Wendy's trip log: California/Mexican Vacation: San Francisco

San Francisco CA
October 24th 2018

Despite making the changes in the Cruise intermarry due to the Hurricane, we made the best of it and San Francisco was a place we had never seen. We had heard that we would be passing UNDER the Golden Gate bridge at 6am in the morning.

We decided to get up early enough to get a good view.

It was actually impressive. (We were at dinner when we went under that evening) but I was so glad to see it in the morning light.

When we went under it was sooooo close. (Sorry my pictures are blurry)

I did not think that the ship would fit under this space. It sure looked tight. While sailing I watched a video of the bliss making its way through the Panama canal. There was about an inch from the canal way and the ship. It's pretty neat that something this big can squeeze into such spaces.

Although the color of this bridge with this lighting actually LOOKS pretty close to GOLD, the Golden Gate Bridge is actually painted "international" orange. Why I wondered, Well it is because the bridge stretches over the entrance to the Golden Gate Strait of San Francisco bay.

Pretty cool actually.

A few fun facts about the Golden Gate Bridge;. It is one of the largest suspension bridges in the world and held the number one spot when it was finalized in 1937 until 1964 when NY City's Verranzano Narrows span became the largest. Today the Akashi-Kaikyo in Japan holds the #1 spot.

Construction of the Golden gate started January 5th 1933 and was completed May 27th 1937. It took 10 major contractors and over 35 million dollars to construct. Construction of the bridge also can name claim to the invention of the "Hard Hat" by the E.D Bullard company of San Francisco.

Construction of the bridge did have it's share of fatalities 11 deaths the result of construction. This was a significant number and not the norm for such projects, however 10 of those men killed of those 11 when a scaffold fell through the safety net. That same safety net saved the lives of 19 men and those were listed as members of the "Halfway to Hell club."

The orange red color of the bridge was chosen to alert boats, be seen through the fog and fit in with the landscape. The actual paint used to maintain is an ongoing job and there is a competitive bid from paint companies. The color most resembles Sherman Williams "fireweed" if you would be so interested in the color for your home.

I watched the bridge all the way to port. It became smaller and smaller as we approached our day's dock in San Francisco. Up ahead is the Oakland Bay bridge. (I think, some of the passengers referred to it with a few different names. )

A pretty view of the San Francisco Bay area as our ship docked.

San Francisco was originally established by the Spanish from 1777-1821 at which time it became part of Mexico. The first English settlers arrived in 1835 and the development of a town began. In 1846 California was claimed during the Mexican-American war and was officially ceded by Mexico in 1847 the same year San Francisco was named.

San Francisco continued to be a slow to develop until 1849 with the California Gold Rush. (California 49'ers) In just one year the population of San Francisco went from 1,000,00 people to over 25,000,00 and with them came mass ships often left in the San Francisco harbor to rot.
Over the following years, the city continued to develop both in industry, business and with the military. The Pacific Railroad development and the very first cable cars offered increase in population as well as immigrants from several Asian countries . By 1890 San Francisco was the 8th largest city in the United States.
1906 marks a significant impact on the city of San Francisco when an earth quake created fires lasting for days and leaving over half the population homeless and over 1,000 people dead.
San Francisco came back strong developing most of the areas memorial features ie;Golden Gate bridge/ Oakland Bay Bridge/ and the development of Alcatrez, during the height of the depression. In the 40's and early 50's San Francisco was a major Navel city during WWII and the site where The treaty of San Francisco was signed ending the war with Japan.
The 60's of San Francisco was "hippies", art and culture. The San Francisco Renaissance as it was called met its height in the "Summer of Love" in 1967.
The 70's entered American thoughts around Homosexuality, the 80's was a boom of industry following with the last several decades around the internet.
San Francisco has certainly played an important role in American culture, beliefs and norms.

As the morning light began to rise, and a later glimpse off the ships deck Mark and I notice out there is an Island....Could it be Alcatraz?

Once we were cleared for departure Mark and I headed off on foot towards the direction of the Golden Gate. We had no plans for the day, just to wander the streets and see what we could see. First thing we saw was a Trolly Car and it was pretty apparent that it was going to be a COLD day. We were not prepared for cold weather at all. I pretty much wore two of my long sleeved shirts most of the trip.

This was super exciting. I have only heard of these modes of transportation and was thrilled to see them move along with the traffic. Clang Clang Clang....
We continued onward along the Pier and soon came upon the National Historical Site and Ferry for Alcatraz.

Mark and I did not take the ferry over to the Island or take the tour, but we did enjoy the park area.

There was a miniature of the Island with information about each building. "The Rock" was originally built as a military prison and believed to be inescapable due to the waters that surround it.

In 1933 it became a Federal Penitentiary and modernized to house some of the most troubled and infamous prisoners. Some include Al Capone and The Birdman of Alcatraz. Despite the belief that the facility was escape proof, several attempts (36 attempts in total) did occur. None were successful. However, there is still an ongoing question as if the June 1962 escape was a success or not. Four men (one missed his opportunity) had staged an elaborate escape which included paper mache dummies and a raft boat made of raincoats. To this day it is unclear if they truly made it to freedom or perished in the harbor.

The Island itself was its own utopia with apartments for employee's and their families, schools, social halls, electric towers and power generators.

We did not stay long but admired the area and considered a trip out. Most of the day trips were full.

The upper part of this picture with the light house is the Wardens house.

We enjoyed the gift shop as well as learning a few things about the infamous prison and made our way back to the street to continue our walk.

These sculptures were outside the Aquarium. I am not sure what/who they are.

Up next we arrived at Pier 39

This area is pretty cool. Located on a Pier (duh) is shopping, eateries, games, and views overlooking the bay.

BUT the best part of Pier 39 are these guys. We heard them much sooner then we saw them but there must have been 100's of sea lions basking in the water along the Pier.

These guys come to the area of their own free will in 1989 after an earthquake took out their original home. Records indicated the inhabitants of over 1,000 sea lions have been documents to reside in this spot. The home is protected by predators and offer an abundance supply of fish found in the bay. These guys are here to stay. I can't say I was all to disappointed of their choice in a home.

It was a bit loud, but they are sure cute.

We stayed and watched them play for quite a while.

They splashed in the water, smiled in the sun (or the lack of it.) took long leisurely naps or playfully played king of the pier with one another.

One simply just posed for the camera, like this guy. "Smile".

Close by was a lock of love. To bad I didn't have a lock to lock up my love to Mark.

We continue towards the end of the dock and gain a better view of Alcatraz.

and the bridge.

We continued along the shore line catching a few more fun sights along the way.

pretty soon we make our way to Fisherman's Wharf.

If you are an eater of the sea, the choices are plentiful here.

We even caught a stray sea lion. Maybe he was tired of all the "barking" on dock 39.

Boats are everywhere along this path.

We came upon the Maritime museum and historical park.

Some interesting ships.

Another view of the golden gate bridge.

It was super cold out but there were some crazies out there in the water swimming. I am not sure if this was for recreation or another reason. BURR!!!!