San Francisco

Son Keith was very kind to take allow me to tag along on his business trip. Keith flew to Oakland from San Diego and I flew from Burbank Airport (now known as Bob Hope Airport) and we arrived almost simultaneously at Oakland at about 8 a.m. We drove into San Francisco via a Hertz rent a car equipped with a very handy GPS device. We stayed at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf at very reduced rates (special deal of $109 a night found on Travelzoo). This was a great place to stay as all the tours leave from this area and also two cable cars as well as there being many places to eat. Did we both feel somewhat guilty leaving all of Southern Californians to deal with the rain storms? Yes, we did for a couple of days. The weather in San Francisco was sunny and beautiful for most of the day.

San Francisco

Alcatraz Island

After checking into the hotel, we walked the short distance to the Pier 39 area and got our first view of Alcatraz Island. You can visit San Francisco dozens of times and never see Alcatraz as clearly as we could see it today. Quite a sight.

Alcatraz Island

Pier 39

Pier 39 is a collection of restaurants and shops for the tourists. We had lunch here at (I think) a restaurant called Louis. I had Dungeness crab and Keith had seafood but I forget what, and we both enjoyed our meal and our table overlooking the bay.

Pier 39

Motorized Trolley

Keith had been to San Francisco a number of times but had not seen that much of the city, so we decided to take the motorized trolley for a tour around the city. There are a number of other city tours and also tours to Monterey, Muir Woods, Sausalito, and even Yosemite. San Francisco is a one of the easiest cities to be a tourist in. I can recommend the tour that we took if you want to see a lot of San Francisco in a short period of time––a whirlwind San Francisco tour. That is Keith in the photo.

Motorized Trolley

Fisherman’s Wharf

You can buy Dungeness crab from outdoor vendors at the wharf or else something for lunch or dinner such as lobster stuffed with shrimp. Also, some San Francisco sourdough bread to go with it. (Many of the following photos I took from the moving trolley so they are just very quickly taken photos.)

Fisherman’s Wharf

Union Street

The trolley took us through the Union Street section of San Francisco. Here you will find many old houses, restaurants, and shops.

Union Street

Union Street

Some of the buildings on Union Street.

Union Street

Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts is the only structure remaining from the San Francisco Panama–Pacific Exposition of 1915. Its columns are massive, and when walking past them you think you are touring some ancient site. The circular building has an orange dome which can be seen in a later photo. Our trolley gave us 15 minutes to walk around here.

Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts

More of the structure.

Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts

Another view of the structure.

Palace of Fine Arts

Golden Gate Bridge

The brick fortress on the left is Fort Point which guarded San Francisco Bay during the Civil War. This photo was also taken from the area where the last two photos were taken.

Golden Gate Bridge

Presido Pet Cemetery

Pets of the servicemen stationed at the Presido were allowed to bury their pets in this cemetery.

Presido Pet Cemetery

View of San Francisco

Our trolley stopped so we could admire this view of San Francisco. You can see the orange dome of the Palace of Fine Arts in the photo.

View of San Francisco

View of San Francisco

A closer–up view.

View of San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

The brick fortress on the left is Fort Point which guarded San Francisco Bay during the Civil War. This photo was also taken from the area where the last two photos were taken.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge

Photo of Keith with Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge

This photo was taken near where the cars go on the bridge, near the Visitor’s Gift Shop.

Golden Gate Bridge

Presido Houses

Our trolley next took us through the Presido. The houses that used to house the military can now be rented by the public. These houses look like they belong on the East Coast, not here in San Francisco.

Presido Houses

Japan Center

We next drove by Japan Center with this great 75–foot pagoda. It is not really the Leaning Pagoda of San Francisco––it’s just the angle that I had my camera at.

Japan Center

Union Square

We drove past Union Square. Not a great photo, but that is the Westin St. Francis Hotel in the photo, one of the best San Francisco hotels. This square has many high–end stores and also a huge Macy’s Department Store. It started to rain and the short storm let loose with much thunder and lightening, but after it was over in about 1 hour, we had no more rain on our entire trip.

Union Square

Love, San Francisco Style

The image name says it all.

Love, San Francisco Style

Chinatown

Gates to San Francisco’s famous Chinatown.

Chinatown

Chinatown

Chinatown street.

Chinatown

North Beach

The Chinatown and North Beach (Italian) sections run into each other. This is a North Beach–type mural on the building with a Chinese restaurant on its street level.

North Beach

Washington Square

Saints Peter and Paul Church at Washington Square in North Beach. It is also known as the Italian Cathedral, though masses today are given in Chinese and English as well as Italian. When Eddie and I were in San Francisco and at this spot on Sept. 11, 2002, there was a flag on the grounds in front of the church for every person who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

Washington Square

Parking Lot Sign in Chinatown

Keith and I ate dinner this night in Chinatown. I thought this sign in the parking lot was interesting.

Parking Lot Sign in Chinatown

Oriental Pearl

On the recommendation of the concierge at the Sheraton, we ate at the Oriental Pearl restaurant. It was very good.

Oriental Pearl

Chinese Store

After eating, we walked up the hill to Grant Avenue, the main street in Chinatown, to see what stores were still open. We found this store with very interesting items for sale. Oriental music was playing on speakers in the store which was so calming that I put it on a movie clip entitled “Music in Chinatown.” Go to Movies, California, San Francisco.  Photo of items in the store.

Chinese Store

Chinese Store

More items for sale.

Chinese Store

Chinese Store

Message on a T–shirt for sale in the store.

Chinese Store