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fredericksOn Day Two we decided to walk over to the Golden Gate Bridge from our hotel, figuring that as we'd walked a good bit of the way while heading over to Fisherman's Wharf the day before it would be reasonable. And it was reasonable. However, we'd planned our Alcatraz tour for the same day and had to be at the debarkation site by 4PM. The walk to the bridge ended up being about 5.5 miles, not the 3 miles I'd originally guestimated, so we ended up calling it a day at Chrisse State Park (the park adjacent to the bridge) and headed back for our trip to The Rock.
We went to Alcatraz at night and I was expecting it to be marginally creepy but the Park Rangers and tour guides emphasized Alcatraz' national park/wildlife reserve status, putting the whole "max security prison" stuff on the back burner. Honestly, the place seemed more cozy than anything else. The audio tour was fascinating, and the Rangers were great. There was one guy who was stationed in one of the darkened (because of the hour and the lack of electricity in the periphery rooms most were simply lit by battery-powered lamps) hospital ward rooms who spouted off tons of fun facts about Robert Stroud which, in and of itself would be going above and beyond, but he also had photocopied pictures that he attempted to show us. The lighting didn't help much, however. That Ranger was officially adorkable, to the point where I just wanted to cart him off home.
On Day Three we went up to Napa and Sonoma to visit some vineyards. It was off season so most vineyards weren't rolling out the red carpet for visitors, but the folks at Cline Cellars were quite friendly. Cline Cellars was also the home of the California Mission Museum, where a number of dioramas of the various Franciscan missions that dotted the region during the 1700 and 1800s were on display. We also went to Napa's Domaine Chandon, which ended up being the most informative tour. Our hostess explained a good bit of the wine making process, took us on a mini-tour of the vat rooms, and fed us. Crackers and cheese, but it was still more than the other vineyards had managed.
We started Day Four by taking the Muni over to Castro. The whole "Muni Pass" thing stymied us a bit, since I'd planned the trek via B.A.R.T. (the city's other subway system) but we found out the passes we'd purchased only worked for Muni which *shrug*, even now I'm a little confused by the whole thing. We exited at the Castro St. station and paid our respects at Harvey Milk Plaza, then commenced the walking. Tons of hoofing around this day. We made our way up to Buena Vista Park, where the view was nice but not particularly buena and in no way made up for all the damn uphill travel required to get to it, and, after a couple of stop and starts, found our way over to Haight-Ashbury. The proliferation of bong stores was good for a laugh (until that point I'd forgotten California's allowance of medicinal marijuana use), as was the whole "LSD flashback" tie-dye attire for sale in-between the numerous shoe boutiques. We circled back up Haight once we hit Golden Gate Park, hit Divisadero, and wandered around in Japantown, stopping for lunch in a ramen shop. From there we headed up to California and took our first cable car ride down to our hotel.
Day Five on I was on my own. I went up to Muir Woods. It was with a tour, and we were only allowed one and a quarter hour to explore the park. Not nearly enough time to check out the trails available. I ended up staying relatively close to the entrance of the park and circling around for a bit, taking pictures of the lovely redwoods and flora. We then headed over to Sausalito, a town that had nice views of San Francisco but otherwise didn't hold my interest as it was full of mid- to upper-tier clothing and art shops. I purchased a burger and sat down near the edge of the bay to enjoy it, as a young seagull squawked in my ear in a pitiful and futile attempt to bribe me for food. Later that evening![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
desolate03 was able to come over to the hotel so we could shoot the breeze for a good long while.
Day Six I did absolutely nothing. And it was gloooooorious. Woke up, read the Times, stepped out to get brunch, took a nap, showered, read some more, had dinner, slept.
Day Seven was the return trip. San Francisco's weather had stayed in the 60's and sunny range since my first day there. I returned to a cold 20 degrees in NY. I wasn't keen on returning to the city, and I remain not keen on returning to work. But *shrug*, what the hey.
