Day 4 - Exploring San Francisco

We were tired and decided to take it easy this morning.  We got up around 8:45 am and then headed down to breakfast in the lobby.  It was a pretty good selection so we ate well.

We had a few options for touring the city today: big open-aired bus, GoCars, or bike.  Tyler chose the electric bike option so we walked a few blocks west to find their office.  We had planned on riding over the Golden Gate Bridge and taking the ferry back… the entire trip would last only a few hours.  But the sales man highly recommended a tour guide (that happened to be leaving just then) so we decided to do that instead.  Mark was an incredible guide - very funny and knowledgeable - he’s lived here his entire life and knows fun facts about everything.  

There were 7 of us with Mark on the tour when we started but along the way, the three from France left us because of the language difficulty.  

We stopped at the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition… and marvelled at the incredible architecture.

We also visited the Lucasfilm / Letterman Digital Arts Center (think StarWars) and took some fun photos where some of our favorite movies are made.

Then it was time to head over the Golden Gate Bridge.  We stopped at the top of the bridge for some photos and then decided to leave the other two guests because they were heading back for something they left behind.  So we continued on just the two of us and Mark. 

The view from the bridge was incredible.  The Bay Area really is just gorgeous!

We stopped for lunch in Sausalito and then Mark offered for us to skip the ferry and join him on a ride back across the bridge.  We had less than an hour to get back, return our bikes, and get to the ferry dock for our next tour of Alcatraz but Mark was confident we could do it… I had some doubts but decided to go for it.  I used my watch to record the stats and distances.  From our lunch spot up to the start of the bridge is a pretty long hill.  It took us 13 minutes and we ascended almost 300 ft - the length of a football field!  We rode much faster on the return trip and it was a blast!  The staff was super excited that we made it back so quickly! 

We called an Uber and said goodbyes to Mark (I’d highly recommend his tour with Blazin’ Saddles bikes or with Dylan’s on bus if you are ever in the area)  In all, we spent 5.25 hrs with him and enjoyed every minute!  (However, I’m quite certain my back side could be sore for days)

Then we went straight to the Ferry dock for our evening tour of Alcatraz. The Uber driver dropped us exactly 1 minute before we were scheduled to arrive.  I love when God works out the details so perfectly.  We had a short rest on the 10 minute ferry ride and then began the walking tour of the Rock.

The evening tour is a special event to raise funds for the National Park.  It offers a longer boat ride around the island, the usual audio-tour through the cell house and then additional lectures on various topics associated with Alcatraz.  We stuck around to listen to the story of Bill Baker, one of the inmates and then headed outside for a lecture on an infamous escape attempt.  So cool to hear their stories!

After the sun went down, it was FREEZING.  (We were dressed for a bike ride in the sun not for standing still in the dark.)  The last talk wrapped up at 6:30 which was time for our departing ferry.  We rested again and warmed up, making a plan for dinner, on the ferry ride home.  Then it was a 15 min walk to get back to our hotel.  

We had Uber deliver Applebees for supper and tried to watch some shows.  I was so tired - as soon as I started to warm up, I fell fast asleep.  Tyler ended up tucking me in and just turning off the lights.

It was a very fun day today.  We learned a lot!