(Buddy the Elf)
Today started off on a relaxed note. We decided that we didn't want to rush into the city, in order to avoid rush-hour traffic. We had no problems. We planned the next two weeks of our trip (so exciting!!) and then headed off to the city. We parked the car in the vista point parking lot and took the short trail to a look-out point. It was amazing! It was kind of cloudy this morning, but we were able to see the bridge. The view point was probably 1/2 mile or so uphill from the parking lot, so we were able to see quite far once we got to the top. This is also where the US had a military post during WWII, to protect the bridge and the city after Pearl Harbor was attacked. It was interesting...We also spotted another car from (Sonora) Mexico, which tallies our list at two (two more than we would have predicted. Later on, we also spotted a Consul licence plate, and this one wasn't the same as the US ones. We're guessing it was Mexico, too.)
From there, we decided to leave the car in the lot and walk over the bridge again. We are cheap and worried about parking. Luckily, there weren't any signs saying otherwise. We walked the bridge, there were so many people on it this afternoon. We were glad that we did it last night, because then we didn't have to worry about stopping, etc. Once we got to the other side, we figured out which direction we wanted to go (it took a while...) We were able to see a little bit of the Presidio (love the houses!) and the Promenade (love those houses too! The architecture is really interesting). We ended up at Fisherman's Wharf and walked around for a little. (Mom, we didn't see the carousel. I don't know if we walked down far enough.) It was so crowded, though, so we walked down a side pier. We were able to get a closer look at Alcatraz. From there, we walked to Lombard Street. I don't know how the people in that area drive down the road. Aside from all the turns, the number of tourists there...it was unbelievable. We walked back down the street and to Giradhelli Square, home of the chocolate. Mmmm..we walked back and forth a couple of times to get some free chocolate samples. We were going to stop at their cafe, but it was super crowded. (As you can tell, we don't really like crowds of people...) So, we decided to go to the cupcake store around the corner. They were pretty good, but I think we could do better...
After that, we decided to head back towards the Bridge and the car. We took a short cut, and walked through the "Off the Grid" which is kind of like an exhibition for the food trucks in the city. There were probably 15 or so different ones, but they were all Thai or Korean food. After the cupcake, we decided to forgo this. However, we did see one of the trucks that was on the Food Truck Race (on the Food Network, hosted by Tyler Florence. It was our second of being in the light with a 'celebrity'.) We walked along the beach, and saw about 20 kite boarders. Around this time, the fog was rolling in, so it looked like the kite boarders came out of nowhere. It was kind of creepy. We got back to the bridge, and were so glad that we took all of our pictures last night. It was so foggy, we couldn't even see the bridge. This was unbelievable. You would think that it was be near impossible to miss the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was not there tonight. There were a handful of people who were still taking pictures, but the only thing behind them was fog. Ridiculous. We walked back over the bridge (it's so much faster, and more comfortable, to run instead of walk). I tried to take pictures of how foggy it was, but there was very little for the camera to focus on so I couldn't. Once we got to the other end, though, it kind of cleared up in spots. We were so surprised when we drove through the tunnel and the fog was in there, too! Once we got out of the city, and back onto 101, the fog came and went, and the sun started to set. The sunsets are gorgeous out here! As we pulled into the campground, it was eerily black out, but it was just the cloud cover, etc. It's kind of chilly tonight, but nice in the tent. Now, as long as all of these people go to bed soon...
It's off to our next stop tomorrow, which is towards some of the National Parks in Eastern California. We have some planned stops for tomorrow, so hopefully they'll work out! So, all-in-all, it was a good trip to San Francisco. It is definitely a neat city, with a lot to do. It also seems to be a city where everyone is young at heart, with a lot of people out and about. I'd say it's now in our Top 5 Cities.
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