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We celebrated our 5th anniversary with a much
anticipated trip to San Francisco. We had a most wonderful time being tourists
and also felt very much at home in the city. We left Boston
by train for our 3 night 4 day cross country trip changing trains in Chicago
and then spent a week in the San Francisco
and the surrounding areas.
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The train provided beautiful scenery crossing the Rocky
mountains over the continental divide through more than 40
tunnels and later over the Sierra mountains into California.
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Travel by train was relaxing and gave us an opportunity
to make many new friends as we sat in the lounge car or during meals in the
dining car.
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We had a sleeping compartment which not only provided
privacy but relaxing beds at night. We also dined well on the meals that
are included with the room accommodations.
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During out 5
hours layover in Chicago we
walked our legs off. I think we walked about 5 miles finding places we each
had been years ago.
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This is the Chancellor Hotel in the heart of San
Francisco on Union Square
on Powel Street. The
cable car stopped right at our front door. A great place with great staff
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At the end of the
line, the operators get out and push the cable cars around on turntables. Ding.. ding.
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At times the
cable cars can get pretty full offering only a place to hang on as you
stand on the running board. As we found out, once in a while the passengers
even need to get out and push. A fun and exciting way to get around!
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Castro
District
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Here you see several of the antique trolley cars we also
used. Note the rainbow banners displayed in the Castro District. This is
the gay section of San Francisco and was a place that made us feel very
much at home the moment we got there thought the entire city was very
friendly and allowed us to be just who we are.
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We enjoyed many of the little shops and restaurants in
the Castro District one of which was called ‘Welcome Home’. On our last night in the city, we spent
the evening in the Castro having a great meal at the ‘Red Grill’.
We found ourselves talking to
many in the area and to our surprise, we found a couple people from New
Hampshire… small world.
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Being the
tourists we were, we headed for Fisherman’s Wharf and along the Embarcadero
where we found lots to see and do. A special place if you happen to like
fresh crabs.
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Driving our rental car was another fun experience. This
is Lombard street which is just a little crooked but
maybe not the steepest street in the city. We actually enjoyed driving in
the city and got to know our way around quite well.
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We also found a pub or two that we enjoyed. This one was
at Fisherman’s Wharf and offered up 85 different beers on tap. On the
ceiling you can see hundreds of other beer taps that have been used over
the years.
Again… it was a
chance to talk to some of the locals
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Here’s Jim trying on a Mini Cooper for size. Turns out,
this is a very popular car in San Francisco
so we looked for a dealer and had a little fun dreaming.
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Just north of San
Francisco is Muir Woods. A national park which
preserves a few of the remaining old coastal redwoods. These are magnificent
giants which have been around for thousands of years.
Looking up..
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Napa Valley
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We also spent one night in Napa
Valley, staying one night in Sonoma
and of course… we did a little wine tasting. It was a lot more fun than we
expected and we both learned quite a little about wines.
We also found a few that we just had to have so we ended
up carrying some bottles home that will be used for special occasions.
Here you see us at the Kenwood Winery getting a sample
from one of the owners.
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Monterey
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After Napa Valley,
we headed down the California
coastline to Monterey Bay
and Carmel for a couple of
days. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is fantastic. It has huge tanks, an aviary,
penguins, sea otters, and much much more.
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After Napa
Valley, we headed down the
coastline for a couple days in Monterey
Bay and Carmel.
The natural beauty was abundant.
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California Rt1 hugs the coastline and provides breathtaking
views of the rugged coastline and numerous spots to pull over to take in
the vistas.
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As we traveled north to Napa
Valley and south to Monterey,
we stopped to tour several of the Spanish missions, most of which are still
in use today. This one is in Carmel.
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I think we could easily get used to the northern California
life and the sunny and warm weather.
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