This will be my last post on San Francisco, then we head off into the next segment of our trip, Las Vegas! After that, maybe I will finally be able to post about my trip to Alaska.
We got up relatively early this Saturday morning so that we could ride the cable cars without dealing with crowds. The Tuscan Inn is only one block away from one of the cable car terminals, making it very convenient for us. There were only a few other people waiting, so we got our pick of spots on the cable car. I chose the front left, as those seats are what I felt offered the greatest views.
This was a pretty quick trip since we just went up to the cable car terminus at Powell and Hyde, jumped off, watched them turn the cable car, then hopped on another cable car, but this time, the Beach and Hyde route. I liked this route for the return because it included higher hills and even more beautiful views. It was especially beautiful going down the hill hea
ded toward the Fisherman's Wharf area.
Because our flight to Las Vegas didn't leave until 3:45 p.m., we had quite a bit of time to kill before we had to be at the airport. Once we got off the cable car, we walked around the waterfront, first watching a bunch of crazy people who apparently entered some kind of swimming contest. The water must have been freezing!!! Crazy. We went for one last stroll near the wharf, and walked by
the sourdough factory...yum!!! It smelled so good!
Of course, after smelling the sour dough, I realized that it was breakfast time. We were just walking around the neighborhood and came across an IHOP that was only a block from the hotel. I know all of you in Hawaii are wondering what the big deal is about IHOP when we have two locations on Oahu now, but IHOP is still one of those special places to eat whenever I travel to California or Las Vegas! It was a little crowded, so we ended up eating at the counter, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the service was! They were all amazingly attentive and the manager seemed concerned when we didn't have our food, even though we hadn't even waited that long. I would definitely return to that IHOP!
The only other thing on my to do list for San Francisco was to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. There is a lookout with spectacular views of the bridge. Before I continue with how beautiful it was, I have to share my camera's near-death experience. Because of my stupidity in having the camera in my lap in the car, but without securing the strap around my wrist or neck, I stood up to get out of the car, and my camera, my only 4 month old, $700 camera, fell to the ground. After releasing a few expletives and almost crying over what I thought was the death of my camera, it miraculously healed itself after pressing the shutter button once. I was finally able to relax after my camera recovered.
Anyhow, the lookout was extremely crowded, but I suppose that is to be expected, particularly on a Saturday morning. The landscaping at the lookout was almost as beautiful as the bridge itself. Sausalito and Alcatraz were both visible, and we could also see Fort Mason down below. There was also a neat little gift shop selling a variety of Golden Gate Bridge memorabilia.
After enjoying the views here, we still had some time to kill. When researching this trip, I read that the views were beautiful on the Pacific Ocean side of San Francisco. There are a couple of restaurants there, but after our huge breakfast at
IHOP, we weren't that hungry. As we were driving away from the bridge and finding our way to the Pacific Coast, we came across a great find, the Legion of Honor.
The Legion of Honor offers spectacular views of San Francisco. Both the cityscape and the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz were visible from here. We decided not to enter the building since there was an admission fee and we didn't think we had enough time to look around inside. However, the exterior of the
building, grounds, and surrounding scenery were enough to keep us and our cameras busy for a good period of time. There was a moving, but disturbing, tribute to the holocaust that we pondered before moving on.
We continued our scenic drive along the Pacific Coast, then drove through Golden Gate Park before making our way back to the airport. We were still a bit early, but it's a good thing because we missed the airport off-ramp! However, it wasn't too bad of a back-track. Another thing that takes a while, but is extremely convenient, is the AirTrain. The AirTrain is a monorail that connects airport terminals with parking structures, a consolidated rental car facility, and some other airport structures. I found that I prefer this to catching a shuttle to the rental car facility, since it's easy to wheel luggage or a luggage cart on and off the train. No need to lug heavy bags onto a shuttle bus!
Once at the terminal, we still had some time to kill, even considering some slow downs going through the security line. I found a place that made sandwiches to order that was actually quite good! The portions were very large too. Although I ordered two sandwiches, we only ate one because it was so large, and it came with fries, making it even more filling.
We flew Southwest Airlines to Las Vegas, and it was an enjoyable experience. The only thing I don't like is that there are no assigned seats, but they do have seating areas (Priority, A, B, and C), so it's a little more orderly than when they used to have cattle calls where people would be waiting in a line at the gate for over an hour to be the first on the plane. The crew is hilarious too..."in the rare event that this flight turns into a cruise on the way to Las Vegas, inflatable flotation devices will deploy..."
