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. 

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. 

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. 

Alcatraz -- October 15, 2011

Today we played tourist. We parked at Fifth and Mission and caught a Milan car on the F line. It got to be very full. We got off at Pier 39. It was a warm day, but there was a cold breeze on the pier. We had fried calamari at a seafood place. There was one float covered with sea lions. A few were on the next float. One sea lion slept soundly on the farthest float. A little boy worried that he might be dead.  We assured him that the sea lion was alive.

We walked along the Wharf to Pier 45, where we visted the Musee Mechanique.  The machines had been rearranged since our last visit.  There were two baseball-related games that I had not seen before.  We played the French Execution.  My daughter operated the machine with the baker.  We could not find Peppy the dancing clown.

We went up Fish Alley.  A boat had a radio on and the news said that the Occupy SF people were going to be marching up Market at 3pm.  We headed to the F line terminal and caught the Louisville car.

We got off at Fourth and walked up to Macy's.  There were police barriers set up along the curb on Stockton.  Workers were setting up Holiday Lane.  

We went to Five o'clock mass at Good Shepherd, then had dinner at Subway in Linda Mar.  On the way home, we drove on Cape Breton but didn't see many holiday decorations.

I took the photo of Alcatraz today.

Playing Tourist #2 -- March 27, 2010

Today we played tourist. It was a beautiful warm day. We parked at Fifth and Mission and caught Milan car 1818 on the F line. It got to be very full. We got off at Pier 39. There was only a small group of sea lions, and they were all gathered on the farthest floating platform. We had lunch at Boudin, then walked up to Ghiradelli Square. We visited the soda fountain. I had a banana split, my first in many years. It was good. We walked back and caught 1076, painted for DC Transit.

We went to Palm Sunday mass at Good Shepherd. I took the collection. My wife and I were eucharistic ministers. I passed out palms after.