Day 13- 7/25- Take me to San Francisco

Started the day with a less than pleasant run in Santa Rosa, CA. We were way out on the strip, so it took 3 miles of sprawled, car-centered sidewalks to even hit the city center. The last 2 were a nice enough path along a creek, though some of it was at a slant, and the other stuff was concrete.

Next stop was to drop a couple bags at the next hotel in Mill Valley. We chatted with the hotel concierge and he told us the Larkspur ferry was the best option into the city- more parking and just as close as Sausalito. Plus, the last ferry came back at 9:35. Parking was pay by smartphone- not well signed and very cumbersome- even for a couple of people that I consider fairly tech savvy. You wonder how the 70 somethings would do on such a task.

The ferry on the other hand was worth every last penny. It got going pretty fast (along with the wind!), but we soaked up the sun and ocean breeze regardless of hat-losing risk. The views were spectacular. Golden Gate, Alcatraz, Downtown, the Bay bridge, Coit Tower, and Angel island SP were all right there.

San Francisco didn't disappoint either. I could probably fill a couple pages with the sites (intended and not), though I'll try to keep it short. Lunch was a Hawaiian Acai place, followed by a walk through Chinatown and a hike up to the Coit tower. No trip to the top though: $7 and quite a line to get there.

Maybe one of the highlights was the quarter arcade, moved to the tourist trap known as Fisherman's Wharf. I have no need to ever go back to the Wharf....but the quarter arcade is worth another visit. We plugged a $20 into quarters and partook in everything from early 1900s "crank movies" to pinball, basketball shooting, and of course, cruising USA.

I wanted to check out a brewery on the other side of downtown, so we found a bus and were on our way. Amazing how smartphones have opened up travel. And I say this well aware of my frustration of the parking above. The bus was slow going, but we finally made Southern Pacific brewing. Very cool atmosphere and good apps.

We temporarily struggled to find good sea food in the area and were all set to take the BART back to downtown and figure it out from there, when we stumbled upon a Mexican place a lady at the brewery suggested. It ended up being awesome. The BART is also significantly faster than Busing (obviously). Less obvious though is that the two are kind of separate entities. No transfers and it seems that google directions didn't sync well. Either way, we were back to the ferry early and meandered around the dock a little. We weren't outside for more than a picture on the way back (it was chilly!), but we enjoyed a few people who had had a bit to drink enjoying the ferrying ride inside.

A great day!