San Francisco

San Francisco was our first port of call. It is a great city with many fun things to do. Our cruise ship was scheduled to be docked at Pier 39 for two days. It was chilly and windy during most of our stay - definitely not as warm as the Mexican Riviera would have been. I recommend visitors to San Francisco always have a jacket handy even if it is warm out. The temperature seems to drop drastically in late afternoon. Those who are unprepared will probably end up buying a souvenir San Francisco sweatshirt or jacket. Just ask Traci about the $20 brown jacket she bought:).

Traci and I had spent part of our honeymoon in San Francisco back in 1996 and had already done many of the attractions that I feel first-time visitors should not miss such as: Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Sausalito, Chinatown, and a city tour. As much as we enjoyed them the first time, we did not want to pay to do these things again. Therefore, during our first day in port, we wandered around Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf has been a part of the city's seafood industry since the Gold Rush days. Today, it also has many souvenir shops, stores, and restaurants. There are also some very good street performers to keep visitors entertained. We spent a little time looking at the noisy (and rather smelly) sea lions that congregate on platforms in the water. It's fun to watch them bark at each other as they jockey for the best lounging spot.

Walking west from Pier 39 on Jefferson Street, we encountered more shops, restaurants, hotels, and small quirky museums. We just had to make sure we watched out for the Bushman. The Bushman is a creative pan handler that pops out of a fake bush on the sidewalk and yells to startle an unsuspecting passerby. This is then followed by laughter and applause of bystanders that are already hip to the game. People put tips in the Bushman's cup and wait for him to startle the next unsuspecting victim. The Bushman seems to be a local legend. I saw people pose for photos with him. I even saw a guy wearing a T-Shirt with the words 'The Bushman scared the @#$% out of me!'

We finished off our wandering that day at a Walgreens convenience store where we bought a few odds and ends. I took a walk down the snack aisle as I love to do when I'm in a different city. Because of its large Chinese population, San Francisco has some really interesting snacks such as dried squid and shrimp chips. I ended up buying a bag of the shrimp chips. These puffy crisps had a slight shrimp flavor. I munched on them in our ship cabin throughout the rest of the week.

On our second day in San Francisco, we decided to rent bicycles. There are several bicycle rental places at Pier 39 and vicinity that offer the opportunity to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. It is an 8-mile ride on a mainly flat or downhill paved path that takes you along the coast of San Francisco, across the bridge, and into Sausalito. From Sausalito, you can catch the ferry back to San Francisco or you can continue another 8 miles to Tiburon and catch the ferry from there. Those who want more time on the bicycle can always bike their way back across the bridge instead of using the ferry.

We knew from our walk the previous day that all the rental places have pretty much the same rates. We chose Blazing Saddles at Pier 39 because it was close to our cruise ship. Additionally, we were able to use the online discount coupons we had printed from BayCityGuide.com before the cruise.