Our WAY Big Adventure

While we did not originally plan to spend time in downtown San Francisco, we decided we were too close to the Golden Gate not to see it.  We all really enjoyed our drive through town, the bay area,  seeing the steep slopes that surround the town, and the cable cars invented to haul people up and down those steep slopes that was safer than the horse drawn trams of 1873. 

“The Rock” or Alcatraz Island, sits like a gem in the San Francisco Bay. Many tourists travel by ferry to tour the once maximum security federal prison that housed many famous criminals including Al Capone.

And…after feeling like we were in a parade while driving down Lombard street a.k.a “the crookedest street in the world,” we got out and joined the picture snapping tourists at the bottom.

 I was waiting for Eric Estrada to turn around and flash me his bright smile…I guess Ponch and Jon were just too busy!

The kids and I loved seeing China town. It was incredibly crowded, with open markets lining both sides of the street for many blocks and people everywhere…but this (above) was my favorite photo.

 I think I know just how these residents feel. Here’s proof: that is 10 pairs of blue jeans in a space that most people use for showering. Ours is used for drying and for kitties to take care of business.

We saw a couple of street performers, but this one was our favorite! The girl on the left, although she sounded like a duck, was incredibly talented!

I think the kids would agree that they had the most fun at Pier 39 downtown. While San Francisco is a major shipping port for the U.S., this pier is more like a nice outdoor mall. The sea lions of the bay area prefer this pier too.  We saw hundreds of them basking on the docks at the end of the pier…that was when I discovered my camera battery was depleted. Sorry no photo.