DYLAN'S FAMOUS TOUR

We were looking forward to our 6 hour  tour of San Francisco and Muir Woods,  Dylan's Tours offered  a minibus tour  visiting the neighborhoods of San Francisco, lunch  in Sausalito, and a trip to Muir Woods, where the giant redwoods grow.

Our tour guide was very  charming!

We started the tour in the neighborhood of  North Beach, northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown. The neighborhood is San Francisco's "Little Italy"  and home to a large Italian American population.

Chinatown was next....

Chinatown has the largest Chinese population outside of Asia.

Our first stop was the Mission District,  known for it's murals. This is the Women's Building, created and designed by seven women and over one hundred women volunteered to assist is the creation of the painting in 1992.

It has been added to over the years, restored, and anti-graffiti varnished 15 feet high. The colors are still vivid after all these years.
The Mission District was saved by this one golden fire hydrant in 1906 when a massive earthquate struck San Francisco. With 30 massive fires burning, the fire hydrants were running dry, residents came together to what is now Dolores Park to check the last single fire hydrant left in their neighborhood for water, miraculously the hydrant at the top of the park was still functioning.

It may look small, but it had a huge impact on the history of the Mission. In honor of the epic fight, the fire  hydrant was painted gold. Every year on the anniversary of the earthquate, the hydrant receives a fresh coat of paint from the Fire Chief and local residents at 5:12 a.m. (the exact time the earthquate hit.)

Our next neighborhood was The Castro, one of the  first  gay neighborhoods in the United States.

Along the streets, brightly colored rainbow banners flutter from lamp posts and flagpoles, welcoming visitors to San Francisco's Castro District.

We were headed up to Twin Peaks, our tour guide said it is the best view for overlooking San Francisco and and the Bay.

Stunning  views of the city! He also said we had lucked out......no fog today!

Next neighborhood..... Haight Ashbury, it is the origin of the hippie culture. 

We stopped at this market and walked around a bit.

They are celebrating the Summer Of Love.

The Summer of Love was a social phenomonon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior converged on San Francisco's neighborhood, Haight Ashbury. Our tour guide told us his parents came for this and never left.

We were headed to Pacific Heights, where the very rich live. The mansions start at $10 million, locals call it The Tenderloin District.  Danielle Steele and Nancy Pelosi live up here.

We drove through the Predidio, a former military installation, now a gorgeous park with miles of trails for walking and running.

We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to get to our next stop, Marin Headlands.

Breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.

Our tour guide again told us how lucky we were.....this view has been fogged in for  most of the summer.

We were all getting hungry......next stop, Sausalito for lunch! Sausalito is perched on a hillside between the San Francisco Bay and Marin Headlands.

We had an hour for lunch, our tour guide suggested some sandwich shops that we could get a quick lunch. We got our sandwiches and headed down to the pier.

Lots of  sailboats!

We thought the name of this boat was pretty unique.

You can see what folks do here for fun!

 We were going to Muir Woods, I  will finally get to see some Giant Redwoods!

SAN FRANCISCO....DAY TWO

We woke up earlier than we had planned  and decided to head down to the ferry early,  we had planned to take the 7:00 ferry to San Francisco. When we got there folks were lined up to get on the ferry, we didn't realize there is a 6:30 ferry, we were able to board. The parking lot was practically empty.

 It was fun to people watch the folks on the ferry.

When we get off the ferry we are at Pier One. Only 38 piers to go!

 I will be forever grateful that we woke up early.....it was a beautiful time to see the city waking up.

Pier 39 again.....except there are no people!

We decided to eat at  Boudin Bakery, where they were making bread in the window the day before.

We had a leisurely breakfast.....we had plenty of time. We chose sourdough bread for our  toast.  The streets were filling up by the time we  started walking the 15 more minutes to the white gazebo, where we are to meet for the tour.

SAN FRANCISCO....DAY ONE

We wanted to visit San Francisco while we are in this area, it was about a hundred miles from Riverbank.  One of my walker friends, Grace, recommended Standiford  Veterinary in Modesto that boards pets. We went and visited and saw their boarding facilities and felt comfortable leaving Maggie and Marlee there. We also took a Friday off, so we wouldn't be rushed. On Wednesday, August 2, we dropped Maggie and Marlee off in Modesto and headed to Vallejo, where we have motel reservations for two nights.  We drove through the California Delta, we had heard about the Delta, but didn't realize we were so close.

After passing through the Delta we drove through what could have been the plains of South Dakota.....complete with cows and hay.

We got to Vallejo around 10:00, got checked in at our motel  and headed for the ferry to San Francisco.

We found the parking lot and Darrell mastered the parking meter! We thought $5 a day was reasonable!

We went to the Ferry Building and bought our round trip tickets.

We thought $7.10 one way was very reasonable!!

We got in line for the ferry.

It was an hour's ferry ride to San Francisco.

It was a fun trip over, we talked to a couple in front of us who were familiar with this area and they  pointed out some landmarks for us. 

First look at San Francisco from the water.

It was a little foggy!

We were a 45 minute walk to a seafood restaurant that I wanted to have lunch at, they also served hamburgers for Darrell. We were starved by the time we got there!

Fog Harbor on Pier 39.

Fog Harbor is right on the water.

I had a crab roll......sooo good! Darrell had a hamburger that was so big  he couldn't eat it all.

After lunch we just walked around Pier 39......lots of people and most spoke a different language.

We walked by this bakery and they were making bread in the window!

We went inside.....bread loaves for every month of the year.

We walked by the famous  Fisherman's Wharf sign.

Stopped to take a picture.

Entertainers all along the wharf. Singing and playing musical instruments.

Some were even making  balloon art!

Saw the cable cars that climb halfway to the stars.

We found the white gazebo where we are to meet tomorrow to go on a six hour tour of San Francisco and Muir Woods.

We kept walking, it  was a nice enough day folks were swimming and sun bathing.

 Hyde Park is a  quiet respite in the heart of  Fisherman's Wharf.

I walked way out on this Pier.

Darrell decided to conserve his energy and waited here on this bench for me.

Looking back toward the city.

It was time to head back to the ferry, we had a long walk ahead of us!!

Finally the Ferry!

Another hour ride back on the Ferry. It had been a long day.....until tomorrow San Francisco.