Oh but one very last thing before we board our plane - or maybe two!
Firstly a very big thank you to Bev Edwards our amazing travel manager. We dream and she makes it happen - gets us there the best way possible, and organises just about everything we can think of. And right on cue when we are feeling s little glum waiting to board, she sends an email with documents from Wild Earth Travel that we need for our next adventure - Antarctica in February with Heritage Expeditions. Wahoo - brilliant Bev!! This trip we travel with Bev’s assistance and via Wild Earth Travel and Aurora Expeditions. It was awesome!! Oh also thanks to Nice Travel in Iceland for 2 spectacular days in that magic country.
What an amazing time we’ve had but we still had a few days to squeeze out. Those days were spent on or near water in San Fran - 'seas the day'! We wandered the street markets at the Ferry Terminal and drank peach lemonade, hopped on a ferry and sailed passed old and new incarceration facilities - ‘The Rock’ and San Quentin in Marin County (horrible ....), and stopped for lunch in Larkspur in Marin County on San Pablo Bay. As you do!
Yesterday good ol’ Carl the harr, haar or harl - sea fog, engulfed us as we headed west into the ocean after cetacea - in this case whales, as well as birds of course. We traveled 20 odd km out to sea and what did we see? Fog and water and a possible whale plus some birds. ‘Carl’ kept the lid on visibility, but it was great being on the water.
And then it dawned ..... our last day. What to do? It was a glorious morning so we jumped on a bus and headed for the beach, Ocean Beach. A slow wander along the sea wall brought us to the famous Cliff House when we sat in a window enjoying the sea over a couple of Cliff House Classic Bloody Marys (they were almost the same as the Caesars of Vancouver). A great way to end our time in SF and North America - I’m guessing we’ll be back!
These gorgeous creatures - Pier 39’s sea lions, kept us entertained for ages. They really are special.
So very San Francisco
I swear this gull was still there when we returned hours later.
Golden Gate Bridge was a ghostly shadow in the fog
The fog horn kept sounding its warning. I love that sound it reminds me of camping at Point Lonsdale at Easter - the fog horn sounded constantly or so it seemed. There were lots of dense fogs at that time of year.
Alcatraz. Empty now but for the ghosts of many men, infamous men. It’s worth a visit but a reminder of the darker side of human nature - from the top down.
San Quentin. Huge facility which is quite a leveling and sad reality.
Ocean Beach from Cliff House
If you get a chance to visit this, do it. It's fascinating.
Cliff House on the right, bird ‘house’ on the left cleverly iced with bird frosting! In the background you can see a thick cloud of fog still hanging in the air.
Delicious! We’ve just bought a bucket load of vodka duty free to make these at home - it’s full of healthy stuff, right?!
Thanks again Bev and get ready for more crazy travel ideas when we get home.
Oh, I love the Cliff House! Spent many happy hours drinking Irish Coffees there back in the early 70s.
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