The city of San Francisco, formally known as Yerba Buena, sits on the top of a narrow peninsula atop of 40 hills. The peninsula is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the San Francisco Bay on the other. This makes it one of the largest land-locked harbors in the world The city still holds the traditional spirit of the past which is evident in the preservation of their historic buildings and the famous cable cars.
The area was originally established in 1776 when the Spanish Military post, also known as the presidio, was begun at the end of the peninsula. Later that same year, the Mission of San Francisco de Asis was found by a ground names the Franciscan fathers. Several years later there was a trail established which linked the presidio and the mission. Eventually there was a halting place erected between the two points. The area was called El Paraje de Yerba Buena. It remained that way until 1835, when it officially became Yerba Buena.
Today, San Francisco is an important industrial, travel, and financial center. It is often called the “Wall Street of the West.” The port handles large quantities of cargo yearly, and is also listed as one of the top 10 ports in the world for passenger traffic. Between the beautiful hills, and the San Francisco Bay it is not very hard to understand why so many people leave their heart there.
Our trip to San Francisco was a very fun and interesting one. It was late when we got there, but we had fun driving around and looking at the city. We ended up driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and ended up in the Presidio .
The next morning we decided to go down to Fisherman’s Wharf . We walked around a lot and did some souvenir shopping. We also got tickets to go to Alcatraz later that afternoon. We had lunch, and waited for our boat to take us to Alcatraz.
We finally got to Alcatraz , where we were met by tour guides. It was interesting to see what was left of it. Our tour guide showed us all around the outside of the building and gave us some history about the old prison. He told us that such famous people as Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Robert Stroud, AKA...the Birdman of Alcatraz, had been incarcerated there. As we were walking around, he showed us some places where movies had been filmed.
He finally left us at the entrance of the building where we started our self guided tour. We paid for tape players that gave us information about what we were seeing. It was weird to walk around and imagine what it was like when prisoners were held there. We got so involved into it that we stayed to long and had to run back to catch the last boat back. We definitely didn't want to stay there overnight!!!
By the time we got back from Alcatraz, we were really tired, but we did have enough energy to go to dinner and Ghirardelli Square for dessert. We had dinner at Francisco’s right off of Pier 39. It was nice to eat right off the water. The food was good, and it had a romantic atmosphere. As I said, after dinner we went to Ghirardelli for dessert. The place was packed with a hour wait, just for desert. We decided to just walk through the store and buy a couple of candy bars. They were so good.
The following day we got up and headed toward the Golden Gate Park . We bought a package deal which included the Steinhart Aquarium, the Morrison Planetarium, the Asian Museum of Art, and the de Young Memorial Museum. We hit all of them but the De Young Memorial Museum. We just ran out of time before they closed. Oh well, maybe next time.
It was my birthday, so that evening we decided to go to a really nice restaurant for dinner. We ate at Mason’s (no longer therenow) in the Fairmont Hotel. It was one of the best dining experiences that either of us had ever experienced. They were very attentive, and we never had to ask for anything. They were always there to help, yet not enough to ruin our meal. Needless to say the dinner and service was great. The whole evening was perfect.
The next morning we were a little sluggish from drinking too much wine the night before, but it was worth it. Unfortunately it was our last whole day in San Francisco, so we had to make it count. I’ll skip the morning details because they weren’t fun, but the afternoon was fun. We stopped at Treasure Island on the way into San Francisco.
Treasure Island Museum is a museum that displays the history of the Navy, The Marine Corps, and The Coast Guards. Some of the highlights are the 1939-1940, The Golden Gate International Exposition, history of the Bay Bridge, and the China Clipper Flying Boats. We were there for a couple of hours, than headed into San Francisco.
Once we got into San Francisco we went to the Exploratorium. This place is a lot of fun. This place has over 600 interactive gadgets. Visitors are encouraged to see, touch, hear and feel, while exploring the fields of science, mathematics, technology, animal behavior, and human perception.. There were so many things to do that it’s hard to remember all of them. Unfortunately we didn’t have as much time there as we would have like to. It is a great place for kids and adults. We are definitely going to go there again the next time we’re in San Francisco. Here is their web page if you would like to check it out...The Exploratorium
On another trip we went to to see AT&T Park where the San Francisco Giants play. I am not against the Giants now that Bonds is gone, so I was eager to see the park. It is absolutely amazing. It is still one of my favorite parks in MLB. Of course I am still partial to Angels Stadium, but AT&T is hard to beat. Here is a link to the San Fransisco Giants and AT&T ParkI want to list some things to do in San Francisco, but I am having a problem deciding what to list. There are so many things to see and do. Suffice it to say, you will not be bored. Again, the transportation is awesome and is definitely worth taking since you can’t park anywhere, anyway. As far as things to do, just get a good travel guide and you should have a great time on the bay.
Here are a few PICTURES OF AT&T PARK for you to enjoy. You will have to sign up for a Walgreens account, but it is free!
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Page last updated on 8/10/2014
