After our half day adventure on day one, Nicole and I consulted the travel book for some ideas. The DK San Fran guide came nicely equipped with an itinerary for a solid 49 mile cruise around the cities most prominent sites enjoyed by both tourists and the local frannies. Peep the google maps to give you a better idea (Google Maps 49 Mile Drive Link).

Fort Mason was our first stop and our first taste of the famous bay fog that blankets the city on more than a few days throughout the year. The sounding barges off in the distance added a natural soundtrack to the port city as we scoped out some of the ships in the marina.

Next up was the Palace of the Fine Arts and Exploratorium. At first glance, the towering pillars and domed structure felt like a strange crossover between and Italian duomo and Cambodian wat. Either way, it was really quite striking. As were the rest of the grounds.

Fort Point was our chance to peep the Golden Gate bridge from a solid vantage point. However, the thick fog managed to hide the bridge in its entirety but we enjoyed the eery scene nonetheless.

Lands End gave us a wider view of the beachfront and again, more fog. This was followed by the very Dutch feeling Queen Wilhelmina Tulip garden.

Shortly following we happened upon the Legion of Honor monuments that included “The Thinker” statue by Ronin that was housed in a very European square lined with stoic pillars and a clean marble flooring.

The drive continued south on the Great Highway that hugged the coastline and wrapped us back into Golden Gate Park. Probably the highlight of the trek, we walked a path around some gorgeous lakes and scenery that again , was enhanced by the low lying fog, birds and lush green that surrounded us at every turn.

The drive concluded with a cruise through the 60’s hippy-famous Haight Street and past the Mission Delores which is cities oldest structure dating back to 1791.

Not on the official itinerary but worth a look was the crooked street section of Lombard that gave Nicole a chance to really test her skills on what I can only guess is at least a 45 degree decent down a squiggly stretch of road that offers the passenger a thrilling view of the city, and the the driver…. a reason to wear adult diapers.

After dropping our things at the hotel we made our way back down to the Fisherman’s Wharf on foot in search of clam chowder for dinner. After finding some grub we walked the Pier 39 shops and took in the seaside scene.

Walking back along the Pier we discovered a full blown family of Sea Lions making themselves comfy on the wooden slip docks of the marina. They were quite vocal and seemed to be enjoying the gathering crowds as they squawked and passed gas repeatedly for all the hear….and smell, if you so chose. 🙂

Our night was only short one detail however, and so we hiked a few blocks over to the Ghirardelli chocolate factory for a hot fudge sundae. Needless to say, I will pay for this later at the hotel, but holy good chocolate god of mercy was it awesome.

Day 2 conclusion: San Francisco is quite a city with some gorgeous pockets and great energy. Even the fog seemed to add to the experience.

Off to the Redwoods manana!

Thanks for reading,
adam