We went to Alcatraz at night and I was expecting it to be marginally creepy but the Park Rangers and tour guides emphasized Alcatraz' national park/wildlife reserve status, putting the whole "max security prison" stuff on the back burner. Honestly, the place seemed more cozy than anything else. The audio tour was fascinating, and the Rangers were great. There was one guy who was stationed in one of the darkened (because of the hour and the lack of electricity in the periphery rooms most were simply lit by battery-powered lamps) hospital ward rooms who spouted off tons of fun facts about Robert Stroud which, in and of itself would be going above and beyond, but he also had photocopied pictures that he attempted to show us. The lighting didn't help much, however. That Ranger was officially adorkable, to the point where I just wanted to cart him off home.
On Day Three we went up to Napa and Sonoma to visit some vineyards. It was off season so most vineyards weren't rolling out the red carpet for visitors, but the folks at Cline Cellars were quite friendly. Cline Cellars was also the home of the California Mission Museum, where a number of dioramas of the various Franciscan missions that dotted the region during the 1700 and 1800s were on display. We also went to Napa's Domaine Chandon, which ended up being the most informative tour. Our hostess explained a good bit of the wine making process, took us on a mini-tour of the vat rooms, and fed us. Crackers and cheese, but it was still more than the other vineyards had managed.
We started Day Four by taking the Muni over to Castro. The whole "Muni Pass" thing stymied us a bit, since I'd planned the trek via B.A.R.T. (the city's other subway system) but we found out the passes we'd purchased only worked for Muni which *shrug*, even now I'm a little confused by the whole thing. We exited at the Castro St. station and paid our respects at Harvey Milk Plaza, then commenced the walking. Tons of hoofing around this day. We made our way up to Buena Vista Park, where the view was nice but not particularly buena and in no way made up for all the damn uphill travel required to get to it, and, after a couple of stop and starts, found our way over to Haight-Ashbury. The proliferation of bong stores was good for a laugh (until that point I'd forgotten California's allowance of medicinal marijuana use), as was the whole "LSD flashback" tie-dye attire for sale in-between the numerous shoe boutiques. We circled back up Haight once we hit Golden Gate Park, hit Divisadero, and wandered around in Japantown, stopping for lunch in a ramen shop. From there we headed up to California and took our first cable car ride down to our hotel.
Day Five on I was on my own. I went up to Muir Woods. It was with a tour, and we were only allowed one and a quarter hour to explore the park. Not nearly enough time to check out the trails available. I ended up staying relatively close to the entrance of the park and circling around for a bit, taking pictures of the lovely redwoods and flora. We then headed over to Sausalito, a town that had nice views of San Francisco but otherwise didn't hold my interest as it was full of mid- to upper-tier clothing and art shops. I purchased a burger and sat down near the edge of the bay to enjoy it, as a young seagull squawked in my ear in a pitiful and futile attempt to bribe me for food. Later that evening
desolate03 was able to come over to the hotel so we could shoot the breeze for a good long while. Day Six I did absolutely nothing. And it was gloooooorious. Woke up, read the Times, stepped out to get brunch, took a nap, showered, read some more, had dinner, slept.
Day Seven was the return trip. San Francisco's weather had stayed in the 60's and sunny range since my first day there. I returned to a cold 20 degrees in NY. I wasn't keen on returning to the city, and I remain not keen on returning to work. But *shrug*, what the hey.
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Date: 2009-01-19 03:56 pm (UTC)I love Muir Woods. Absolutely breathtaking!
It's so neat when the Park Rangers have fun little personalities. They make the tours so much more memorable. When I went to Alcatraz they definitely stressed the national park thing. You weren't supposed to take anything with you. On the ferry back, my dad pulled me over far away from everyone else and slyly handed me a little teeny tiny bit of concrete he'd grabbed from the trail. I know he wasn't supposed to but it was absolutely my favorite memory of that trip. I still have that concrete in my jewelry box, 13 years later.
I'm glad you made it home safe and sound and I hope you post pictures!
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Date: 2009-01-19 04:52 pm (UTC)Muir Woods was lovely. I would like to have more time to explore the trails, and eventually I'll like to go further north to the sequoia forests, but it was an hour well spent.
I adore your Alcatraz story. *grin*
Thanks! I'll try to make my camera cooperate. My pics weren't anything spectacular, but I'll see about putting one or two up.
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