FREE spot about 2 blocks from Fisherman's Wharf.  OMG, we don't have to pay $30....????? SWEET!

We ran down into Pier 39 to grab something quick to eat before the tour began.  Since Michelle had never been here, she was deferring to me on where to eat.  First place that came to mind was the Crepe place that other TB's and I have drooled over on previous visits to the Wharf.  Michelle opted to have a lunch type one - believe it was shrimp or crab.  I gave into my sinful side and tried the banana nutella one I always see them making in the window.  They were excellent and definitely helped cure our hunger pangs. 

Now it was time to run down 6 piers and catch our boat to Alcatraz! :D