San Francisco: The City By the Bay - Western Diary - Philadelphia, PA

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Philadelphia / South Jersey

San Francisco: The City By the Bay

10/02/99

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the world. I said this the first time we visited four years ago and our all too brief two day stay this time has reinforced those feelings even more. The city is, quite frankly, just beautiful from almost every perspective. It is amazingly clean for one thing and so well maintained. It is also a city of such rich cultural and ethnic diversity.

Friday, as we drove from San Francisco International Airport, Eileen and I took a rather circuitous route, which took us to Twin Peaks and Haight Ashbury, the Sunset District, through Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Coast at Ocean Beach, Lands End and Cliff House. From there we drove through the Presidio, Pacific Heights and the Mission District finally arriving at our hotel at Fisherman's Wharf by mid-afternoon.

Everywhere we drove we saw clean streets, houses with fresh coats of paint and every indication of a civic pride that is so lacking in many cities of the northeast.

Philadelphia could learn a great lesson from what San Francisco has accomplished with Fisherman's Wharf alone. Granted, Fisherman's Wharf is in many ways a tourist trap but it is so much more than this. It is a center of superb dining whether it be in an excellent sit-down restaurant or simply some fresh cooked crab from a vendor outside one of the many restaurants in the area.

There is all kinds of shopping, ranging from the standard mall retailers to the small shop targeted directly for the tourist. Pier 39 continues to offer some really neat stores and is well worth a visit, if only to watch the hundreds of seals that sun bathe there every day and to see some of the many street artists that perform nearby.

On Saturday, the Sun Princess, one of the largest cruise ships afloat was docked at the wharf. The wharf is also the source for the many cruises and tours of the bay that are available, including the ferry to Alcatraz which we took Saturday.

A visit to Alcatraz is well worth the trip, although, even in October, if you want an early time, book days ahead. The National Park Service offers a pre-recorded walking tour of the cell block which is excellent. Check out some of today's photos for some views of Alcatraz.

Also, be warned, San Francisco and especially Fisherman's Wharf is cool, even cold, especially after sunset. The stores that sell fleece pull-overs and jackets make a killing. If you go to San Francisco, bring some warm clothing or be prepared to buy some as Eileen and I did.

This morning we took a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods which is located about 12 miles north of the city. This is the San Francisco area's only remaining forest of giant sequoia trees. If you visit the San Francisco area a trip to Muir Woods is well worth the drive. Be warned, however, the road is often steep and contains many hairpin turns.

On the way back from Muir Woods we stopped at the Marin Headlands for views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the north. Unfortunately, just as on our last trip, the weather near the ocean and the bridge has been less than ideal with heavy fog and haze.

Tomorrow, we're off to Yosemite National Park where we will spend all day on Monday.

If you are planning to visit San Francisco, check out Betsy Malloy's excellent San Francisco for Visitors site here at About.com.

We invite you to take a look at a few of our photos of our visit to San Francisco. In order to see a larger image, just click on the thumbnail photo.

Fisherman's Wharf Seals at Pier 39