Our home waited for us in Petaluma, CA as we spent 2 weeks in Hawaii. When we returned we had a day to spend in San Francisco before meeting with my sister, Katie. We love this city... the smells of the ocean, super-steep streets, cool (but crammed) homes, cable cars, Golden Gate Bridge, the many cultures, the piers, the FOOD...
One of our favorite meals was from the hectic Fish Alley at Fishermans Wharf. A dozen or so vendors crammed along the covered sidewalk selling all kinds of fresh, prepared seafood. People cram along the strip, many I'm sure just to eye the live crabs and lobster being tossed around and to watch the mayhem! 
We ordered a variety of goodies and got the best seat in the house... a stone bench by the parking lot with the smell of salty air, seagulls trying to steal our food, and a live band beside us playing for money. Perfect.
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| Visiting the sea lions at Pier 39 |
It was gorgeous and sunny, so we decided to take a bay cruise which toured around Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and provided beautiful views of the city.
Of course odd street performers seem to be a staple in every big city...
CREEPY!
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| Lots of beautiful flower beds here around the city. |
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| Cable car tracks! |
Boudin was another yummy stop. With a street view window looking into their bakery and the ever-present waft of fresh-made sourdough... we couldn't resist.
Another must was ice cream at Ghirardelli Square. The amount of peanut butter smothered on this sundae was insane... I'm thinking anything is better drenched in pb!
Before heading home, a drive down "the world's crookedest street" was in order. Again, loved the gps view:)
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| View from the top of Lombard Street |
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| View from below |
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| San Fran street |
Back to the city without much of a plan but to enjoy the surroundings and catch up with Katie.
We couldn't help but join the ridiculously long line of tourists waiting to ride a cable car, sure to brush up on the safety tips while waiting:)
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| Jim totally wanted to try the cool stunt on the middle left safety tip! |
We passed by Lombard Street, Nob Hill, China Town, and ended at a shopping area where Natalie was thrilled to find a 3 story Forever 21!
Back on the cable car for a trip to Little Italy in the North Beach district where we finished the day with a fabulous Italian meal.
Our Jeep reached a milestone in the midst of our San Fran driving... 30,000 miles!
Katie and the girls had never toured Alcatraz, so we boated to the island & took part in the fascinating self-guided audio tour through the prison.
The island was once home to a civil war fort, a military prison, one of the most notorious federal penitentiaries in US history (1930's-60's), and Indian Territory when in the late 60's, American Indians occupied the island for 18 months.
The prison, built in 1934, was built with 336 cells, each 5x9' in size holding a small cot, toilet, sink, a couple of shelves for personal belongings, a desk, and a chair. The island location, about a mile and a half from San Francisco's shore, was perfect for keeping prisoners from escaping... strong currents and frigid waters.
With a couple hundred convicts equipped with utensils, dishware, and hot foods, the dining room was one of the most dangerous places in the prison. Alcatraz prisoners were among the best fed in the prison system in hopes of avoiding riots during their meal "free time".
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| Kitchen knives were placed over tracings so guards could quickly tell if any had been stolen |
The men had allotted time for fresh air and exercise each day. Sitting toward the top of the bleachers would allow them to have a view of the city. At night, the inmates could hear the sounds of laughter and commotion across the water... torture, I'm sure.
Of course unusually dangerous or violent inmates didn't get outdoor privileges. Such men were confined to their cells 24 hours a day in the D Block. Six closed-front cells were reserved for the most severe disciplinary problems. "The Hole" included a restricted diet and often total darkness, though inmates never stayed here over 19 days.
Fourteen escape attempts were made during the penitentiary years. Of the 36 men (some repeated attempts) who gave this a try, 23 were caught, 6 were killed during their escape, and 2 were assumed to have drowned. During one attempt, known as the "Battle of Alcatraz", 6 prisoners managed to overpower the cellhouse officers getting control of weapons and keys. They realized they did not have one of the needed keys and when prison officials became aware of the escape, the escapees decided to fight it out. Two officers were killed and 18 injured. Eventually, the US Marines were called out to assist until on May 4th, the escape attempt ended.
Homes for the guards and their families were also built on the island. The warden lived in this 14 room mansion while he served the prison.
About 300 people, other than the prisoners, lived on the island at a time. Children would take a boat to school and women kept beautiful gardens...
We spent a day driving through the beautiful vineyards of Sonoma, stopping for tastings at Ledson & Valley of the Moon.
Point Reyes National Seashore is an hour south of San Francisco. The drive was beautiful, reminding us a bit of the stunning hills of Yosemite. In the visitor center we observed things like this huge gray whale skull.
Near the museum was a trail leading to the San Andreas Fault. A fence along the "earthquake trail" that now has a 20 foot gap, was in one continuous piece before the big earthquake that shook San Francisco in 1906.
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| Pretending to experience an earthquake:) |
The rest of our day was spent exploring the park. From the rocky cliffs we spotted several gray whales passing by on their journey north, discovered beaches full of elephant seals, hiked through fields of wildflowers... an amazingly gorgeous seashore.
We seem to get extra silly when Aunt Katie's around:)
(pretending to fall from the cliffs)
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| Skull from a California Gray Whale found in 1985. This female was 41 feet long and weighed nearly 40 tons. |
A sign like this only makes Jim curious...
So of course we went straight to the edge and found our first sight of elephant seals!
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| More elephant seals! |
At home we enjoyed a campfire and celebrated Katie's birthday we'd missed earlier in the month.
We wanted to see Katie's hometown, so we packed up and drove our home 5ish hours north to a super quaint RV park in Trinidad, CA. It was a rainy, but incredibly scenic drive past wineries, beautiful hills, creeks & streams, into thick forest with curvy, hilly roads, and eventually right through the redwoods along hwy 101.
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| Here US Highway 101 narrows as it bisects the tiny Richardson Grove State Park leading vehicles right through the beautiful redwoods. The California DOT has plans to widen the road, taking out many of these ancient giant trees. Locals call this section the "Redwood Curtain" as it keeps large commercial semis from entering the uncommercialized, quaint towns beyond it and are doing what they can to preserve the "curtain". |
Across the street from our new home was Patricks Point State Park where we enjoyed more hiking & biking, viewed seals playing, and watched for whales.
Next, we drove further north to Redwood National Park... more hiking!
It became a game spotting banana slugs hidden amongst the damp flora. They were everywhere!
...and BIG!
Lots of wild elk around the park, too.
...while Jim and I took a dryer trail above the canyon.
The trail was beautiful and dense with forest. We saw a clearing off to the side and as Jim rounded the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks, silently motioning for me to hurry over. Right in front of us, maybe 20 feet or so, was an impressive bull elk munching away on the grass. We were startled, but he hardly seemed phased as we captured our photos.
On our drive back to the campground we spotted whales in the distance and stopped for a windy, chilly watch.
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| Love our nightly campfires! |
Saying goodbye was SO hard. We just LOVED our time with Katie... and having an extra roommate this week was extra fun! We didn't even mind that living quarters were extra tight. We adjusted to the sleepovers with Katie on our pull-out sofa... which was also in the kitchen where I'd make coffee as they tried to sleep in the morning... and in Jim's "office" where he'd get up early to work:) And with only one bathroom, showers had to be scheduled... all worth it as we loved sharing this crazy life-on-the-road with her.
Time to move on to state 39... Oregon!
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A) First homebase in Petaluma
B) Fisherman's Wharf & Alcatraz, San Francisco
C) Sonoma
D) Point Reyes National Seashore
E) Patrick Point State Park & second homebase in Trinidad
F) Redwood National Park
G) Arcata
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