San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, Fisherman's Wharf, and Pier 39 - Feb 19 - 21

Woke to a glorious sunny day. We're so fortunate with the weather so far on the coast. Out the door at 8:15 am heading into the Presidio Area of San Francisco which contains the Golden Gate Bridge viewing areas, amongst many other points of interest.

"The Presidio of San Francisco is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area."

After stopping at various parking areas for views, with Ray jumping out and me staying in the car, we finally picked a spot to pay for our parking and took a walk. Glorious views.

Next up, the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. We managed to find a free parking spot right across the street as we were so early in the day. Totally unexpected park to walk around.

Next up is the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. We managed to find a free parking spot right across the street as we were so early in the day. Totally unexpected park to walk around.

The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 1974,^[1] it is the only structure from the exposition that survives on site.^[3]

The most prominent building of the complex, a 162-foot-high (49-meter)^[1] open rotunda, is enclosed by a lagoon on one side and adjoins a large, curved exhibition center on the other side, separated from the lagoon by colonnades. As of 2019, the exhibition center (one of San Francisco's largest single-story buildings) is used as a venue for events such as weddings or trade fairs.^[4]

Conceived to evoke a decaying ruin of ancient Rome,^[1] the Palace of Fine Arts became one of San Francisco's most recognizable landmarks.^[5] Early 2009 marked the completion of a renovation of the lagoons and walkways and a seismic retrofit.

The houses across the street are gorgeous too.

After wandering around this park for an hour, we headed to the beach area, called Chrissy's Field East Beach and Marina. There were even people brave enough to be swimming!

Lots of old base infrustructure still being used. This is Pilot Row.

Also at Chrissy's Field is the  NOAA Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Headquarters.

We were close enough to get some pictures of Alcatraz across the water. No desire to actually visit it though.

I realized we were really close to Fisherman's Wharf, so back in the car we went, to find a parking space and somewhere to eat lunch.

After a few pictures we ended up at Sabella al la Torrre Seafood and downed delicious lobster rolls.

The lobster rolls are huge!

After all the walking we did, it's time to call it a day and back to the coach. We did a short walk along the cliff here and took a couple of pictures of Esplande Beach below the campsite.

Looking to the right of the RV Park.

Looking to the left of the RV Park.

You can see in the picture below, the properties along the ridge have lost a lot of real estate from the January storms.

Back at the coach, we sat outside for an hour or so until the clouds came in. Another picture worthy day. Tonight will be leftovers lol

Sunday night sunset pictures.

Monday's Sunset

Monday as it's going to be the nicest day of all, we decided to revisit downtown San Francisco and finish up the other areas we wanted to tour. Out the door at 8:30, we headed to the "Painted Ladies" iconic houses for a few pictures. Parking's terrible so I just found a "no parking spot" and stayed in the car while Ray rushed over to get a shot. There are some other wonderful "painted lady houses" that Ray managed to get a shot of as well. San Francisco has beautifully painted old houses all over the hillsides.

Other Painted Ladies.

The Original "Painted Ladies"

Next up we drove to the Twin Peaks, a lookout area over all of San Francisco. The city closed the last bit of the road from this side of the hill, so Ray hiked up a ways to get his shots here. I went part way up to have a look myself. Gorgeous in spite of the "smog".

Coit Tower with St Peter and Paul Cathedral Church in the foreground

Now it's time to drive to the famous Lombard Street. I managed to find a parking spot close to the top of the hill, so we were both able to go watch people drive down. There's also a trolley car passing down Hyde Street to the Hyde Street Pier, right beside the entrance to Lombard. I got a shot of that while Ray walked down to the bottom of the hill to get other shots. 

They have stairs going down on both sides of the road.

Huffing and Puffing coming back up.

Back in the car it's time to go down the road ourselves. Ray took this video.

Fairly close to this area is San Francisco's China Town. There are a couple of iconic shots Ray wanted so again, I found a spot and waited for him as parking is terrible.

Chinatown

San Francisco

Description

This is one of the oldest and most established Chinatowns in the U.S. Beyond iconic Dragon’s Gate, a bustling maze of streets and alleys brims with dim sum joints and other traditional eateries. Also found are herbalists, bakeries, souvenir shops, and dark cocktail lounges and karaoke bars. There are ornate temples, including the landmark Tien How, as well as the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum.

Grant Street

Dragon Gate

As we had dim sum on Saturday night with my cousin Wendy we opted not to eat there so just drove through their main street. Next we headed to Pier 39 on the harbour, there's tons of eateries and stores. What a place. We arrived at about 11 am and managed to get easy parking in the lot across the street from the pier. $10/hour ....

At 11:30 we decided to eat first and explore after. Today's choice is the Fog Harbor Fishhouse. What a great choice. The food is delicious and the best meal we ate since coming to the USA. I ordered Crab ravioli and Ray, scallops and risotto, with calamari as a starter. We certainly ate our fill of seafood this week. Yum

Waiting Room

Great non-alcoholic drinks for Ray.

Calamari

To die for ravioli stuffed crab in a beurre blanc sauce.

With full tummies we strolled the pier taking in all of the sights. There is something for everyone. Lots of "touristy stuff" to buy, games for the kids and great views of the harbour. I finally got to see the Sea Lions! They installed platforms to encourage them to rest there for photo ops!

There certainly is a ton more people there after our lunch than when we first got there. Obviously a great destination for families on the President's Day holiday.

Christmas Store

By 2 pm it's time to head back to the MH ... lots of walking today and we were done with traffic and people. Fortunately with the freeways here, it only took a 30 minute drive home. We sat outside for a bit before it became too cool. Another great day of touring. For dinner I cooked up the fresh fish we  purchased and a crab for Ray's dinner. No one starving here :)