San Francisco

We arrived in San Francisco on Saturday pm 7th June for our last few days. We booked into our hotel which is conveniently opposite a cinema that does live sex shows. Behind us is the bank that Patti Hearst robbed back in the late 60s or early 70s. Whilst the hotel is OK inside the immediate area outside is a gathering place for the homeless & people that have been taking too many chemicals. In short, not what we would have chosen.
It’s convenient for the centre, however, with a tram stop outside that takes us through the town centre, past the cable car terminus and along the front to Fishermans Wharf all for $1.50. This we found out on Sunday after we had already booked an open top bus tour to familiarise ourselves with the city. The tour took about 90 minutes after which we immediately got to pay a visit to Alcatraz. What a spooky place & is it cold when the wind blows even though the city, just a mile away, is pleasantly warm with temperature in mid 70s. It must have been so frustrating for the prisoners to not only see but also hear the noise from the city. Alcatraz was first a military installation to defend the Bay & then a prison for conscientious objectors, deserters etc. before it became a the No. 1 prison for the worst criminals in U.S.A in the early 30s & closed in 1963 because of the increasing cost of maintenance due to its position & the damage caused by the salty air, erosion etc.San Francisco is a city that now largely depends on visitors for it’s income. The top 3 money earners here are Tourism, Finance & Banking & Car Parking fees & fines. It used to be an important port but with the decline in break bulk cargo brought in at the piers the city didn’t have enough space for a container port & the freight went across the Bay to Oakland. Plans are now in hand to find the space & bring the ships back.
Having done Alcatraz on Sunday it was time to go to Golden Gate Bridge on Monday. In the sunshine the bridge is beautiful, especially as the fog has disappeared out to sea for the few days that we are here, although the wind seems to be there all the time. Following this we had a walk round the City going through Chinatown & then back down to Fishermans Wharf where they have a colony of sealions making one hell of a noise as it’s the mating season There are hundreds of them beached up on pontoons in the marina.
Tuesday we covered other parts of the city including the crookedest street in the world & the Mission Dolores, the oldest church in SF dating back over 200 years having survived the 2 big earthquakes of 1906 & 1989 & numerous smaller ones.
We could see the end of the holiday approaching so one last journey. This time to Yosemite National Park on Wednesday. This was a full day out with the possibility of seeing bears in the wild & also the worlds 4th or 5th highest waterfall, the Yosemite Falls.
It’s high but not very wide & we didn’t see any bears. Still we did see one of the giant sequoia trees, it was a very sunny day & an enjoyable one to end with.

Pics are Pat on 'The Rock', The Crookedest Street, City Hall & Yosemite