OCD Planner's ~ Jewel ~ 8 Night Pacific NW Vancouver to LA w/San Francisco Overnight

[mauimary]

Love your early am San Francisco arrival photos. We woke up just a little too late so I'm glad we got to see yours. You have some great shots of the Golden Gate bridge. Thankyou for sharing.

[clochette]

what a great review thank you, I love the pictures of the gardens.

[hatetotan]

Am enjoying your review. Nice to see pics if what I missed in Astoria.

[ace1zoe2]

what a great review thank you, I love the pictures of the gardens.

 

Am enjoying your review. Nice to see pics if what I missed in Astoria.

 

Thank you all so much! I appreciate your taking time to read & post.

[The Big Booper]

Great pictures of the bridge early AM. I am not a early riser so I missed it. At least there are yours.

 

Quality is fine considering the light conditions (murky and dark)

[ace1zoe2]

Great pictures of the bridge early AM. I am not a early riser so I missed it. At least there are yours.

 

Quality is fine considering the light conditions (murky and dark)

 

The ones I have of sail away are much better since it was in the early evening and from the heliport. I'll post them at the end of the second day in SF.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Firefighterhoop]

I was on this cruise as well. We all had a lot of fun and the ports were nice as we hadn't been to many of them before... As someone who likes to relax and not do much on a cruise another sea day toward the end would have been nice :D

[ace1zoe2]

Our first day in SF we planned a DIY adventure beginning with a trip to Alcatraz Island. I had purchased our tickets on line as soon as they became available. Since tickets normally sell out weeks in advance, I didn't want to take the chance of not getting tickets when we arrived. I scheduled our tour for the first one of the morning since crowds are normally lesser then. We really wanted to do the night time tour which goes in to more depth and offers the beautiful SF skyline with the sun setting behind it but it was not offered on the night that we were in port.

 

We came in to the new cruise port at Pier 27 so it was a short 5-10 minute walk to Pier 33 where Alcatraz Cruises departs from.

 

 

 

We arrived in time to view all of the signs about what life was like on the island and to see the diorama. After going thru security, basically a bag check, and presenting our tickets we stood in line for about 20 minutes before boarding the first ferry to the island.

 

We decided to sit inside the ferry since it was so cool and windy. It was a short, maybe 10 minute ride to the island.

 

 

Once off the ferry we stopped before a Park Ranger who told us a little about the island and introduced us to a former prisoner. The reformed prisoner, 80 year old Bill Baker #1259, talked for just a few minutes about his time while he was incarcerated at Alcatraz and put a plug in for the book he had written. He would be in the gift store at the end of the tour, available to autograph copies of his book.

 

 

At the beginning there is a short film about Alcatraz which we took time to watch. It lasted around 15-10 minutes and was very informative. Afterwards we followed the path up to the prison where everyone was given an audio tour set up that was included in the price of entrance. We toured the Cell Block while listening to comments from various people who had either worked or served time at Alcatraz.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2015 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

We learned about some of the notable prisoners held here, about the attempted escapes, what life was like for families of the prison workers who lived on the island, the closure of the prison, the American Indians protests and take-over of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

After touring the Cell Block we wondered through the prison gardens, took a look at the morgue, the recreation area for the prisoners, the staff housing and then went through the gift shop before heading back to SF.

 

 

The laundry area and where prisoners received their prison issued apparel, bedding and toiletry needs:

 

 

 

The shower area:

 

 

The standard cell:

 

 

Solitary confinement:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Cell Block:

 

 

The outdoor recreational area:

 

 

This cell is one of the 3 belonging to the escaped prisoners who were never found. They made masks and painted them to resemble themselves, put them in their beds to look as though they were sleeping and were able to escape thru holes the tunneled in the walls. The cells contain the actual masks from the prison-break. The bodies were never found and it is still a mystery today whether they drowned or had a boat waiting to help them escape.

 

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

We really enjoyed our tour of Alcatraz. It was interesting to learn the history of the island, to actually see in person the place that we've seen in movies and to view SF from this unique perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

Once we returned to the pier we set out for Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf.

 

 

It was getting about lunch time so we decided to stop for lunch before the crowds arrived. We chose the Pier Market and enjoyed a wonderful lunch.

 

Being as we were in SF, I had to try the Clam Chowder in the Sour Dough Bread Bowl and a salad lunch combo. It did not disappoint! I was the best clam chowder I've ever had.

 

 

Charlie tried the salmon and said it was great as well.

 

 

The restaurant was doing a great business and we loved being right on the water with the great views.

 

 

We strolled around the pier and the wharf area taking pictures and seeing the sights before continuing on our sight-seeing adventure.

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

 

 

 

If you look to the sidewalk on the right hand side, those are some of the bajillion stairs that we climbed while walking up to Coit Tower.

