Sea Lions -- April 30, 2025

Thursday, we had to sign some papers at Francisco and Montgomery. We drove to Fifth and Mission and caught an F car. We got off at Sansome and walked over. After signing and getting notarized, we walked over to Pier 39. We had lunch at Boudin and then walked out to the candy store and then went to see our friends the sea lions. We could smell them before we could see or hear them. We walked out to the end of the F line and caught a car back. A French-speaking tourist had questions about the destination. 

Playing Tourist -- August 6, 2017

We got a late start today but we drove to Fifth and Mission and parked on the fourth floor.  We walked up Fourth Street and saw 1051 picking up passengers.  The motorman wouldn't open the front doors, and it was pretty crowded, so we decided to wait for the next one.  Unfortunately, while we saw a few cars going the other way, there wasn't another F car headed for Fisherman's Wharf.  We walked down to Third and caught an 8 bus.  My wife had never been on it before.  It was fun to ride through Chinatown, North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf.  It was sad to see the empty building that held Caesar's Italian Restaurant.  We got off at the end of the line and walked to Pier 39, which is celebrating its 39th anniversary. 

We had calamari and chips, then went to the Christmas shop.  We went to hear and smell the sea lions.  It was so crowded that we couldn't see them.  Walking along Jefferson, we found that it was so crowded that we could barely move along.  We haven't seen Fisherman's Wharf that crowded since 2001. 

We went to the end of the F line where we just missed a Milano car.  Nextbus said the next F car would be 21 minutes, so we walked to Bay and Powell and caught another 8 bus.  It got very crowded going through Chinatown.  We got off at Market and went to the Palace Hotel.  We visited the Ghirardelli shop and had Quake Shakes.  We walked on Mission back to Fifth and Mission.  We listened to the Giants on the way back home.  They beat the Diamondbacks for the second day in a row. 

Embarcadero Walking Tour -- December 18, 2016

Saturday I gave a walking tour along the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building to Fisherman's Whart to two people who won me in the community support auction at work.  We talked about how last week's king tide had lapped over the seawall.  We had lunch at Castagnola's.  The weather was cold but very clear.  

Fisherman's Wharf -- August 2, 2016

Today we played tourist.  We drove to Fifth and Mission and rode the F line to Pier 39.  We walked around there and did some shopping.  We had lunch at I Hop and then went to the Musee Mechanique.  I was happy to see that The French Execution was there and working.  We walked around Fish Alley and over to the F line terminal.  We were sad to wind up on an F line bus.  We went to the Ghiradelli Store in the Palace Hotel and had milk shakes.  We walked back to Fifth and Mission and drove home.

I took the photo of PCC 1079, which is painted in Detroit Department of Street Railways livery. 

Strangerhood -- Fisherman's Wharf -- July 12, 2014

The San Francisco Arts Commission (http://www.sfartscommission.org/) has set up a series of posters by artist Lordy Rodriquez called "Strangerhood." Rodriquez reimagines San Francisco neighborhoods as countries.  This is his version of Fisherman's Wharf.  I took the photo on 15-January-2014.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version. 

I was sad to learn about the passing of bassist Charlie Haden.  I think I first became aware of him when I took out an Ornette Coleman album from the Anza Branch Library. 

Dinner at the Wharf -- July 6, 2014

Last night we were going to go see La Traviata simulcast at the ball park.  We parked at Daly City BART and took a train to the Embarcadero.  We got on a crowded T-Third.  Even though we had Friends and Family early entry, the line was down past the gate at Second Street.  Things were poorly organized.  After a while in an unmoving line, we decided to take our all-day transfers and get on train back to the Embarcadero.  We got on a hybrid bus running on the F-line tracks.  We got off at Pier 39 and poked around.  There were a lot of people.  The sea lions disappeared a few weeks ago.  We walked along the Embarcadero and Jefferson to Tarantino's.  We went upstairs and had a nice dinner.  I had an excellent piece of sole.  My wife had sautéed calamari.  I took this photo, which includes F-line PCC 1076 among the thick traffic on Jefferson Street.  After dinner, we walked over to the terminal and caught another PCC.  They were turning most runs back at Pier 39.  We took BART back to Daly City.  It was a nice adventure. 

Today we went to Noon mass at Good Shepherd.  Our new administrator (pastor), Father Lu (Luello N Palacpac) celebrated.  His family name means applause in Tagalog.  He seems like an active person with a good personality.  I enjoyed his homily on humility.  We'll miss Father Jess.