(No picture today - thank you hotel internet!!)

San Francisco ’08 – Day Two

Well, the internet connection here in our room is spotty at best. Honestly, it’s a flippin’ Dalmatian. It suggests that the connection is “excellent”, but you can’t seem to do anything with it. Picture loading is damn-near impossible. Great way to start your day…

Hotel Safety Tip #1: Do not open the doors to the TV cabinet, and then root around for something in the drawers below, without remembering that you have open doors right above your head. When you go to lift your head, there is every likelihood that you will meet (with great force) one of those open doors, resulting in one grand goose egg, which will play a starring role in the rest of your holiday pictures.

Oy…

Yesterday was one full day of activities. We had prearranged tickets to tour Alcatraz, plus two days on the Hop On/Hop Off sightseeing bus, which runs around most of the neighbourhoods of San Fran.

Alcatraz was something else – and before I forget, the bridge we drove under upon our arrival from the airport was the Bay Bridge, NOT the Golden Gate Bridge, which is clear across town. Hey, you see one bridge…

Alcatraz – there is one freaky sight to see. We did the whole meal deal, touring with the audio presentation. Hard to imagine life inside this cold, gruesome facility. I don’t think Elvis could have made Jailhouse Rock appear so appealing, from inside this joint.

On the odder side, the first set of cells we were drawn to were Cells # 110, and 112. Noticeably absent? Cell # 111!! Which we did find shortly thereafter, but this freakin’ number set continues to creep into my life, even in creepy places now! Aye Caramba!!

The Alcatraz jaunt afforded us spectacular views of the city while on the cruise there and back, AND the actual Golden Gate Bridge. We followed up the tour with lunch at Johnny Rockets, a 50’s style diner (also in West Edmonton Mall, last time we were there, BTW…), a far cheerier place than The Rock.

From lunch, we hopped on the tour bus, and embarked on a round-trip tour of San Fran. We drove through downtown, seeing Union Square, China Town Little Italy, and more – this is one diverse burg! Loads of trivia from the guide, about scenes that were shot here from Dirty Harry movies, and The Godfather, just to name a few. We’ll be spending more time in those areas today, even though the weather forecast isn’t so hot. It is, indeed, a cold snap, with snow hitting the ground in surrounding areas, but hopefully not here. Sheesh – how far away from Canada do you have to go??

The tour also took us right across the spectacular Golden Gate Bridge, and over to View Point, for even more spectacular photo opportunities, which I may or may not be able to share with you, thanks to this crappy internet situation. Ugh… Oh yeah, and a leisurely drive through The Presidio, also remarkable.

We ended our evening on the Wharf, at Tarantino’s. Fantastic views of sailboats decorated for Christmas, at rest in the harbour, and amazing seafood offerings on the menu. We needed a trolley to roll our way out the door – dee-licious!!!!

Better, run, we have more explorin’ to do today!

Chow(der) for now(der)!!