City by the Bay 3

We didn't leave our hearts, but they have plenty around town

On Tuesday we activate our three-day bus pass, which will last us for the rest of our stay. Once upon a time in Abilene I used the city bus system because we only had one car, and Sharon sometimes needed it. That experience did not exactly prepare me for using the Muni.

For one, Google maps didn’t exist. Now, you tell Google where you want to go, tap the bus icon, and you receive precise directions on which bus or buses to take, when the bus will arrive, how long your trip will be and where to get off.

For another, multiple buses run the routes -- at least the more traveled ones -- and you rarely have to wait long until a bus comes along. Also, you can only get off the bus at designated stops -- Abilene buses would let you off at the next block after you signal for a stop -- but the stops were always pretty close to our final destination. 

Today we’re going to the Golden Gate Bridge, and we make it our first stop because we want to walk for a while on the bridge. Another small craft warning is in effect for the afternoon, which means the walk will likely be more pleasant in the morning.

One suggested activity is to rent a bike, cross the bridge to Sausalito, and take the ferry back. My eye doctor told me that would take a significant part of the day, and we want to see some other sights.

Iconic view of the Golden Gate Bridge with a redhead walking by. Colors
aren't quite a match. Statue to the left is the bridge designer.

The plan is to walk to the middle of the bridge -- not quite a mile -- and come back. Bikes and pedestrians share the same area, with a lane for each. The two lanes are about the width of a car lane, with occasional spots a bit wider. And it’s two way traffic, which creates a need to be aware of your surroundings as more people show up and crowd onto the bridge.

The view from the bridge is spectacular. Several turnouts appear along the way, and I could hang out at one of those for hours, watching the boats and ships go by. At one point Sharon notices that a ledge below us is nearly covered with change. Whether tourists are throwing coins down there or losing money some other way isn’t clear. But the same area has caught numerous ballcaps, no doubt blown from their former owners’ heads.

Bridge tower from the walking/biking path

Some of the multitudes of crafts we see entering the bay. I looked
the weird orange things up -- they're Sail Drones, self sailing craft
used for oceanographic research. Given that they're supposed to be able
to sail themselves anywhere, I'm not sure why these were being towed.
Maybe just a faster way to bring them in because they only sail at 3-5 knots.

Further across, Sharon thinks she sees a small pack of dolphins in the water below. I manage to get a picture, and when we look at it later, the critters look more like seals or sea lions. After blowing it up on the computer for a better look, I’m leaning toward seals.

What do you think? Seals? Otters? Something else?

While walking back to the visitor center, we see a bridge patrol car move in front of the northbound traffic and begin weaving across the lanes causing quite a backup. I meant to ask why they would have done that but must have been distracted by a shiny object -- or maybe the giant brownie I bought at the cafe for a snack. At any rate, the question went unanswered, along with one about the money..

Another area our hotel hosts suggested we visit was Union Square, so we figure out the buses to take and head that way. We plan to grab lunch, check out the shopping and grab a cable car back to the bay.

The actual square is an island in a sea of tall buildings. One corner seems occupied by the hop-on/off bus companies, whose sales reps are kind of annoying. but the rest of the area contains a couple of cafes, lots of places to sit and relax, some interesting plants and a couple of Hearts of San Francisco painted heart sculptures -- a series of them scattered around town. Seems like a popular thing to do. I’ve seen painted cows, dolphins and a couple of other things I can’t think of now. Tony Bennett painted one of the hearts displayed at Union Square.

Union Square

Tony Bennett's heart

Two things stand out about the square. First is the giant Nike ad that overlooks the northeast corner -- the infamous Colin Kapernick ad. Don’t know if the company thought it would be well received there or if it was trying to tick people off.

Please, no comments. This is not an endorsement, just an illustration

The other was how quiet it was once you moved away from the bus people. This despite the number of people, and the amount of traffic. It was weird, but I guess the surroundings or the plant life or something soaks up the sound.

We find a restaurant nearby that offers American comfort food with a modern twist -- according to its own description. Sharon orders a wrap, and I pick one of their specialties, chicken pot pie. I order the small one and am glad I did when the server brings it because it’s pretty big. And to my taste buds, it is delicious. A light, flaky, almost croissant-like crust with a filling to die for.

Lots of stores and attractions are located in the blocks surrounding the square proper, but now we’re here we decide to skip the shopping and head for the cable car stop. The car is nearly full, but there’s room inside, not ideal for viewing, but the operator is a riot.

The cable car we rode. We want to go again and ride on the outside
but somehow never managed to pull that off. (Photo by Sharon O'Connor)

The view from our cable-car stop. Hills? What hills? (Photo by Sharon
O'Connor)

Just as we begin the trip, he begins yelling at a woman on the outside of the car, saying he was near-sighted and had forgotten his glasses. Could she read a sign for him? She didn’t seem to react so he tried again. Again, she didn’t respond, so he says, “The sign says don’t lean out of the car!”

A bit further on he starts shouting at someone on the street who wants to board. “No drinks! No drinks!” When the man hops on, the driver says, “Man, you dirtied up our city.” The man ignores the driver. I don’t know what the passenger did -- maybe tried to ditch his drink in a trash can, missed, and didn’t bother to pick it up before boarding?

Still a bit further on the driver spots a man selling nectarines from the trunk of his car, which is parked at a corner we have to stop at. He yells out that he wants a nectarine and asks the passengers on that side of the car to relay the message to the vendor. Someone finally does, and the nectarine is duly passed to the driver. He offers to pay the vendor, but the offer is rejected. He tells the vendor he’ll see him again the next day, if he’s there.

At still another point in the trip, he lets the car go flying down a hill and shoot up the next like a roller coaster, then breaks into a laugh and points to one of the passengers saying, “This lady had a tan when she got on today.” He is inordinately pleased with this joke and starts teasing the woman directly.

Operating the car requires a full-body effort on his part, both arms and leg come into play as he rings the car’s bell, pulls and pushes its levers, and stands on a big pedal that seems to be part of the braking system. Fun to watch.

We reach the end of the line and head back down to the piers. Pretty much each day will end down here. We love watching the activity on the water.

Another daily routine involves stopping in at McDonald’s to take a load off and drink a cheap soda. This one has a couple of the do-it-yourself, touch-screen ordering kiosks, which are apparently not widely available overseas. Many of the foreign tourists watch customers operate the kiosks with a kind of fascination, chattering and pointing at the device, and then opt to order at the counter.

We walk down to Hyde Pier, which is part of the National Park’s national historical maritime area. Several historic ships are anchored there, which you have to pay to view up close, but the park also offers several free exhibits. One involves a man working on restoring a wooden boat using traditional techniques. Today he is ramming caulk between the planks that make up the boat’s hull. Tedious for him but interesting for us to watch.

Hyde Pier, part of the Maritime National Historical Park. The boat
behind the sign is the Eureka, a steam-powered, side paddle-wheel ferry
built in 1890

After viewing the free exhibits, we decide to walk back to the hotel again. Those hills seem steeper, but we know we can climb them, so they are also a bit less intimidating.  This night’s sleep will be a good one.