Flour power

I dropped my sister and my niece off at the hotel and drove off to return the car to the rental company. And I got a taste of what it was like to drive in San Francisco. The GPS took me to one of the steepest streets. I drove up, and arrived at an intersection. My bonnet was pointing skywards, and blocked my view of anything in front of me. I tried standing up in my seat to see over the bonnet, but to no avail. I drove slowly forward until it tipped down enough for me to see. I managed not to run anybody over. Next, the GPS led me down another equally steep street. And then I had the other type of problem. When I was crossing a street, which was flat of course, it felt like I was driving off a cliff. I drove slowly towards the edge, and the bonnet dipped down. Allowing me to see that I had again succeeded in not running anybody over. In the end, I found the entrance to the rental company. I dropped off the car and walked out into the streets of San Francisco.
I didn't know exactly how to get anywhere, and where to go, so I asked the first weird guy I could find in the area. A 6 foot 10 guy wearing running shorts and tank top, and with a walking speed that would probably land him a medal in the olympics, but a walking style that would not. He proved to be the best guy to ask, which I guess just proves the fallacy of preconceptions about others. He gave me thorough instructions on block by block level where to go and not. Which tram, bus or street to take to get to anywhere. After a few minutes, I was packed with information, and he left me with a big smile, before he was greeted by a guy in a suit walking past him. I had obviously encountered the local celebrity.
Of course, with a short-term memory of an average gold-fish, by the third block, I had forgottten everything. So I just walked towards the sea. And ended up on at the Embarcadero area instead of Fisherman's Wharf. Guess I shouldn't apply for a job at Garmin...
I decided to stay in the vicinity of the Vaillancourt Fountain, waiting for my sister and my niece to arrive. They were walking/tramming to where I was. It was, as is common to this city, cold. Or at least to me, after a few weeks getting used to warm weather. The San Francisco fog drifted overhead, giving an extra chill in the air.
My sister and niece arrived and we went to the ferry building and had some dinner. Before walking back to our hotel via the Transamerica Pyramid. One of the most noticable buildings in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the fog engulfed most of it. But I did get a photo of it from a distance the day after.

The "pyramid" as seen from the Aquatic Park Pier

We got up, had breakfast and stepped out into the new day. My sister and niece was heading out to find a tattoo artist, while I wanted to get down to Fisherman's Wharf. I took the bus this time. We had all walked a lot yesterday, so I opted for the easy way down. We had purchased buscards from a drugstore close to our hotel. And bought some snacks for the day too.
I got off the bus at its end stop in Van Ness avenue, and walked the last bit down to the sea. There were nobody there. Except for sea lions and sea gulls. I walked to the end of the Aquatic Park Pier. It gave me a great view of the Golden Gate, Alcatraz and the city centre.
We had planned to go to Alcatraz, but due to my lack of planning, we were too late booking tickets. This was my fourth time in San Francisco, and I still haven't been there. Maybe next time. If there are a next time...

Old ships in the Maritime National Historic Park

Alcatraz

Along the shore of the Maritime National Historic Park, there is a beach. I noticed something splashing in the waters outside it, I assumed they were sea lions. But was surprised to find that they were people swinning in the cold waters. I don't know if it was training for competition or just for "fun". But it did look cold. The walk on the beach was nice.

Guess he isn't very popular here...

On the beach

As I was still waiting for the other two, I had a walk on Jefferson street to see the sights. And thre tourist traps. One of which was a wax museum. They had a few of their statues on display on the street. A few very familiar faces here...

Dinner tonight maybe?

Goooood morning, Robin Williams!

Another place of a type that can lure me in no matter where and when : A candy store. And I found the perfect combo :

Bacon and chocolate? Staple food...

I mean, what isn't there to like? Fisherman Wharf was the usual tourist spot. Loaded with tourists, street performers, souvenir shops, restaurants. And sea lions.

Sea lion invasion

My sister and niece arrived, and we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe at pier 39, before exploring the area with them. One place I wanted to show them, was a bakery I walked passed earlier that day. The Boudin Bakery. The smell from the shop is just amazing. And they make sourdough bread. San Francisco style. They claim their "mother dough" is a continuation from their original sourdough back in 1849. At the time, the story goes, the original baker took a jar with a mix of water and flour and set it outside in the San Francisco air. Since yeast spores are naturally occuring everywhere, a few hours later, the mix was bubbling. Indicating that yeast spores had settled and had started devouring the sugars. And this was the start of mother dough. Every place on earth has their own type of yeast, and this supposedly makes the taste slightly different. So San Francisco sourdough is something you will not find anywhere else. Whether all this is true or just a great story, I don't know. But it is a great story. And the bread is tasty, and smells wonderful!
Inside the shop, they had an intricate system of track where bread and buns and shaped breadstuff was moved around in baskets. Fun for the kids! Like me...

Bread heaven

You are so cute I could eat you up!

We had planned to go to the aquarium on the pier, but was told by a waiter at Hard Rock to rather go to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Slightly more expensive, but way more to see. Basically, more bang for your bucks! As usual, we decided to walk to the museum. Our hotel was right next to Presidio Park, so we walked to see the Golden Gate first. It still wasn't clear of the fog, but slightly better.

The walk to Golden Gate Park was nice. Taking us through streets lined with houses and shops. A better view into the ordinary part of San Francisco, instead of the tourist sites. The museum was right in the middle of the park. And it was extensive, as promised. With a giant aquarium, its own planetarium, a several stories tall butterfly sanctuary and other stuff. We spent several hours there. Taking it all in. Enjoying the beauty of fish, snakes, insects and butterflies.

How is it hanging?

"She looked soooo cheap in those new feathers. I just couldn't watch!"

A large butterfly. About 3 inches "tall" in this image.

Can you spot the insect here?

I zzzzzzzay! You look like you need an apple

Butterfly feast

Tunnel under the aquarium

I'm just gonna hide in here where noone can see me!

Rrrrrribbit!

Albino croc

Corals

In the science museum, they also had a pendulum "clock" that knocked down metal pins as time passed.

Probably the most popular thing in the museum : Feeding of the penguins. One guy feeding them, and a lady noting how many fish each of them has received.

At the end of the day, we walked out on the Golden Gate. The wind was cold, but we persisted and managed to walk to the first pillar, where we had a great view of San Francisco and the windsurfers and dolphins playing below.

Golden gate in all its beauty

Dolphins swimming below

We went back to our hotel and started packing. Our bags where brimming with all kinds of stuff, and we feared they would be too heavy. Most of what made them heavy, was candies... Specifically M&Ms. They have a lot more types in the US than in Norway, so we bought family size packs of our favorites to bring home. Amounted to a few kilos.
Our American trip was coming to an end. We had seen a lot. Covered a lot a states. Seen a total eclipse of the sun. Made new friends. Eaten a lot of food and candies. Had our laughs. Our fights. Our joy.
The next day, we got up and had breakfast before our driver came to pick us up to take us to the airport in Oakland. As we drove out of San Francisco, we had a look back at the Golde Gate. The skies had finally cleared, and there it was. In all its glory. With the sun shining down on it. A fitting farewell, I guess.
A few hours later, our plane took off into the night. The lights of San Francisco disappearing behind us.

Ragnar
Signing off.

Final note : Since most of this blog series have been written half a year after the actual trip, some details and timelines might be slightly off. But they are as I remember them.