Thursday, August 12, 2010

Sights in San Fran

Yesterday we enjoyed a tour through San Francisco (courtesy of San Francisco Comprehensive Tours). We walked down Lombard St, the curviest street in the world - drove by Fisherman's Wharf, the Presidio, Golden Gate State Park, Grace Cathedral, and Alamo Park. We then drove to Muir Woods and the Muir Beach Overlook.

The curviest street in the world is quite interesting. It is quite steep, and I find it hard to believe that there haven't been more injuries - there are so many tourists trying to drive down and also take pictures at the same time. It is quite beautiful, though. Apparently, there are 40 hills [in the Bay Area], and as a consequence, seven micro-climates within this small space.






The trolley system in San Francisco is unique. They have managed to procure trolleys from around the country and a few from around the world. The funding for the trolley system was lacking a number of years ago and the city managed to convince the federal government that the trolley system was a national treasure.



The Golden Gate bridge was a site to behold. The fog made the entire structure a little difficult to see, but at least we could see part of it from the Golden Gate Bridge State Park. Sometimes, the fog is so thick, that the entire bridge is obscured.



We lunched in Sausalito and then took winding roads into Muir Woods. The California Redwood trees are breathtaking. Ninety-five percent of the trees had been harvested to build the Victorian style houses in San Francisco before an effort was made to preserve the remaining five percent. The trees can reach 390 feet and 29 feet in diameter. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the area a National Monument.

The walk through the park was moving. The pictures do not do justice to this majestic creation. This time was one of my favorite of our whole trip to the west coast.




5 comments:

  1. Thank you for all your pictures and information! I think I would have loved the wine and the Redwoods best - SOMEDAY, someday I'll go there.

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  2. Emily- San Francisco was interesting...I'm not much of a city person, and of course, I'm much less counter-cultural than the vibe there, but it was interesting -
    Muir Woods was incredible, and I loved the harshness of the Pacific coastline..I still have to post our visit to the ocean!
    Thanks for reading and for your comments!

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  3. San Francisco is on my "I must go there list". Great pictures, and love your post about your trip.

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  4. Mrs P - there is so much to see in such a small area...you would love it!
    I actually took a picture of a quilt for you - I'm sure you could re-create it! I still have to do another post and your quilt will be in there!! stay tuned :)

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  5. Kirs-I've always wanted to see the curvey street-it looks so cool & the flowers are gorgeous--aren't the redwoods magnificent? Years ago we went thru the Sequoiuah (SP) National forest-the one where you can drive through the redwood! I haven't had a chance to read all your posts-plan on catching up tonite--hope you had a great trip!

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