Monterey to San Francisco, California
Sunday, April 20
Happy Easter to one and all!!!!
Happy Birthday to daughter Whitney Little Farnham in Olathe, Kansas!!!!
We had planned to go to a Sunrise Service on a beach several miles south of our hotel, but when the alarm went off at 4:15 this morning, we decided that the better part of valor would be to go back to sleep and get up later to attend an early service at a church not too far from here.
When we did get up, we had to scurry around to get ourselves ready, everything packed and loaded, and get checked out of the hotel...almost cut it too close, but we navigated our way back down to Cannery Row, turned up a couple of blocks, and found the First Baptist Church of Monterey. It was a surprisingly easy ride, and we weren't even late for the beginning of the service.
God knew exactly where we should be this morning and led us to a service with wonderful music, friendly people, and a unique presentation of a Resurrection story utilizing the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus, which foreshadowed the death and resurrection of Christ.
We were invited to stay and have a special Easter luncheon at the church, but we begged off, explaining that we had already arranged to meet Sergio Padilla for lunch before we leave town.
Sergio was still in church, so we rode to a CVS drug store to get some prescriptions refilled and buy some window cleaner so I could get about five pounds of bug residue off the windshield. While I was cleaning the windshield, a couple from New Zealand drove up and started asking questions about Taz...seems we (or at least, Taz) are a hit wherever we stop.
We eventually made our way back to Old Fishermans Wharf and met up with Sergio for one last meal together before we had to leave and he had to get back to his studies.
As you can tell by the photos, there was no shortage of menu items today...it sure did stink purty outside!!!
After saying our goodbyes, we hopped back on Taz and headed up the highway toward San Francisco. It was pretty chilly for the first few miles along the coast, and we nearly stopped to add another layer, but the temperatures rose as we turned inland and we eventually had to stop to shed a layer.
The views along the highway were just beautiful, and we continued to marvel at how many different mountains and ranges this state has. And, where there isn't a mountain or lake, one is almost certain to find a vineyard or farm.
We arrived at Millbrae around 4:00 pm. Millbrae is a predominately Asian community south of San Francisco and right across the highway from San Francisco International Airport. David Jividen had recommended this as a place that had good lodging and restaurants and was close to a BART station, and his recommendation proved to be excellent.
After checking in at the Best Western El Rancho, we took Taz across the street to a laundry to do some very serious business. Everything we had with us was in need of washing, so that was number one on our agenda,
The laundromat was between a Chinese restaurant and a yogurt shop, so while the machines were churning our clothes, we went to the yogurt shop for a treat. I was going to eat inside, but the girl at the counter said we had to eat outside or pay tax on the yogurt if we wanted to eat inside...of course, we ARE in California!
When we had all the clothes packed back in the trailer, we went into the restaurant to order a meal for takeout, made our way back across the street to our lodging, and settled in for a nice, restful evening.
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Monday, April 21
We got up fairly early this morning to prepare for what we hoped would be our grandest adventure of the trip so far...actually going into San Francisco to experience the sights, sounds, and smells. Our only San Francisco experience to date was a layover at the airport several years ago when we were flying to China, and that hardly counts as being there.
After getting dressed and taking the obligatory (to us) morning selfie (a double-selfie as it was later pointed out to us by some of our former students), we were ready to roll.
The hotel provided free shuttle service to the airport BART station...a great way to start the adventure. It took us a few minutes to figue out how to purchase a ticket from the bank of machines, but we eventually got the ticket we wanted and walked to the 10-car train that was waiting to go to the heart of San Francisco.
We've said it before, and I'm sure we'll say it again, but we absolutely love riding on metropolitan transit systems...every one we've been on has been clean and efficient and has "exceeded expectations" (in educationese).
Today's trip was no exception, as we entered the car, found our seats, and waited for the train to whisk us away.
We got off the BART at the Embarcadero stop, got our bearings (after asking a gentleman at a flower stand for directions), and headed to the square the the Port of San Francisco headquarters.
Now, by this time, the excitement of the adventure was reaching a crescendo, and our bladders were needing to decrescendo. We figured we'd have to find a restaurant or shop with a restroom, but then spotted this...a high-tech outhouse! We've been to three state fairs and a goat-roping contest, but we've never seen anything like this contraption. Push a button and the door slides open. Push a button inside and the door closes. Then, a recorded voice tells you how to operate the thing (and that if your operation isn't completed in 20 minutes, the door will automatically open). Thankfully, we didn't come anywhere close to the 20-minute limit, so we (at separate times, of course) pushed the button and exited this steel monument to one of man's greatest needs.
