9.18.2012

USA Road Trip Day 16

Departure and Arrival: Cupertino, CA (drive into San Francisco for the day)
Miles: 102.5
Hours: 3
Gallons: 12.7

"If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair"...we didn't, but we did come decked out for winter. The high today was suppose to be 61 degrees! It took forever to drive into the city because the traffic was packed. We finally made it at 10am, after our short, 45 minute drive had doubled! We started by trying to get tickets to Alcatraz, but they were already sold out for the next two days. Bummer! So, we took our time looking at the 15 foot long 5 foot wide model of the prison and took off to Pier 39 instead. This place was basically another Myrtle Beach crammed full of Europeans and Asians and souvenir shops! We ate the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, which is the thing to do here. It was a fun experience, but my mom makes the best clam chowder and this stuff didn't stand a chance! We saw the sea lions which basically live at the pier. All they did was either sleep in the sun or fight each other...it was pretty entertaining and made me want to visit a zoo soon to see more funny animals. We walked down to find the Fisherman's Warf and Ghirardelli Square. On the way, this old man jumped out from behind a bush and scared us to death! Apparently this guy has a bush that he hides behind on the sidewalk and gets a kick out of throwing up the bush, revealing himself and yelling out at the tourists. Well, let me tell you, it works! It was hilarious to see him do this to other people. We were warned about him and he still caught us off guard! The craziest thing was that we were dressed for winter and some San Franciscans were swimming laps in the harbor! We were told that some people even go as far as Alcatraz, which is a mile and a half swim in freezing cold water! It was uncomfortable just to put my toes in, but there were a ton of men that looked like they were enjoying their midday swim! We found the most crooked road after walking up the steepest hills that I have ever seen...oh my goodness!!! I would NEVER drive a car here! From there we walked to the Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill to try to see some wild parrots that we heard about, but didn't see them. However there was a great view of the city! Finally, after five hours walking around the city and up and down enormous hills, we left and had dinner at In-N-Out Burger. We were wiped out and our legs are like jello! Tomorrow morning we will start our drive to the Redwoods and on the way we will drive over the Golden Gate Bridge!

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