We arrived safely in Las Vegas around 5:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the day of the UH-UNLV game. This turned out to be a GREAT time to arrive in Las Vegas, as there were no crowds at the airport!
Ending here for now, will continue the Vegas Adventure in a new post.
ded toward the Fisherman's Wharf area.Because our flight to Las Vegas didn't leave until 3:45 p.m., we had quite a bit of time to kill before we had to be at the airport. Once we got off the cable car, we walked around the waterfront, first watching a bunch of crazy people who apparently entered some kind of swimming contest. The water must have been freezing!!! Crazy. We went for one last stroll near the wharf, and walked by
the sourdough factory...yum!!! It smelled so good!Of course, after smelling the sour dough, I realized that it was breakfast time. We were just walking around the neighborhood and came across an IHOP that was only a block from the hotel. I know all of you in Hawaii are wondering what the big deal is about IHOP when we have two locations on Oahu now, but IHOP is still one of those special places to eat whenever I travel to California or Las Vegas! It was a little crowded, so we ended up eating at the counter, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the service was! They were all amazingly attentive and the manager seemed concerned when we didn't have our food, even though we hadn't even waited that long. I would definitely return to that IHOP!
The only other thing on my to do list for San Francisco was to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. There is a lookout with spectacular views of the bridge. Before I continue with how beautiful it was, I have to share my camera's near-death experience. Because of my stupidity in having the camera in my lap in the car, but without securing the strap around my wrist or neck, I stood up to get out of the car, and my camera, my only 4 month old, $700 camera, fell to the ground. After releasing a few expletives and almost crying over what I thought was the death of my camera, it miraculously healed itself after pressing the shutter button once. I was finally able to relax after my camera recovered.
Anyhow, the lookout was extremely crowded, but I suppose that is to be expected, particularly on a Saturday morning. The landscaping at the lookout was almost as beautiful as the bridge itself. Sausalito and Alcatraz were both visible, and we could also see Fort Mason down below. There was also a neat little gift shop selling a variety of Golden Gate Bridge memorabilia.
After enjoying the views here, we still had some time to kill. When researching this trip, I read that the views were beautiful on the Pacific Ocean side of San Francisco. There are a couple of restaurants there, but after our huge breakfast at
IHOP, we weren't that hungry. As we were driving away from the bridge and finding our way to the Pacific Coast, we came across a great find, the Legion of Honor.
The Legion of Honor offers spectacular views of San Francisco. Both the cityscape and the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz were visible from here. We decided not to enter the building since there was an admission fee and we didn't think we had enough time to look around inside. However, the exterior of the
building, grounds, and surrounding scenery were enough to keep us and our cameras busy for a good period of time. There was a moving, but disturbing, tribute to the holocaust that we pondered before moving on.We continued our scenic drive along the Pacific Coast, then drove through Golden Gate Park before making our way back to the airport. We were still a bit early, but it's a good thing because we missed the airport off-ramp! However, it wasn't too bad of a back-track. Another thing that takes a while, but is extremely convenient, is the AirTrain. The AirTrain is a monorail that connects airport terminals with parking structures, a consolidated rental car facility, and some other airport structures. I found that I prefer this to catching a shuttle to the rental car facility, since it's easy to wheel luggage or a luggage cart on and off the train. No need to lug heavy bags onto a shuttle bus!
Once at the terminal, we still had some time to kill, even considering some slow downs going through the security line. I found a place that made sandwiches to order that was actually quite good! The portions were very large too. Although I ordered two sandwiches, we only ate one because it was so large, and it came with fries, making it even more filling.
We flew Southwest Airlines to Las Vegas, and it was an enjoyable experience. The only thing I don't like is that there are no assigned seats, but they do have seating areas (Priority, A, B, and C), so it's a little more orderly than when they used to have cattle calls where people would be waiting in a line at the gate for over an hour to be the first on the plane. The crew is hilarious too..."in the rare event that this flight turns into a cruise on the way to Las Vegas, inflatable flotation devices will deploy..."
We arrived safely in Las Vegas around 5:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the day of the UH-UNLV game. This turned out to be a GREAT time to arrive in Las Vegas, as there were no crowds at the airport!
Ending here for now, will continue the Vegas Adventure in a new post.
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