We had just one day to see as much of San Francisco as we could and we didn't actually plan anything in advance. At all. In fact we were already over the Golden Gate bridge before I started to google anything about what to see and since the bridge is a toll bridge, we weren't really wanting to go back over to see anything on the north side, but that worked out perfectly. After a false start in which we actually paid to park near the bridge and then were warned by a police officer against leaving a car obviously full of luggage, we opted to start out with a driving tour that was, I am sure, a little all over the place and random, but it was fun, probably more so for those of us who were riding than for our driver.
Presidio. This was really just part of the recovery from our we're parking/no we're not incident, not sure it counts and it didn't warrant a picture
Chinatown. The oldest Chinatown on the continent? The biggest? Both? Something like that anyway, and the place that fortune cookies were invented. Unlike Chinatown in Vancouver, this was strictly a drive through, and we never once felt threatened by 'pig innards.'
Lombard Street. "The most crooked street in the world." I came to San Francisco knowing I wanted to see the bridge, but Kris had a few other landmarks on his list and this was one of them. Several switchbacks back and forth over a brick paved road. Admittedly cool.
Coit Tower. This old lookout tower was a great place to look down on the city and bay. Kris had to circle the parking area for a little while at first while the kids and I got out, but eventually we chased down some older couples who were leaving and claimed their spot. We didn't pay to go in the tower but there were viewing areas around the parking area.
Painted Ladies. Just a few of the really beautiful house fronts in the city and frankly, they aren't the most impressive, but they are the famous ones, go figure.
Haight Street and Ashbury. Apparently famous as the hangout of the Grateful Dead and for its general hippie-ness, again, Kris knew all this, I had no idea. The whole block smelled like pot, but the psychedelic storefronts are pretty fun.
Cable Car turntable. This would have worked better on foot, as it was we drove as close as we could and looked up the street as we went by. We got better looks at the cable cars later and accidentally.
Check in time at the hotel was 3, and it was only 2ish by the time we had finished all the drive by destinations we could google, so we decided to try our luck checking in early. We arrived at our hotel on the wharf by way of a narrow road with cars parked on either side and which featured 4 way stops at most intersections, that first climbed nearly vertically and then suddenly began to drop at basically the same grade. We couldn't get in our rooms, but we could leave our luggage at the front desk which left us free to leave our car parked somewhere without the concern of losing everything we own in a possible break-in.
So we headed back to the bridge and Crissy Field by way of the super fancy schmancy houses on Marina street.
Golden Gate Bridge!!!! We parked at battery east parking lot at Crissy Field. Again. From here we could get great pictures of the bridge and it was a short walk to and then up and over it. It was surprisingly (to me) windy as we crossed. We went over and then back and then took a trail partway out to fort point and then out on torpedo wharf where we had a good view of Alcatraz.
After we moved into our rooms we headed out to explore Fisherman's Wharf and get some dinner
First stop was dinner at the Codmother, a fish and chips food truck that was simply amazing, the best fish and chips I have had in a long time. And it only got better as we looked at prices at restaurants along the wharf and realized that we had nearly paid half the rate at the restaurants.
We finished our day walking along the wharf and up to Ghirardelli square, saw a WWII submarine, cable cars, sea lions at pier 39 and the occasional street performer including a man perched on a milk crate on the sidewalk posing as a bush and periodically peeling back the branches he held over his upper body and face and growling at passers-by. We found the growling bush considerably more entertaining than the juggler who had himself an actual stage on the pier.
One day. Whew.
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