 

 

Coit Tower:

 

 

A few of the murals inside the tower that tell the history of San Francisco:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Murals:

 

 

 

Some of the views from the top of the tower:

 

 

 

 

Heading back down, you can get a feel for the steep inclines:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Miscellaneous things we saw along the way... the street car that we rode:

 

 

Some of the hills:

 

 

 

Some of the old street cars that have been refurbished and are used:

 

 

Ghirardelli Square and what $10 can get you (a brownie fudge sundae for one):

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

Our final walk thru Fisherman's Wharf before heading back to the ship:

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of pictures I missed from atop Coit Tower of the ship and area:

 

 

 

That was pretty much our walk-about day in San Francisco. There is so much to see and do here that you could stay a week and not see it all. We walked miles and miles and climbed hundreds of stairs. By the time we got back to the ship we were ready for some R&R in the lounge with friends.

[cruzinlady1947]

Really enjoying your review. I have been to San Francisco only one time and it was a quick drive though to all the highlights. We did go across the Golden Gate and went to the park on the other side for some awesome photos of the bridge. Your pictures are showing me some of the things that I missed, so this is great! Love me some Ghiradelli chocolate....:D We did manage to stop at Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli though.

 

 

Gwen :)

[The Big Booper]

The inability of our 70 something foursome to undertake hilly hikes precluded us from seeing all that you experienced. Thanks especially for the shots from the Coit Tower hilltop. I got tired just looking down the hillside from the top in your picture.:D

[ace1zoe2]

Really enjoying your review. I have been to San Francisco only one time and it was a quick drive though to all the highlights. We did go across the Golden Gate and went to the park on the other side for some awesome photos of the bridge. Your pictures are showing me some of the things that I missed, so this is great! Love me some Ghiradelli chocolate....:D We did manage to stop at Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli though.

 

 

Gwen :)

 

On day 2 we did an organized tour with a drive thru the SF highlights, Muir Woods & Sausalito... that's up next.

 

Thanks for continuing to follow along.

[ace1zoe2]

The inability of our 70 something foursome to undertake hilly hikes precluded us from seeing all that you experienced. Thanks especially for the shots from the Coit Tower hilltop. I got tired just looking down the hillside from the top in your picture.:D

 

Big Booper our 50-something bodies were trying to figure out what was going on with all the walking & stairs! The views were worth it though.

[The Big Booper]

We did Muir Woods and Sausalito the first day and completed the city loop on the HoHo the second day.

[ace1zoe2]

We stayed overnight in SF on Tuesday night and on Wednesday we would be joining 11 other Cruise Critic Roll Call members for a private tour through Dylan's Tours. Our tour would take us on a driving tour of San Francisco with a couple of stops for pictures, a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge in to Sausalito where we would spend about 1.5 hours and then on to Muir Woods for our DIY tour. Mary, who organized the trip, got us a great deal. We had a private 6.5 hour tour and only paid $51 per person. Much less expensive than the ship's tour and not giant tour bus that we wold spend 30 minutes loading and unloading at each stop!

 

Everyone meet in the Centrum about 8:30 on Wednesday morning and we went out as a group to meet Brendan (Dylan's brother) who would be our driver and tour guide for the day. Brendan was very personable and talkative. It was a native San Franciscan who was proud of his city. He had lots of stories to tell and was able to point out landmarks & houses used in movies and television shows.

 

Mary had originally requested to do Muir Woods first, then Sausalito and finally SF so that we would be back in the city in plenty of time for All Aboard at 4:30. Brendan suggested that we do SF first while traffic was good in the morning since everyone was already at work and school by the time our tour started at 9am. Then we would do Sausalito with time to get lunch while we were there and then we would finish up at Muir Woods and head back in to SF before afternoon traffic got too congested. His plan worked out wonderfully.

 

Brendan took us through all the main neighborhoods while regaling us with stories, facts and information about each. He took us up to the top of Twin Peaks where we got a fantastic panoramic view of the city.

 

 

 

 

We got a glimpse of the Tenderloin district, Chinatown, Downtown, the Financial District, Nob Hill, Haight & Asbury, Lombard Street, the Painted Ladies and more.

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

Lombard Street from below:

 

 

Various pictures taken from moving vehicle:

 

 

 

Another stop we made later on was what had previously been a domestic violence safe house. Some of the residents or workers painted the outside with messages and murals and then it was no longer safe since everyone now knew what it was. I really think this was just a bathroom break but the outside of the building was pretty amazing!

 

 

Silence is Murder:

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

We saw homes that had belonged to Janis Joplin:

 

 

The home used in Mrs. Doubtfire:

 

 

and the one used in Disney's So Raven:

 

 

We made a stop at Haight and Asbury for pictures and to stretch our legs. There was a market there were some folks picked up coffee and other got sandwiches to have in Sausalito. Some of the sights around the area there: