If You're Going........

We looked out of the hotel as we waited for the elevator. The weather report called for rain, but I made a confident pronouncement that it would not rain until the evening. Let's see shall we?

We parked the car at the San Bruno CalTrain Station, and boarded the train. In short order we arrived in San Francisco at the terminus at 4th. & King St.

I took a picture from the N line trolley, of the ball park where the San Francisco Giants play.

I also took a picture of the Oakland Bay Bridge. Trust me, the bridge is not leaning. It is a trick of perspective since the horizon is fairly level.

We transferred from the N Train to the F Train for the next stretch of our journey. This is in the vicinity of the Ferry Building, where they have a Farmer's Market on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Here is another building. I am old enough to remember when the tallest buildings in Vancouver were the Sun building at 17 stories and the Marine Building at 22 stories. I am sure architects of the period would be astounded by today's "supertalls".

We arrived at our destination. Pier 39 is the lesser known brother of Fisherman's Wharf. There are a lot of opportunities for the well heeled traveler to divest themselves of their dinero. We chose to eat lunch and by a coffee, but resisted the siren song of chotchkies and kitsch all labeled San Francisco. I didn't even get one of my souvenir pennies.

There are many pleasure yachts moored on both sides of the pier.

This fellow is dancing at the beginning of the pier. While I am not sure he is doing the "come spend" dance or "hey howdy how are ya" dance he waits for all comers.

This is a view down the pier. All the bright colors make a nice contrast to the weathered woodwork.

Ice cream anyone? The only reason I didn't get some because it was a cool day with a fresh breeze. "Amateur" I can hear some of you say.

This is the carousel. If you look closely you can see that it is a double decker. Tickets are 2 for $5. That means one can ride on the lower and upper deck for a fin. We chose to forgo these cheap thrills.

One of the things for which Pier 39 is famous are the seal lions which haul out on the floating rafts moored in the harbor. The make a comical noise and not a little smell....

We decided to eat at King Neptune's Palace restaurant. Food above average, service was okay, but the view was great. We could see from the Golden Gate across to Sausalito, Angel Island, Alcatraz and Tiburon, and up to Point Richmond El Cerrito, Berkely, Treasure Island and down to Oakland. Panoramic is the only way to describe it. This is Alcatraz.

Here's a picture of the Golden Gate.

The tulips were in full bloom along the pier.

This was almost too good to pass up, but pass it up we did. How I'll never know, since I am a huge chocoholic.

Here is a store that sells everything SF related. A very helpful gent inside gave us some directions.

There are topiaries at the entrance to Pier 39. This one is an octopus.

Before we leave, you should see the takeout window at Wipeout Cafe. It is an actual VW Bus that has been sectioned, and mounted like the trophy it is.

This picture is for my friend Rick. I can see him at the wheel careening down the pier, swinging a Keystone Cops nightstick....hahaha.

The trees are close cropped in winter, and they will be riotously leafy in another month or two.

We boarded the number 47 bus and took it to a transfer point at SF City Hall.

There we caught the number 5 and rode up to Golden Gate Park. It looked flat on the map. It wasn't, and we had to hike up a steep hill, walk down a gradual one and limp into the Conservatory. What follows is a series of pictures I took inside the Conservatory. The colors are spectacular....almost edible!!!

This is a "green wall". A fibrous felt like fabric is folded, then nailed and the pockets in the folds filled with dirt and planted. One waters from the top with the thirstiest plants on top and the most drought tolerant at the bottom. What a great idea.

In one section of the conservatory they had a section devoted to SF history. here is a topiary garden worker. Who thinks this stuff up. Amazing!

There are historically themed building models and toy trains.

This plant is weird.

A giant hibiscus.

Orchidae minisculus?

I have no idea. Tiny perfection?

More flowers hanging from above.

Another species of orchid. Well it's settled...God has a great imagination.

Here are a couple California sized trees, with a Toyota Corolla thrown in for scale.

These are the gardens that greet you exiting the Conservatory and walking toward JFK Drive.

Here are the happy, but tired travelers heading for the bus, with the Conservatory in the background.

Here is another large tree, with tourists agape at it's size.

This is McLaren Lodge. It was built in 1897, and was the residence of the Park's superintendent until 1947. It now houses the Park Headquarters Office. Note the shadow in the foreground.

This is the cause of the shadow, another large tree. This one is familiar to all westerners. Red Cedar.

We caught the number 21 bus, which passed Alamo Park, and a row of historical homes known as the "Painted Ladies".

This is Saint Ignatius Church. I don't know who St Ignatius was, but the church is imposing.

Everywhere in the city are houses in bright colors. Perhaps this counters the infamous SF fog...

Here is a statue in front of Symphony Hall. It makes no sense to me whatsoever.

This is City Hall from the other side.

We got back to the Caltrain station to catch our train back to San Bruno.

Here sit we exhausted but ready to find some dinner.

There are numerous signs reminding one to tag off. That explains how the Clipper Cards we purchased ran low so quickly. On our last trip here.....was it really only 3 weeks and 2 days ago????? we negleted to tag off with our Clipper Cards and so were assessed a fare all the way to the end of the line. Regardless there was still enough on the cards for the transpo we needed and there is still about $8.00+ left for our next trip...

After a little driving around we found this place.

It looks as though they opened relatively recently, and it is decorated to look old.

See?

We started with Dolmates and Cheese Sticks.

Then I had some Chicken Tacos

And my beloved Scooterchick had Lamb Stew with veggies in a tomato base.

This is where we ate, on Broadway in Burlingame.

An so we end our busy day. Good thing we ate light because collapsing into bed was the next order of business. And So good night as well to you. Thank you for coming along with us.