California Cruise - Day 3 - San Francisco

As we approach San Francisco. You can even see the light of the lighthouse on the point. And yes, it was foggy.

Always available, the bridge cam shows how close we were to passing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

We glimpse the bridge in the distance.

As we approach and cross under the Golden Gate bridge.

Alcatraz island.

Tug coming in to help us dock. It's amazing how much finesse they have to maneuver a huge ship into a small docking space.

We left the ship to join an excursion to see the city. One of the very disappointing things about Princess Cruise Lines was their dishonesty in their excursions. We reserved a wheelchair excursion that was advertised as wheelchair bound and guest only. We were placed on a waiting list for a while then the first night of the cruise found we made it onto the excursion and were thrilled with the thought of being able to see the city and have an experienced guide. When we were escorted to our bus it didn't even have a lift on it. If it were not for the kindness of another wheelchair bound passenger getting out of his chair and sitting in a regular seat, we would not have been able to go on the excursion. And the new bus we were put on was a regular bus, even though it had a lift. Not as advertised at all. But the guide was wonderful and the tour was great.

Found the bus with the lift.

Now settled in, waiting for the tour.

Looking back at the ship at the docks. Yes, it was raining. It cleared and rained hard occasionally.

As we leave the dock.

Looking down towards Pier 39, a conglomerate of tourist shops. Locals criticize the wharf as a tourist haven and not really reflecting the city. They may be right but the wharf is still interesting and fun. And as a former near-resident: never refer to the city as San Fran. It pegs you as a tourist and a yocal. It's either the city or San Francisco.

Boudin bakes fresh sourdough bread and serves a fresh bread bowl full of clam chowder or chili right at the wharf. Yummy smells! Nothing beats fresh sourdough bread made in San Francisco!

Fish stands we not very busy.

Downtown San Francisco.

Trans-America building in the distance.

Here are some scenes from some of the streets of the city. Notice how steep they are by noting the angles of the foundations compared to the street.

AT&T Stadium, also known as the home of the San Francisco Giants.

Union Square, shopping and hotel area near the convention center and cable car turnarounds.

We even made it into Chinatown, home to the highest population of Chinese outside of China.

And what's San Francisco without seeing the Cable Cars. Not very wheelchair friendly (exempt from the ADA) but watching them makes you want to go out and buy a box of Rice-a-Roni.

View of the Bay Bridge from the city. The bridge is a double decker and the one that collapsed in the earthquake of '89.

And some of the more interesting neighborhoods.