San Francisco
June 29th - July 2nd, 2001
In the summer of 2001 six friends hopped on a plane
and ended up in the beautiful city of San Francisco. Thanks to a great airfare
of $88.00 roundtrip we were all able to swing this spur of the moment vacation.
We booked two rooms at the Hotel Metropolis which would serve as our home base
while exploring and sight-seeing in this great city. The list of places to see
was long, but our time was short. We had four days to visit the top attractions
and hopefully fit in a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and a hike on the
Coastal Trail. If anyone could do it, it was the six of us!
The hotel was as awesome as it appeared on the
internet and we were extremely happy with our rooms. We set out to begin our
adventure and we started with, you guessed it, a ride on a cable car. What would
a trip to San Francisco be without a ride on the famous cable cars? At one of
the stops the gripman was even nice enough to indulge us with a prolonged stop
so that we could snap some photos of all of us on the trolley…now that’s
hospitality. Next on our list of things to do was to eat, and there is no place
better then North Beach for some great Italian cuisine. One of our favorite
restaurants is the Stinking Rose, a garlic lover’s nirvana. After loading up on
pasta and bread we headed down to Fisherman’s Wharf. We descended on the shops
like tourist flies and when we had purchased enough post cards and t-shirts to
last a lifetime we set our sights on the produce market. I can honestly say that
I have never seen such photogenic fruits and vegetables! Next was the Carousel.
Dauster and Karabeener decided to take a whirl on the merry-go-round, and oh
yes, Dauster’s adopted pet rock Roger went for the spin as well.
The next day it was time to gear up and take a bike
ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. We rented mountain bikes from Blazing
Saddles and set out on our ride. This is by far one of the best ways to
experience the grandeur of this spectacular structure. There are special lanes
on the bridge for bikes so it isn’t a problem avoiding pedestrians. Once across
the bridge we cruised down a nice, fast hill to the town of Sausalito. Everyone
was exhilarated by this downhill except for Butchwacker who has now sworn off
bike riding for the rest of her life. But seriously, this really is a great ride
because once you are to Sausalito you just catch the ferry back to San
Francisco, the ferry will take your bike for a small fee so there are no worries
about climbing back up that hill to the bridge. While in Sausalito we locked up
our bikes and did a little shopping. We also had lunch at a nice little
restaurant called Waterfront Grill, as the name implies it has a great view
overlooking the bay, not to mention great hamburgers! Later that day, back in
San Francisco, we set out to see some more of the city, and I swear we must have
walked almost 20 miles. We also took a city tour with Gray Line, and while it
was a nice way to get familiar with where things are we do not recommend taking
one. It was really kind of boring and they don’t give you enough time at the
stops. Especially for shutterbugs like myself and Kat, in fact we almost missed
the bus when we became infatuated with the Palace of Fine Arts, it was pretty
funny actually, the two of us running to catch the bus after we heard the bell
ring, the rest of our group was not terribly amused however. Using a combination
of walking and the bus lines is a much better way to see the sights. Also, we
recommend buying a three day metro pass, this allows unlimited access to busses,
cable cars, and street cars and they are very reasonably priced. This was the
option that we used to see places like Coit Tower, Fisherman’s Wharf, The Palace
of Fine Arts, Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area (Japanese
Garden), Haight-Ashbury District, Lombard Street, Presidio, Fort Mason, Fort
Point, North Beach, and last but not least Postcard Row.
Another highlight of our visit was a trip to Alcatraz
Island. This penitentiary turned National Recreation Area is a great place to
visit for History Buffs, movie lovers, and the just plain curious. Audio
cassettes are available in any language to guide you on a fact-filled tour of
the prison. The grounds and views are really quite lovely, such a striking
contrast to the starkness of prison life. Staring out across the bay to the city
you can’t help but wonder if the famous escapees actually pulled off the
impossible. There is also a great gift shop with tons of books on the history of
the prison. After spending several hours exploring the island we headed back to
the city. Last on our list of things to do was a hike along a portion of the
Coastal Trail. We started at the Golden Gate Bridge and hiked to Baker Beach,
this beach affords great views of the bridge with waves crashing onto the shore.
To read more about our hike check out our hiking website at
Natural Born Hikers.
Looking
back on this fantastic trip has been a great pleasure; in fact it has made us
all want to visit again. We had a wonderful time in San Francisco and I am sure
that we will go back again one day soon. Until then, we have our memories. To
share our memories we have posted several photographs from our vacation, we hope
that you enjoy them.
