You know that you have arrived at San Francisco airport when this sign greets you in front of your arrival gate. Yes, the Turleys have gone West to find fun and fortune (or at least a family wedding and some beaches). I will try to post each day but that will depend on the signal. (We will be spending a four or five days in Yosemite National Park for the wedding).
Our travels will take us from San Francisco to Yosemite to Santa Cruz/Monterey to Disney to LaJolla over the next two weeks. We arrived yesterday and immediately set out. We went to the favorite burrito place of one of my son’s — a place that he was introduced to by his cousin Zack Rosen (who is getting married this weekend). It was terrific but few of us could finish even the regular burrito.
We then went to the wharf area and took one of my favorite parts of this beautiful city: the old street cars. I can simply sit and watch these cars all day (as my kids have complained). These cars were first only used as part of The Trolley Festival until some genius thought of introducing a permanent F Line with cars from around the world –restored and maintained by the city. Fourteen such cars were acquired second-hand from Philadelphia and those were soon joined by car from Chicago, Baltimore, and places as far as Milan. (There are ten Peter Witt style cars from the city of Milan, Italy built in the 1920s).They are gorgeous and a lot of fun to ride in.
We then walked a lot around the water from the San Francisco Ferry Building on The Embarcadero down to the famed Fisherman’s Wharf where we watched the seals and looked at Alcatraz island (where we are going this morning). We ended up eating that the well-regarded Hog Island Oysters. The oysters were fantastic and the cocktails quite good as well. It was a bit of a line but the staff is very helpful and friendly. 
It was pretty windy as these pictures show, but of course gorgeous.
It was a great start to our vacation (despite my throwing out my back on the plane). Now on to Alcatraz!
Ha, i took the same picture with the same amazement in the SF airport
My family and I went there last month. I had one of the best meals ever in a little restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf. We stayed at a quaint little hotel in Haight-Ashbury that was a former apartment house. Unfortunately, the area is worse than when I was there in 2007. Golden Gate Park, across the street, has a lot of homeless and drug dealers. Anyway, San Francisco is an exciting place to visit.
Really Interesting. I live in the UK, but I have always wanted to go there
The Science Geek
http://www.thesciencegeek.org
:). My parents took us on a trip with this identical itinerary 50 years ago . And SF is still my favorite city. Enjoy!
Visit the cable car museum and get a foot long section of the cable as a souvenir. I’m not one for photos and souvenirs but this is unique.
Great place to enjoy Nature and experience directly the benefits of our beautiful, bountiful and benevolent universe.
I was at UC Berkeley (1962-64) at the start of the hippy movement and had to go to Walnut Creek to enjoy a cold beer!
DBQ, I put SF restaurants #1 in the US. Then Boston, NYC, Chicago and DC, in that order, to round out the top 5.
I lived in the Bay Area when I worked at United and loved the area, and Yosemite is gorgeous, so I know you will love that. I had a similar experience when I moved out there to what you had at the airport. A classmate of mine had also been hired by United, so we decided to get out there together and get a two bedroom apartment. We then went to the bank to open some accounts and when we told the guy we wanted to open some checking accounts, he asked if it would be a JOINTaccount! We looked at each other and started laughing. NOW we knew we were really in CA. We told him NO that we were from Texas where such things are not discussed openly back then.
Welcome to my old stomping grounds. I grew up in the Santa Clara Valley and attended College in SF, worked and lived in SF or many years. It was then a fun, exciting city for a young person. My family now lives north of the Golden Gate in the Marin/Sonoma areas and in Pacific Grove. The area is still beautiful, if over populated now. Gone are the open spaces and orchards of the fruitful Santa Clara Valley, plowed under and replaced by asphalt and row upon row of beige McMansions. Alas. Things change sometimes not for the best. I couldn’t abide the changes, crowding, crime and the extreme left leaning politics of the area and moved out long long ago. I must say….I DO miss the restaurants 😉
Still, the scenery is beautiful and the weather, usually, sublime. It doesn’t get better than the coastal Santa Barbara and Paso Robles areas.
Enjoy spectacular Yosemite park. Thank goodness it was protected.
Just remember, when you are in SF you are NOT in Northern California. There is another 1/3 of the state above you. State of Jefferson FTW.
😀
The Alcatraz tour is a good one. My bride and I chuckled when we walked into Alcatraz. We both worked @ Leavenworth and the interior cell blocks, dining hall, etc. look EXACTLY like Leavenworth. As few know, the Bird Man of Alcatraz did much of his work @ Leavenworth. Stroud was a real SOB, a genius psychopath. I would suggest a Hearst Castle stop if you are driving the coast. I always enjoy your travelogues.
Oh goody, another trip I get to vicariously take with you! Thanks JT! You would make a great travel journalist. Take lots of pictures…….
Linda
We lived in Alameda for 14 years. Our son was born there and learned to ride a bike in one of the Bay Area’s hidden gems. Our favorite thing was to bike to the ferry, ride across the bay to SF and then ride the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf for ice cream and then back home. There is no better excursion for a kid, except of course an afternoon game at the ball park on the water. The Bay Area is one of the best places in the world.
Have fun and try to Bike the Bridge! It is a fun experience.