Day 8-We Biked the Bridge! 

We woke up to a stuffy room and headed to a simple hotel continental breakfast of toast, hard boiled eggs and yogurt.  Then it was off to Hyde Street to find Blazing Saddles Bike Shop and our bike rentals.  After signing several waivers and declining the insurance, we watched a very short video to train us and direct us to the Golden Gate Bridge via bicycle.  We were fitted for helmets, taught how to shift the bike and most importantly , how to stop the bike!   After a bike switch for Stacey to the Granny Special by a very patient and kind bike expert, and a little coaxing (and the promise of ice cream) for Mo, we were off onto the bike path toward the bridge. 

What a beautiful and picturesque ride.  Despite being told it was easy and flat we found a few formidable hills. The ride went from total overcast to spots of sun to sudden bursts of Buffalo like winter wind blasts.  The weather here takes some getting used to and we learned there are several micro climates depending on where you are in the city at any given time.  We stopped at the warming hut and found a coffee and some souvenirs and then proceeded Fort Point, a Civil War national park.  The girls got their books stamped and then it was time to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.  

What a ride.   After going up another hill we found ourselves on the outside pedestrian lane of this beautiful span with many lanes of traffic whizzing by.  We were on a pretty crowded pedestrian/bike lane with two narrow lanes of walking traffic ( a lane each way) and two narrow lanes of bike traffic (a lane each way).  It was like threading a needle sometimes and it was amazing--tons of people stopping to take pictures, not really worried about all the bikes buzzing by--it was a challenge, but well worth it.
The girls did a great job....with Anna running the GoPro on her helmet the entire way.  We stopped a few times to observe the surroundings, but made it over in good time.  

We gathered ourselves at Vista Point--and proceeded down the long, and pretty steep hill to a beautiful upscale seaside town of Sausalito--called the "French Riviera of the West".  We parked our bikes (but not at the bike valet parking area--really?), and arranged for the ferry ride back. We then found a nice Italian pizzeria for a Margherita pizza and a few drinks outside on a bench by the bay.  We did some shopping of course, and then went back on the ferry.  It was a great destination, and made for a nice afternoon.  


The ferry ride was great--the girls and Al went on deck to take pictures of Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge from yet another vantage point, large ships going out to sea, the beautiful Bay Bridge, and the San Francisco Skyline--all great! 

We docked, took our bikes off the ferry and proceeded to do some real city bike riding along the green painted bike lane of some pretty major thoroughfares--scary at first, but San Francisco is used to lots of bikers, and is a pretty friendly bike city.  

We arrived at Fisherman's Wharf and had fun shopping, eating a fish and chips dinner (Anna and Al), a crab sandwich (Stacey) and a hamburger (MaryGrace-hates fish!)---then we rode to Ghiradelli Square for some ice cream with Ghiradelli chocolate poured on the top...we loved the ice cream and the free samples.  Finally we arrived back at the bike rental shop to a round of applause from the Blazing Saddles Bike Shop folks--We had "biked the bridge!"-it was a great experience and a great day! 

Tomorrow we are on a Big Bus Tour--we will see all we can on our last full day of vacation! 

The nieghborhood where we are staying is beautiful!

An Angry Bird taking a bird bath...no drinks from this fountain for us!

Time to cross the bridge!

We did it!
Can't wait to see this footage from the GoPro! 

Now a pro!

Time to head back on the ferry!

Lunch Seaside in Sausalito

  

We did it!

Day 7:  Into San Francisco and Muir Woods

No need to wake up so early today after a great sleep in the Best Western in a neat little California Highway One coastal town called Watsonville.  Mo really enjoyed the bed and pillows...when we saw that the pillows were $15 we inquired about buying  a few, but then realized that that is the price you are charged if you steel them! 

Had to try to time our trip out to beat rush hour traffic in both San Jose and San Francisco--we were pretty successful, but we did not arrive into San Fran until about noon. 

Drove into the neat city of San Francisco...we like it here.  Took 19th street onto Route 101 which took us around a corner to a foggy Golden Gate Bridge!  It was very exciting to have that beautiful landmark come right out of nowhere around that corner!  We drove over it and then stopped at Vista Point just after we got to the other side...took some pictures and geared up for Muir Woods--one of our long anticipated stops.  

Muir Woods is in a canyon near Mount Tamalpais.  We drove up a more formidable curvy road than anything route one threw at us--it was fantastic....and scary! But we still had the presence of mind to buy some free shelled pistacichios on the side of the road!  

Muir Woods was everything we all expected and hoped for---the clean air, quiet, almost church-like atmosphere, and the beauty of the trees and forrest were an unforgettable experience.  There were many people, from many cultures there to enjoy nature and the giant, 600 plus year old redwood trees.  We saw a fawn feeding on the canyon hillside, and heard a few birds.  The Anna Hummingbird lives in this forrest too.  MaryGrace heard one small child say that the trees are so high they could "reach heaven"--it was great. 

