San Francisco...Day 2

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

I had a plan in my mind for how to spend our second day in San Francisco. But the plan was conceived back when I was able bodied and had two good working legs. Now I was very nervous that my ideas were not going to pan out with my handicapped knee. 

Usually Bob's sense of direction is much better than mine so I informed him he was to be the navigator for our DIY tour of San Francisco. He had helped me make a list of places we wanted to visit and I had pored over a map of the city to figure out the most logical order to make our stops. I showed Bob how to use the "Transit" option for finding directions using Google Maps on his phone and thought we were good to go.

The next morning after breakfast, the four of us downloaded the MuniMobile app on our phones and we each purchased a One Day Visitor Passport for $13. This would enable us to have unlimited rides on Muni, Muni Metro, historic streetcars and the cable cars. A single cable car ride purchased separately would have cost $8/person so I felt like this wasn't a bad deal. 

I took a photo of the sign by the gangplank to remind us when we needed to return to the ship.

I knew we could get on a streetcar at the Ferry Building that would take us to Fisherman's Wharf. But, we were about a mile away...much further than I felt capable of walking. Jon tends to be very spontaneous and said he knew there was a metro stop right across the street from our pier and SURELY it would take us where we wanted to go. Bob on the other hand was walking around in circles trying to figure out which direction was which on Google Maps and complaining that his eyes aren't what they used to be. We went with Jon's suggestion.

The metro started out in the direction of the Ferry Building (where I hoped we could switch to the F-line streetcar) but before we got there it went underground and in the process made a 90º turn and headed away from the Ferry Building. I was following our progress on Google Maps on my phone as we got farther and farther away from our intended destination. By the time Jon announced we should get off we were much further away from the Ferry Building than when we started!

Not where we intended to be, but we did get to see City Hall!

Once we exited the train and walked up the stairs to street level, Jon studied the map and figured out we weren't too far from a stop on the F-Line. I was pretty sure that would get us to Fisherman's Wharf so we got on the streetcar and off we went. There were only a few people on the streetcar and things were looking good. But (and there is always a "but" isn't there!)...at one of the stops a large group of Asian adults with what appeared to be a even larger group of preschoolers boarded the streetcar. They just kept coming and coming until every seat was taken and the aisle was so crowded no one could move. Each adult had the hand of two or more children and the kids were all wearing name tags from a Chinese preschool. One little girl even grabbed Michelle's hand! 

The group got off a couple of stops before we reached Fisherman's Wharf, otherwise I'm not sure how we would have been able to get through the crowd! All in all it took us nearly two hours to travel the 2.5 miles from the ship to Fisherman's Wharf but we just considered the journey part of the day's adventure!

Finally made it to Fisherman's Wharf!!

Bob wanted Jon to see all of the vintage arcade games at Musée Mécanique and from there we walked a few blocks to the Powell/Mason Cable Car turnaround. 

I should have figured out how to photoshop the porta potty out of this photo! 😄

When we reached the Cable Car Museum the four of us jumped off. My knee was starting to protest and since this was our third time to visit the museum, I found a place to sit and just relaxed while the others explored. After a bit, Michelle joined me.

The gears and motors pulling the cables that drive the cable cars are visible inside the museum.
The noise and smell of the museum tend to give me a headache!

Giving my knee a break. (Ooohhh...a little foreshadowing...) 😟
I meant "giving my knee a rest."

The museum was very close to Chinatown and since it was close to lunchtime, we went in search of a place to eat. A small dim sum restaurant that had a line reaching out the door and down the sidewalk looked promising. We had no idea what to order so I asked the girl working behind the counter to pick out several things for us to try. By the time we reached the cash register, our bill was nearly $30 (including a tip) and we had way more food than Bob and I could ever consume! 

The restaurant was teeny tiny and most customers were purchasing their food "to go". I was really wanting to sit down to eat but the few small tables were already occupied. A Chinese man motioned for Michelle and I to sit with him and Bob and Jon stood just outside the door and started to eat. Our new friend tried to make conversation but we were only able to make out a word or two of what he said. He seemed pleased that we were willing to eat with him and we gathered that he was a regular at the restaurant.

Michelle and I with our new friend!

A little while later the lady at the table next to us had finished her meal and she told us to call our friends (Bob and Jon) so they could take her seat once she got up. The food was very good and as the only "non-locals" in the place I felt we had an authentic Chinatown experience! 

After leaving the restaurant, we wandered the streets in Chinatown looking into the stores overflowing with merchandise. 

Eventually we located the small alley where the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is located and watched the cookies being made and fortunes inserted. The cookies that cooled too much (and couldn't be folded) were deposited into a large can and we were each given one of the flat cookies to sample.

Ross Alley

The tiny Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

As an avid player himself, Bob had to stop and watch two older men playing ping pong.

The day was starting to get away from us and given our history with public transportation, we knew we should start back to the ship. A guide with a group of tourists at the fortune cookie factory had overheard us talking and gave us directions to get to the closest cable car stop. It wasn't far and as we waited by the Old St. Mary's Cathedral, the Google camera car drove by. I will be checking to see if we eventually show up on the Google "street view" map!

Old St. Mary Cathedral

After taking the cable car to the end of the California Line it was just a short walk to where we could catch the N metro line back to where we started by Pier 30/32. As we were waiting for the N metro, another train pulled in first (12?) and the driver told us to get on and he would take us where we wanted to go. Really? Trains can do that?

As the train got to the dock, I was hoping we could get off right across the street, but the conductor informed us he would have to take us to the next stop, a little past the pier. It wasn't too far, but my knee was definitely feeling the steps. By the time we boarded the ship I limped my way to our cabin and declared I was done for the day!

Almost "home"! So tired, but what a fun day!

The Zaandam was sailing away from San Francisco at 5 pm which was our scheduled time in the main dining room. Since we hadn't been awake for the Zaandam's arrival we decided to park ourselves on "our private deck" and enjoy watching the skyline of SF fade away in the distance. We would just eat on the Lido Deck instead of the main dining room. The menu in the buffet serves almost the same items as the dining room so eating there is certainly not a hardship. And if you have to get up and get your own food I figure it burns a few more calories so you can eat more! 😉

The guys "borrowed" some chairs from the pool area so we had a place to sit on "our private deck".

Zoomed in view of the Ferry Building.

Oracle Park where the SF Giants play.

I love lighthouses!

Ghirardelli Square

Building on Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz

Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

The evening schedule on the ship included a second performance by multi-instrumentalist, Mark Donoghue, and the Orange Party in the Crow's Nest...both of which we skipped. No worries, the four of us can make our own fun pretty easily. I'm sure we played some crazy and complicated game of cards which I can guarantee I lost. 😆

Tomorrow will bring a much appreciated sea day as the Zaandam heads up the western coast of the U.S. Two back-to-back port days is more than this old body can handle!