Cruise Day Three

I'm writing this blog as if I wrote it the days it all took place when in reality I'm writing this then Monday after the cruise was over. Enjoy...

Our first day at port. I got up early to shoot some pictures of our entry into San Francisco Bay. I pulled on my 70-300mm lens and headed up to deck 12. When I got there we were far too close to get any decent shots so I ran back to the room for my 18-55mm lens. By the time I got back we had passed the bridge and I missed my shot. Took some pics of the shoreline and Alcatraz Island before heading back to the stateroom where Victoria was already awake and getting ready for breakfast. We met in the dining room for breakfast and then disembarked to enjoy San Francisco until midnight.

We started out walking along Fisherman's Wharf to Powell Street. I caught a picture of our restaurant for dinner, a streetcar, a sign for the wax museum where I also caught a pic of a dude dressed as a sub sandwich crossing the street. Walking down Powell, we stopped in at Highway 66 where Victoria got a keychain and I figured we'd return to get me a flag for $10 and maybe a funny sign or ten. We never made it back.

We walked down to the north end of the cable car line and caught the cable car all the way down to Union Square and Market Street. It was fun to say I've ridden one but it was pretty jerky, uncomfortable and loud.

We immediately headed for the Virgin Megastore where Victoria picked up three CDs for $10 a piece: The Best of Bowie, Bob Marley & The Wailers Legend, and Amy Winehouse Back to Black. From there we headed up to Citizen Cupcake on the third floor. They were doing renovations and we read a sign posted that said it was only going to be closed the day we were there. Suck.

After this Teresa was thirsty and Victoria had to pee so we headed to Macy's up the street. This Macy's is huge with it's own food court and everything! We noticed an iPod vending machine so I took a picture. Victoria bought us cookies and soda to sustain me for the long walk we were about to take. The walk turned out to not be so long after all.

We reached the Chinatown gate and from here Victoria and Teresa stopped into nearly every store on both sides of the street for about three blocks. We ended up with another buddha for our living room, a couple lucky cats and a gift for Becky. We were all hungry so we headed out for dim sum at the Four Seas Restaurant. We couldn't have made a better choice I think. They have some really good dim sum there. BBQ Pork Buns and Shu Mai and spring rolls OH MY!

From Chinatown we headed to the City Lights bookstore. I really wish we had spent more time and cash here. Lots of cool books. I did pick up a little something that might turn into a gift. From the bookstore we grabbed a taxi and headed back up to Pier 35. The in-laws headed back to the boat for a nap while Victoria and I headed out to the Ripley's museum for a cheesy good time. Turned out to be more than I thought. Maybe not worth the admission but then again few things geared towards tourists are. We walked back down Powell and over to Barnes & Noble to rest and read a bit before heading out to meet the parents at Buena Vista Cafe at 4pm.

As we got to The Buena Vista, the wind picked up A LOT and it got really cold. This was perfect because the Irish Coffee we got warmed me up pretty good. They say this is where the drink was developed and that it's still the best place to get an Irish Coffee. I won't dispute it as it was the best I've ever had.

As we left The Buena Vista, I mentioned that I wanted to get to the ballpark to take some pictures. The Giants weren't in town but I wanted to see it in person. Victoria was tired and cranky and decided not to join me so I hopped a rusted out streetcar with a cranky ticket guy in it. His job was to lift the bar, check tickets and alert the driver on when to stop and when to get going again. Fascist Bastard is what he'll always be to me.

I lost my way, missed my stop (though I didn't know it until later) and got off at 3rd Avenue. I went into Kinko's to get some bubble wrap and tape to wrap the scotch bottles since I'd have to put them in the suitcase for the flight home. Then I walked to Geary and Market and took another streetcar back up to Fisherman's Wharf to meet the family for dinner at The Franciscan.

A couple stops after I got on, a group of young black teens got on and headed to the back. Just before we got to Pier 35, a group of Hispanic kids got on. One of the kids must have said something to the teens because the teens started barking, challenging them to fight, etc. I'm so glad this didn't start any sooner. I got off on the next stop and walked the rest of the way. No way I need to get in the middle of a fight while I'm on vacation.

At The Franciscan I had their Surf and Turf dinner where I learned from the waitress how to crack a crab leg properly. The food was OK but not worth the price. The calamari appetizer I got was some of the worst calamari I've ever eaten. I appreciate the educational experience though.

After dinner we headed to Pier 39 to see the fairy store Teresa wanted to go to. It was the only thing she'd been looking forward to in San Francisco and it was nearly the last thing we did. My legs were sore, back hurt and I was pretty cranky by the time we reached the boat. I rested a bit, then we hit up the Schooner bar for more drinks before heading up to the top deck with my camera to watch the boat leave and take some night shots of the skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Never in my life have I dealt with winds so fierce or air so cold as the forward side of deck 12 was on that trip out of the bay. It was tough to keep the camera still due to all my shivering, the wind and the movement of the ship. Still, as you can see above, I got some great shots. Headed over to the Thirst Quencher area outside of the Windjammer for some Hot Chocolate and to the stateroom to sleep.