After buying some post cards and other souvineers, and getting our NPS passport books stamped, it was time to leave to see a few other sites by car before it had to be dropped off by 6PM. 

We drove out of the canyon...this time it was even more scary as we drove up the canyon road with the drop off just to our right--the edge of a mountain right there with no guardrails or even curbs!

We drove back over the Golden Gate and into the city--Lombard Street, the "crookedest street in the world" was our goal to drive down in the car.  Once we started up Lombard, an extremely steep hill, Stacey got scared and got out of the car with Anna--they walked up the hill to meet us at the top--they had time because the hill is so popular, that we were in a queue of about 50 cars!  It was hilarious to see the girls try to go up this massive, super steep hill, but they did it, and met us at the top where they jumped back in the car to drive down this unique street with many curves!  It was cool. 

The next stop with the car was to visit the Mrs. Doubtfire house--the home featured in the Robin Williams movie, "Mrs. Doubtfire"--it has become a beautiful shrine to the actor/comedian who died recently--we enjoyed visiting it and leaving a message on the sidewalk.  

Off to the Marina Inn--our home for the next 3 days--a super old Victorian hotel in the heart of the Marina District of San Fran.   The room is a bit old and warm, but cozy and we are happy to rest our heads in the same place for the next 3 days! 

Anna and I took the rental car back to a spot in town--we drove 1,400 miles over this past week!  We walked the few miles back to the hotel and enjoyed the cool city streets. 

Tomorrow: San Francisco on bikes:  Golden Gate Bridge, Salsalito and Fisherman's Wharf---including a ferry boat ride!  Can't wait! 

Big Dog was by MG's side the whole trip!

Stacey packed our PB and Js in squish proof boxes!

A fine place to hug a tree!

 

The Cathedral of Redwoods

With the man himself:  John Muir

It was soon time to return our rental car...it got us around out west safely and in  good comfort--MG really liked opening the automatic back hatch door!

House from "Mrs. Doubtfire"

The "Trifecta":  regular fries, sweet potato fries,  and  onion/zucchini fries--all at Roam-an artisan burger joint in the  same neighborhood as our hotel

Day 6:  California Highway One Drive up the coast

Up and out early to get to Highway One, but first, Lenora, the nice young lady at the front desk gave us some directions to view the Hollywood sign close up--we decided to do this before leaving town.  We ended up driving back to Griffith Park, where we could not get in the night before, and this was great luck!  

We rolled up the steep, windy road--tons of bicyclists and runners enjoying the park this Sunday morning, and a fair amount of tourists like us up there to see the Observatory in the daylight and see the panoramic view of the city from such  high point--we were so glad we did this--what an incredible view--and what a beautiful place.  We ran across a statue of James Dean, one of Stacey's heroes, displayed at the observatory as the last scene of one of his most famous films, "Rebel Without a Cause" was shot here.  We took lots of pictures and enjoyed walking around this beautiful landmark before having to leave to keep on track to make Watsonville (outside of San Francisco) by nightfall.  

We found Route One and its curves and the Pacific Ocean and drove and drove and drove.  We were not afraid to stop--we drove up to Mailbu, a beautiful place where we stopped at a public beach full of people and surfers--Stacey especailly loved it here--so pretty, and sunny and fun.  We got our bookend picture taken by a wise man wearing a T-Shirt from our favorite series "Breaking Bad"--and he took the shot needed to hang on our wall--our family at the Pacific Ocean-to compliment the shot taking in June when we visited LeeAnn in Boston and drove to Cape Cod National Seashore where our Atlantic Ocean photo was taken! 

Sadly, for time reasons, we had to turn away from the coast for the much easier drive up route 101--also a beautiful highway due to the giant flowering bushes in the median, but not the same as Route One! 

We had to go--we drove on and eventually stopped at a subway near Salinas--we saw tons of farm fields, and even bought some terrific strawberries at a roadside stand--we all agreed the best we had ever had.  The area is also very diverse with many migrant workers living here.    

We turned back to Route One to see the town of Carmel By The Sea--what a stop--the parking gods shone upon us as we found a spot right next to the public beach as someone had just left and we made our way to the massive hillside beach to be present for a beautiful sunset.  The beach was alive with people, especially kids, have a blast--there was a massive family reunion of a family with members in town from London England.  We are right down the beach from the famous Pebble Beach Golf Club.  The girls enjoyed getting their feet wet in the Pacific once again, with the waters now noticably cooler, the landscape lacking palm trees, and now full of fir trees and cooler temperatures...after the sun set, fog rolled in--we were now closer to San Fran than LA...it was a great trip up the coast and we all left saying we would do it again.  

On to Watsonville and a fine Mexican themed, tile filled motel stop--what a day!