Day Three

Today was yet another glorious day. Not only was the weather near perfect, but we got to see so many interesting and amazing things. I was in heaven all day long.

We started the day early. We'd made reservations for 9am at the San Francisco "go-car" tours. There we got a small car, like a mix between an golf cart and a go-cart. You rent it by the hour, and it has a GPS system installed that directs you to various tourist attractions. What the great part is, the car speaks to you and fills you in on really interesting facts about things you see along the way.

The yellow beauty parked here is our go-car

Brian wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was, but I thought it was one of the coolest things I've done on a vacation in a long, long time. One of the cool things that the car told us was that the seals that lay around on the Pier weren't there until after the 1989 earthquake. But after the quake, for some unknown reason, they showed up and have been on the Pier ever since. Fascinating, I know.

First, the car directed us to the Golden Gate Bridge. To get there we had travel through an area of these beautiful multi-million dollar homes. They were absolutely breath taking. Once at the bridge, we made a couple of stops to take pictures. I honestly could have stayed in the area of the bridge for hours and hours. It was so beautiful and awe inspiring. It was definitely one of the high points of this vacation. Although it was a little hazy, we ended up getting quite a few really nice shots.

Brian + Arika + The Golden Gate Bridge = LOVE
In case you were wondering...

Golden Gate Park was next on the tour. We learned Golden Gate Park was designed by the same person who designed Central Park.

Next we went to the "Painted Ladies" (the 'Full House' houses), saw tons of BEAUTIFUL Victorian homes, the"psychedelic"(that's what the car called it) Haight/Ashbury district, and then on to The Palace of Fine Arts, and then..................to Lombard Street!!!!

Also a big highlight for me! The is called the most crooked street in San Francisco, but we found out that it actually isn't the most crooked. But, it's far prettier than the street that beats it out. We also found out that the street was designed in the way that it is to help with the intense slope. With the twists and turns, it's now far more manageable. This street was amazing. We drove down it, taking in

the views of the city and the area along the street. There is beautiful landscape all along the roadway.

The view from the top of Lombard Street

As we're navigating our way down

And, the best view we could get from the bottom!

We ended up being out on the tour for just over three hours. Brian wasn't as gung-ho about the tour as I was. Besides not liking to look like a tourist, he wasn't a huge fan of driving around in a little car with no roof or doors, wearing a helmet and listening to a voice, playing loudly, telling you about everything you were passing. But, he did find it pretty interesting and stuck it out for the entire trip. Despite a couple of nervous moments on busy roadways, and an instant or two of wrong turns, it was a very enjoyable activity.

After we turned our "go-car" in, we jumped onto a cable car and rode to Union Square. Here, we waited.......you're not going to believe this, and HOUR to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. I know, I know. There are Cheesecake Factory's in Washington. But we were soooo hungry, and it sounded so good. So, we waited. We ended up eating lunch outside on the deck. Here we had a great view of a bunch of skyscrapers in the area. It was great.

We came back into the Wharf area after lunch, and once again, hit the Ghiradelli Ice Cream shop. We're terrible. But their hot fudge is to die for. We took our treats to go, and walked down to the Pier again to get a glimpse of the seals while the sun was still up. We got some pretty nice photos out on the Pier of the seals, and also of Alcatraz in the distance.

The noisy seals

The Golden Gate Bridge from Pier 39

Brian, with Alcatraz in the background

Coit Tower from Pier 39

Brian and I are both exhausted! It was a busy day. We're in our room relaxing, and have talked about maybe heading out again in awhile to do some shopping....but, we'll have to see. Laying here, watching TV, feels pretty good right now. And, we need to get rested up for our adventures tomorrow! Until next time.......

"San Francisco itself is art, above all literary art. Every block is a short story, every hill a novel..."

- William Saroyan