San Francisco

Over a year ago Ryan signed us up as volunteers at the US Open.  This year it was held in San Francisco and it just so happened that neither of us have been there.  Here is a summary of our trip.

Day 1

We left late Sunday and arrived the following morning, took BART into the city, dropped our bags off at the hotel, and started our way down to Fisherman's Wharf. We spent the whole day there and enjoyed everything except the aquarium did not impress us. The food, ice cream, people, shops, and walks were great.  Before leaving we made one last stop at Ghirardelli Square and had some delicious chocolate.

Day 2

We caught the bus early and visited The Wave Organ, but it was low tide and not much sound could be heard coming our of the pipes.  We visited a nearby science museum called the Exploratorium, and we had fun tinkering with all the interactive displays.

Afterwards, we walked through the Palace of Fine Arts, which was really pretty, and then took the bus up the coast to eat lunch and grab the ferry to Alcatraz.

We spent a good amount of time on Alcatraz Island.  We completed the audio tour and then walked around to take more pictures. This place was amazing, we really enjoyed it.

 

 

Upon returning to the mainland we walked up Telegraph Hill (there were a lot of stairs) to visit Colt Tower. We worked up an appetite climbing the stairs, so we took the bus to Boudin Bakery for some yummy soup served in bread bowls.  After eating we went to Lombard Street, which is suppose to be the crookedest street in the world.  After walking to the top we caught the cable car and rode it until we reached the turnaround.

We waited to line to ride the cable car back through the city. We timed it right because we rode on the side, standing, in the front.  We both really had a great time strolling through San Fransisco together in the cable car. 

 

Day 3

We started at the Japanese Tea Garden at the Golden Gate Park, and it made us feel as though we weren't in the United States anymore.  The diversity of flora that exists in the world always amazes me.

 

 

Across the street from the gardens was the California Academy of Sciences. The only place on the planet with an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum, and a 4-story rainforest all under one roof. We thought the aquarium here was better then the one on the bay. The planetarium was relaxing for me and I actually fell asleep for about 5-10 minutes.

Our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge.  We walked only half of the bridge because it was windy and a little cold.  It was interesting to learn that more suicides are committed on this bridge than any other in the world, which is why there are telephones installed on the bridge hard-lined to counselors to provide help to those thinking of taking their last dip in the water.

From the bridge our stomachs took us to Pearl's Deluxe for some burgers.  After dinner, we started walking to AT&T Park for a Giants game.  Of course, we are Braves fans, but always enjoy being at any baseball game.  It just so happened that the game we attended was the first perfect game in the history the Giants.  The honor went to Matt Cain, and it was electrifying to be part of the game.  The best sporting event we have ever attended.

 

 

The rest of our time was spent volunteering for the US Open.  However, we weren't allowed to take in cell phones or cameras. We had fun even when we were working, we saw a lot of good golf. I was able to learn more about the game and saw some guys who I knew, while Ryan loved every minute being at the golf tournament telling me who was who and what was going on.  We look forward to next year.