San Francisco, the “City by the Bay” is always a magnificent place to visit so Paulette and I take the opportunity every chance we get even if it’s only for a few hours. That’s what happened on Saturday morning when we went for a drive north along the scenic Cabrillo Hwy. (#1) and ended up in San Francisco a little before noon.
Paulette was dressed for the foggy cool weather, not me!!
Even though we stopped at a lighthouse, several beaches and a few other viewpoints along the way, it still took us less than 3 hours. If we hadn’t stopped at all, the drive would probably be about 1 1/2 hours. I’ve always wanted to drive this road but yesterday was the first time driving Hwy. 1 between Monterey and San Francisco.
The Golden Gate Bridge – one of our all-time favourite views
Leaving the sunny climes of Monterey, we ran into heavy fog once we drove north of Santa Cruz and hit the coast highway. Although we’d have preferred a sunny day, the fog did add an interesting eerie feeling to many of the spots we stopped at. Once in San Francisco though the fog had lifted except for the highest structures. We headed right for the Golden Gate Bridge – one of our favourite spots.
San Francisco skyline taken from the Golden Gate 
We walked around the bridge park and stopped at all the various viewpoints of not only the bridge but the city itself and the famous island of Alcatraz.
The Rock
Several years ago, while in San Francisco, we took the ferry over to Alcatraz and toured the prison. What a horrible place to be locked up. If it was as cold and damp as the day we visited it must have been pretty bad during the worst months of the year.
The streets of San Francisco
Leaving the Golden Gate Bridge, we drove down into the Marina district to have a look at some of the fantastic, old Victorian homes and also to go for a drive up the incredibly steep streets – that’s always fun to do but going back down can be hair-raising.
A Herd of Segways in San Francisco
One of the strangest sights we saw all day (and there are plenty of strange sights to see in San Francisco) was a “herd of Segways” crossing the street. It looked like a great way to get around but I still wonder how they’d do on the steepest hills in the city.
Following a Cable Car down Hyde St. towards Fisherman’s Wharf
We continued to drive around and at one point found ourselves following one of the famous Cable Cars down Hyde street towards Fisherman’s Wharf. We followed the cable car and maneuvered our way past all of the wonderful restaurants scattered along the street in front of the wharves. I did go down a 1-way street the wrong way – oops!!
Hey – we must be in Chinatown!
After leaving Fisherman’s Wharf without getting hit by some of the crazy drivers (including me) and cabs, we figured it might be time to “get outta Dodge” before our truck got another ding, or worse! I turned up Stockton St. and before we knew it we were driving right through the center of San Francisco’s huge Chinatown district.
Driving very slowly through the several long blocks of Chinatown was an amazing experience. The sidewalks were absolutely packed with people all shopping at grocery stores who had their produce for sale right out on the street. It was noisy, chaotic and very colourful.
Add to that, the trucks who stopped wherever to unload more goods and the people who crossed the street anywhere they felt like, it seemed like we were driving through a stadium full of people. It was very slow and careful going but the people watching was fantastic.
After several blocks of slow-going, the crowds dispersed a little and I could see a tunnel ahead of us so I charged ahead right for it.
There must be a light at the end of this tunnel
I figured I’d exit on the other side, find the light and the ramp for the 101 Freeway which would take us back to Monterey! Wrong! There was no ‘light at the end of the tunnel’!! Only more darkness.
Instead, we found ourselves smack in the middle of a downtown traffic jam with construction going on to boot. It was pure bedlam!
However, we did get to see Union Square
Not to worry though as we were in no hurry and we got to see parts of the city we’d never seen before. Again, the streets were just packed with folks. Eventually, we found our way to the freeway to take us back to Monterey and the safety of our RV Resort. Whew! We made it back a little before 4pm. We headed right for Marina Dunes Beach to give Molly and Rylie a well deserved run on the sand.
Just a very small 2 photo sample of our Cabrillo Hwy. drive
As a general rule, to prevent reader’s eyes from glazing over, I try to keep my posts to approximately 750 words and this one is well over that. Also, I’m of the belief that posting more than 15 photos per post is usually counter productive and tends to detract from my blog rather than enhance it. I think I’ve reached 16 so I’m going to save the rest of the story and photos for tomorrow or a next day!!
Have a great Sunday, and thanks again for visiting!
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