So imagine our collective suprise when instead of two hours in traffic we got to each location in only 20-30 minutes! So after using up the first day's events before noon, he started in on the second day!
Essentially...we did it all in one day! Here's a hint: Russ took 366 pictures with his camera! I'm not even going to attempt a full description of what went on...just the highlights!
We got up early and hit the road just "in front of" morning rush hour. The goal was to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and get pictures...
That picture is sort of a fake as it was really taken on the way back in the afternoon. On the way across in the morning, the fog was so thick that you could barely see the railings to the side of the bridge! I'm not sure the girls believed we were actually on the bridge. When we pointed out "There's Alcatraz!" they merely laughed at us.
Next destination, Muir Woods to see the Redwood forest. Not surprisingly, it rained while we were there.
Then back to town and we stopped to tour the Exploratorium. That's good for a couple of hours... Oh except it's closed at the moment for repairs. So we snapped some shots and moved on...
We went to Fisherman's Wharf, stopped in an Ghirardelli Square for some chocolate. We puttered around and looked at shoppes, etc., then stopped for lunch. Various soups, salads, pizzas, hamburgers. Was good. Then on to...
Coit Tower (which was really on Saturday's schedule, we were now about 12 hours ahead of schedule..)
Some went to the top to look at the city, some stayed below. Some wondered around the tower, some went to the gift shop. Eventually we all reconvened and some had cigarette breaks.
We headed for our next stop, then passed Lombard Street, the "curviest" road. Technically on tomorrow's list, but since we were in the neighborhood, I did a U'y and took 'em down it. They were impressed. Then I stopped and they hopped out to get pictures...
Next...Chinatown!
The girls wanted to shop and since we were about 18 hours ahead of schedule we filled the meter to the max with coins and told them to go wild. They did. Ultimately they each brought back a bit of jewelery, proud that they had haggled the shop-keepers down from price "X" to price "Z"....realizing that even so, the shop owner had still made the best of the deal. =*)
Still, they had fun and that's what matters.
Afterwards we headed back down to the wharf in preparation for the Alcatraz tour. We got on the boat at 630pm. This is what how foggy SF was when we left the dock...
And how foggy Alcatraz was when we arrived there...
Russell took lots of pictures. Rather than try to describe each one, I'll just show some of the highlights.
Here's the girls on the tram up and back down the hillside..
After that..and it was late...we worked our way back to the resort and collapsed into bed. It was a full, full day!
