Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 8 years and 9 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

Today we were tourists in the City by the Bay, and we saw/did a lot!

Our morning started with a walk to Ghiradelli Square, which turned out to be mostly closed that early. There was heavy fog out on the bay and the breeze was brisk, another nice change from the high temperatures we had seen so far on the west coast. We had breakfast at Starbucks and then walked around the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Based on a recommendation from our friend last night, we sought out the Musée Mécanique, an amazing antique arcade that has everything from coin operated puppets to classic video games like Pole Position. My sister, daugher, and I, re-enacted Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals on a classic domed table hockey pole game (and the “Blackhawks” scored at the buzzer to win).

We didn’t have the time to dedicate going to Alcatraz (and the tickets were sold out anyway) so next we walked to Pier 43 to take a bay cruise on the Red and White Fleet. The boat took us out on the bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz Island, and back, with narration of the sights via a walkman-like device. Back at Pier 43, we walked across the street to Boudin’s and took the bakery tour, watching their famous sourdough bread get made. The restaurant itself was crowded so we walked down to Pier 49, got a glimpse of a single sea lion on the docks, and had lunch at the Boudin’s there.

Next we wanted to ride a cable car so we walked back to Hyde Street. The cars were stacked up and the line was loooong so we decided to try and walk up Hyde to Lombard instead. It was quite a workout but we made it and showed my daughter one of the most crooked streets in the country. We waited and took the Hyde/Lombard cable car line back down the hill (which was kinda like a roller coaster ride except your standing, crowded into a small space, just hanging onto a single handrail, and it costs $7/person).

Now it was time to drive around to the places outside of walking distance. We had already checked out of the hotel so we packed up the car and started driving. Our first stop was the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square Park, another famous view. We also drove past the Full House house for my sister. All of this driving reminded me of why I don’t like driving/parking on the hills of San Francisco! By now it was time to move on so we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and caught one last view of the city from Vista Point.

The traffic on US-101 and CA-37 to our next hotel in American Canyon was terrible and we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go gridlock for about 2 hours! We finally made it and after freshening up drove to downtown Napa for dinner at Kitchen Door in the Oxbow Public Market, which was excellent. On the way back to our hotel we snagged some ice cream at Baskin Robbins (hadn’t been to one in ages) and then it was time to turn in.

Our vacation is half over. Tomorrow is our longest driving day but it promises to be a scenic one!