Day 41 - Visit to Sausalito and San Francisco!

Ken and I were up at 6, showered, cooked breakfast, packed some snacks and water, and the 4 of us left in Chuck and Melissa's CRV at 8 to take a trip to Sausalito and San Francisco.  It was an "off and on" sunny day, but very windy and in the 60's.  All in all, Chuck drove 216 miles round trip today!

Chuck and Melissa had been to these places before, but they were very happy to go back and share their special places with us.  This is our 1st time in this area, so we were happy to let them take the "lead" and show us some of their most memorable places in this part of California! 

We saw Alcatraz and San Quintan prisons on the way to our 1st stop, Muir Woods, a National Monument where the attraction is the California Redwoods.

San Quentin Prison was opened in July of 1852 and has a capacity
for 3,082 prisoners.  It sits on 432 acres and was valued in 2001
at between $129 million and $664 million.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was operational from 1934 to 1963.
Its capacity was 312.

This area is a beautiful forest that is so green and lush right now, and the huge trees are the added "bonus".  Here is a little history and info regarding the Redwoods.  There are 2 species of redwood in California.  The coast redwood grows on a thin and discontinuous 500 mile strip of Pacific coast from south Oregon to Big Sur.  Redwoods can grow to 379 feet and live to 2,000 years. Their diameter can go to 22 feet and the bark to 12" thick.   As a comparison, Giant Sequoias can grow to 311 feet, live 3,200 years, and have a diameter of 40".  Their bark is 31" thick.  The sequoias have a very striking rust color, while the redwoods are more brownish!

The boardwalk goes the whole way around this National Monument!

You can't even begin to see the top of this tree!

Rather interesting when you realize how long this tree lived!

John Muir was a great advocate for saving these special places
for everyone to enjoy then and now!

Some additional interesting info!

They do grow in circles and many of the trees
bases grow together!

This area is so lush and green!

Ferns covered the hillside!

We are so small compared to the wonders
of nature!

After doing some hiking in Muir Woods, we drove out of there on the windy and curvy road (we seem to find them everywhere) and went to Sausalito.  What an interesting town/city.  It is very artsy with all of its galleries.  You can sense that it is a rather "elite" area.  We walked up and down the main street, checking out the shops and then finding a deli for lunch.  Their sandwiches were very good.  I bought my 1st clothes on this trip - a fleece jacket and a cap.

Walking the streets of Sausalito!

Interesting shops in downtown Sausalito!

Amazing how the houses seem to "grow" out of the hill!

We left there and drove to Vista Point, a well-known place to get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was breathtaking to actually see it up close and personal!  It was a surprise, as it is not "golden", but orange!  The feat of building this bridge is almost impossible to imagine!  After getting many photos, we got back in the car and drove into downtown San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge from our highest viewing point!

From the center viewing place!

Some info about the building of the bridge!

Love this photo Ken took!

Some very interesting trivia about the bridge!

Looking through the bridge to the skyline of San Francisco!

People leave locks with messages on the guardrail at the vista
overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  Better than graffiti!

Ken and I were excited to see all those steep streets we have seen in movies and get a glimpse of the San Francisco streetcars that I remember from the Rice-A-Roni commercials!  The streets really are just like they appear on the big screen - crazy!  We took the scenic and curvy drive down Lombard Street - amazing! 

This really doesn't do justice to the steepness of the streets! 

This is a better example!

A famous street in San Francisco!

Chuck actually drove us down Lombard Street.
Isn't it beautiful and amazing!

I've never seen anything like it and find it amazing that
they allow "tourists" to drive down this very steep and
 windy street!

The infamous street cars of San Fran!

After that drive, we went to the Coit Tower, a 210' monument that was built in 1933 and overlooks the San Francisco Bay. The monies to build it were given by Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city she loved.

View of the skyline of San Francisco from the walkway
of  Coit Tower!

Also from the walkway - this cruise ship!

Then it was time to drive to Fisherman's Wharf and walked along the main street there, checking out the shops and eateries.  They sold Auntie Ann soft pretzels there, which got their start in Lancaster County, PA, so Ken and I had to buy one to share with Chuck and Melissa, since they had never had a soft pretzel, besides one at a sporting event.  That's not even a "soft pretzel"!!! They thought it was very good - of course, the recipe was created in PA!

It was a very crowded area!

Then it was time to head back to the CG, but it was 5 PM and the traffic in and around San Francisco was absolutely crazy.  Even when we got about 20 miles out of the city it was so slow!  We got back to the CG around 7:30, but stopped right across from the entrance at a Mexican Restaurant for dinner.  They had good food and very good margaritas. We only got back to Waldo at 8:45, so we decided not to play games this evening, but allow us time to work on our blogs.

Saw this on a hillside on our way back to the CG.  Looks like
a wheat field, but just dead grasses.  Someone is sending a
much needed message to so many!

Beautiful and an unusual site.  Looks like azure field of
grain, but it is a result of the lack of rain in California!

We will be leaving here tomorrow morning and driving to Paicines, CA. about an hour from Monterey.  Looking forward to driving along Route 1, seeing the Pacific Ocean, and visiting Pinnacle National Park.  I am sure our schedule will continue to be busy, but it will be great!