San Francisco
Wednesday October 2: Day At Sea
After leaving Astoria Tuesday evening we sailed all day along the Pacific Coast and it was a perfectly relaxing day for everyone. The ladies had a "Spa Day" and I enjoyed my book. After lunch we played cards for a while. The views, all day long were just what I'd hope for on this cruise!
But the highlight of the day came when the four of us went to the "Crow's Next" at the front of the ship on the very top for a pre-dinner drink (where I had my "cruise drink of choice" - a frozen mudslide) and then went down to the specialty restaurant Canaletto, which is an Italian restaurant, where enjoyed an exceptional meal. If you sail on this ship, this is a "must do" experience!
Thursday October 3: San Francisco - Alcatraz & Sausalito
Despite the leisurely day, after dinner (around 8 pm) we were all ready to call it a day. When we looked at the program for Thursday we noted that there would be "Scenic Sailing" into San Francisco at about 6:30 am. We were up at about 6:15 am and were able to capture several images. By far the BEST was the one at the top of the page which Kim got of the Golden Gate Bridge as the sun was coming up. I also got some a little later, as well as a shot of the city and Alcatraz, where we are headed on our excursion this morning.
We met in the theater at 9:30 to begin our outing and were on the bus by about 10 am. We began our adventure by stopping at an overlook and the photo op of the trip....this will eventually become the banner photo on the web page:
We then headed on to Sausalito, which is a very nice little city (very high income) right on the water. But honestly, the 45 minutes we had to walk around were pretty pointless unless you're into quaint little shops.
Back on the bus and into the city where we parked just two piers down from our ship and boarded the ferry to visit Alcatraz Island. Certainly this was a big highlight of the day. The weather was just ideal, crisp and cool for the twelve minute ride. We got off and received an intro from the park ranger then began the climb to the "top of the rock." We were told that it was the equivalent of climbing to the top of a thirteen story building, except this climb came on long, sloping walkways. But we made it, all four of us to the top. Walked into the cell block itself, got audio devices and took the 45 minute self-guided tour. It was very interesting......
Probably T-H-E highlight of the day for Kim and I came shortly after the tour. Before we got off the ship I'd posted a photo of the golden gate bridge and quickly received a response from our great friends Claudia & Gary Wanlin, who live north of San Francisco. We'd met them on a Fall Leaves cruise in the northeast, stayed in touch for three years and then traveled with them to Alaska last June. She messaged me, where were we, and what were we doing today.....and that THEY were going to visit Alcatraz today! Seriously!!!! We texted back and forth all morning and were hoping to run into them after our tour. So as we came down the steep descent from the cell block to where the ferry picked us up I texted her that we were about to get on the ferry and hopefully we could meet them on the mainland. Immediately I got a text back, "We are in line to get on the ferry." I responded, "You're leaving Alcatraz now?" And within seconds Kim said, THERE they are! We dashed over to them and exchanged hugs and handshakes so happy to meet up with our pals. Such a great coincidence!
After we returned to shore Kim wanted to get some sourdough bread with was at a restaurant at Pier 39, just a couple of piers from where we were docked (which was only two piers - about 100 yards - from the Alcatraz pier). We quickly found Boudins restaurant where Kim had a Dungeness Crab Melt sandwich and I had one of their signature soup bowls in sourdough bread - Dungeness Crab Chowder. A great end to a great day.
Now tonight we'll have dinner at the other specialty restaurant on board, The Pinnacle Grill (where we ate with Gary & Claudia on our Alaskan cruise with Holland America). Then tomorrow we are at sea all day.
We then headed on to Sausalito, which is a very nice little city (very high income) right on the water. But honestly, the 45 minutes we had to walk around were pretty pointless unless you're into quaint little shops.
Back on the bus and into the city where we parked just two piers down from our ship and boarded the ferry to visit Alcatraz Island. Certainly this was a big highlight of the day. The weather was just ideal, crisp and cool for the twelve minute ride. We got off and received an intro from the park ranger then began the climb to the "top of the rock." We were told that it was the equivalent of climbing to the top of a thirteen story building, except this climb came on long, sloping walkways. But we made it, all four of us to the top. Walked into the cell block itself, got audio devices and took the 45 minute self-guided tour. It was very interesting......
After we returned to shore Kim wanted to get some sourdough bread with was at a restaurant at Pier 39, just a couple of piers from where we were docked (which was only two piers - about 100 yards - from the Alcatraz pier). We quickly found Boudins restaurant where Kim had a Dungeness Crab Melt sandwich and I had one of their signature soup bowls in sourdough bread - Dungeness Crab Chowder. A great end to a great day.
Now tonight we'll have dinner at the other specialty restaurant on board, The Pinnacle Grill (where we ate with Gary & Claudia on our Alaskan cruise with Holland America). Then tomorrow we are at sea all day.
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