Having successfully completed our transactions, we set out to find a trolley to deliver us to Fishermans Wharf.
When we got to Fishermans Wharf, we exited the trolley and stood around for a few minutes just taking in the size and scope of the place. One thing was certain, there would be no shortages of sights to see, things to do and places to eat!
Hunger was the immediate condition for both of us, so we settled on a restaurant that afforded a view of the bay and reasonable prices. Our first meal on the wharf was clam chowder in a bread bowl and a house specialty salad...yum-yum...and with a view of Alcatraz Island in the background.
After eating our fill, we walked around the area a bit and decided to take one of the many tour cruises of the bay. We chose one that offered a trip out to the Golden Gate Bridge and then back around Alcatraz Island before returning to the berth. We would have taken the Alcatraz Island tour, but it was fully booked for the day. In fact, reservations for that tour have to be made days in advance.
We had to wait a bit before boarding our boat, as Coast Guard officers were doing a surprise inspection. Luckily for all involved, the boat and crew passed the inspection and soon we were boarded and waiting to sail. During the wait, someone notice a harbor seal swimming just a couple of feet from the starboard side of the boat, so we all gathered around to take turns taking pictures.
Soon, we moved out through the marina and into the waters (and waves) of San Francisco Bay.
The tour afforded numerous opportunities for shots of the skyline and other attractions along the shore. We got into some especially choppy waters as we reached the area of the Golden Gate Bridge, but we managed to get our sea legs and hang on for the ride.
When we turned back into the bay, we headed for Alcatraz Island, certainly a focal point of any tour of the area.
We arrived back at our berth and began the next leg of the adventure, a walk down Embarcadero to see the sights and go through a National Park Service museum that was dedicated to the nautical history of the San Francisco Bay area.
And then it was time for the requisite composite of the San Francisco adventure, a ride on the world-famous cable cars. What isn't so famous is the 45-minute wait in line to board a car, but even that was made more palatable by watching the process of turning the cars on the turntable and observing street performers and musicians.
We rode all the way across town to Market Square (the length and pitch of the hills cannot be exaggerated, no matter how much one may try), got off, waited another half hour in line to board a car going back (did have a great view of Macy's and Nordstroms while we waited), and then climbed aboard for the trip back.
We got off the car one stop early so we could go to Ghirardelli Square, something that Heather had mentioned as a place to visit. We thought seriously about buying chocolates for the grandkids, but then thought that we would have to stuff them in the trailer and haul them all the way back across the desert, so we ate some samples in honor of all the kids and grandkids and walked back down to the wharf to catch the trolley back to the Port of San Francisco.
We were so exhausted after all the walking we did today that it was only with great effort that we made it from the end of the trolley ride back up the short distance (uphill, of course) to the BART Embarcadero stop, staggered into the train car (thankfully, a young couple offered us their seats), and settled in for the ride back to the airport.
When we got to the airport stop, we called the hotel for a shuttle bus and waited until it came to take us back to the hotel where we literally collapsed in our room. There was no work accomplished tonight...we were asleep by 9:00 pm after a very full and fun day.
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Tuesday, April 22
Happy 7th Birthday to grandson Jimmy Jim Farnham in Olathe, Kansas!!!!
God must have known that we couldn't have withstood another day of excitement, so He, in His infinite wisdom, sent a cold, wet day with winds that matched some of the worst days we had in Southwest Kansas or Southeastern New Mexico.
We took that as a sign that we were supposed to stay inside and rest our weary bones...that, and get caught up on laundry again. Fortunately, no one else was using the laundry room at the hotel, so we had it to ourselves.
Once the laundry was done, we got the bags repacked for the next part of the adventure, had a nice lunch at the hotel cafe, took a nap, read, worked on the journal/blog, and generally did nothing that would tax our bodies.
We would be remiss if we didn't say somewhere along the way that the Best Western El Rancho Hotel in Millbrae is by far the finest of the hotels we've stayed at in a long time. The facilities are older, but very well maintained, and the service and hospitality exceed industry standards. If you are ever in the San Francisco area, especially south of the city proper, and need good lodging at a reasonable price, this is the place to be. With excellent meals on-site or right across the street, and free shuttle service to the airport and BART station, this is a "must stay" facility.
"The Bay Area is so beautiful, I hesitate to preach about Heaven while I'm here." - Billy Graham, Christian Evangelist
From the San Francisco Bay Area,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsy
