We wanted to golf at Lincoln Park in the city today, but the course was being repaired, so we drove down to Pacifica about 20 minutes south. Had fun playing 12 holes. We just ran out of time to finish the 18. Beautiful course with lots of targets...I mean trees.
We rode our bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge on a foggy day. It was difficult riding in that one side of the pedestrian bridge was closed, so there were many people (to dodge). Later we drove down Lombard Street ~ the crookedest street in the world. Ruth had fond memories of her trip to SF some 20 years ago with Carrie, Jayne and Violet. Jayne was the craziest drivier ever down Lombard, which she managed to find several times each day. She would stop at the top of each bend and wait for traffic below to clear and then speed down the hill. Very funny!
Our hotel, The Inn at the Opera, is in a good location near the Civic Center. We are close to the bus line and can get around town very easily. Our studio room was upgraded to a 3 room/2 bath suite on
the 7th floor of this boutique hotel. We get a breakfast every morning and homemade cookies each afternoon. Love it here!
Fisherman's Wharf was the first area we explored. We had fresh crab sandwiches, took a harbor cruise, went to the Aquarium on the Bay (see funny Mr. Ray below) and listened to a steel drum band. On Labor Day we took the ferry across the bay for the Sausalito Art Festival. We looked at lots and lots of artwork and heard some great music. They were having a Tribute to Woodstock with Country Joe McDonald introducing the bands. We sat in the shade and listened to Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat and Jefferson Starship. It was great to hear all those good, old songs again, although some of the original artists were missing.
We took a picnic lunch to Golden Gate Park and listened to the Golden Gate Municipal Band's weekly concert in the Spreckle's Music Temple. After lunch, we went to the King Tut exhibit at the De Young Museum.
Another day we went to Golden Gate Park with our bikes, passing Haight Ashbury on the way. Funky neighborhood even today. We rode through the entire park, which is larger than Central Park. On the western edge we exited the park and rode along the ocean boardwalk. Not many people there. Cold and riptides, but very pretty. The Academy of the Sciences was a highlight. They had an ecosystem exhibit with plants and animals from Madagascar, Costa Rica and the Amazon. The aquarium featured fish from all over the world. The most interesting spot was the Living Roof, which contained plants from all over California. The planetarium show, Our Fragile Earth, was incredible.
We had to visit Chinatown and ride a cable car, so we did them together. A local on the Sausalito ferry had given us the name of a wonderful restaurant there, so we wandered the streets until we found it. Yum!
The cable car dropped us off at Ghiradelli Square, so we took a look and sampled some chocolate.
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