If you're going to San Francisco

You're gonna meet some gentle people there

For those who come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there

Yeah Yeah whatever.

Seriously, it's a lovely place.

Starts with a nice new terminal.

Staying in the middle of town, and took the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf. This is an experience definitely worth doing. Here's a hint for new players: The cable car costs USD6 per person per sector. Our journey will take us across California Street from our hotel, to the corner of Powell, where we catch the car down to the wharf. That adds up to $12 per person each way, $24 each person return.



The waiter at breakfast suggested we buy the Muni card from the hotel concierge at $15 per person, for unlimited Municipal transport travel all day. Apparently, you can also buy them from Walgreens.
The one we got is like a scratchy. Scratch off the month and the date, and you must use it on the scratched day. No mistakes, no mulligans.

Apparently, these are the only cable cars of this type left in the world. Under the street, a cable runs the length of the track, constantly moving. The car driver manipulates levers to grip the moving cables. It is the skill of the driver, that allows the car to stop and start, go up and down very steep hills in perfect safety. Clever design. Clever drivers.

We spent the day at Fisherman's Wharf, and it is so much different to last time we were here about 12 years ago. 

Pier 39 is great. Again, much more to see and do than last time.

Couldn't get in to Bubba Gumps, so went to another seafood restaurant. We both had chowder. It's probably the only way that I can eat the critters Sarah devours.

Some people are vegetarians.

Some are fruitarians.

I must be an invisibilitarian. I won't eat anything that still resembles how it looked when it was alive. It must be completely disguised from its original form, otherwise I won't go near it.

I wonder how many of us there are, all hiding from our true selves. All avoiding looking our food in the eye. How many will eat a fish curry with the eyeballs staring up at you.

Blech!!

Also had a meal at Applebees.

We seem to have a mission to tick off all of the family restaurant chains in Amrika.

We've done Denny's, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Applebees, Bubba Gump, P K Chang's, The Old Spaghetti Factory so far.

Working through the list.

The great thing about many of these chains, is that they have free refills for the common drinks. Coffee, Lemonade, Coke. It's not a reason to go there, but it's a nice bonus, especially if you insist on spoiling your holiday by taking children with you. 

Especially in a hot climate, when they fill the glasses with ice. 

Mmmm. Refreshing.

Getting back to the hotel was more challenging than it needed to be. We intentionally wandered the piers with the intention of working our way back towards the cable car stop. This is next to a nouveau trendy complex called The Cannery. Sarah was looking for a large yellow bird.

Needless to say, this big brick monstrosity was built in 1907 to be a commercial peach-canning plant. After being converted into warehouses in 1937, and then abandoned in the 60's, the building was purchased in 1963 to be refurbished. It was fitted out for a series of shops and restaurants.

There is also a hotel, The Argonaut, in the building next door. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was all the same building, as they were both built at the same time.

Anyway, we rock up to the cable car stop. This is actually the end of the line for these cars. There is a little turntable next to where we queue to board, and it's entertaining to watch the guys manhandle a car onto the turntable, and push it around to face up the hill. We had time to watch this happen a couple of time. Boy did we have time!


Pretty simple process, right? Queue up, load up, off we go. Not so much.


We wait. We wait. We wait some more. Eventually they let some people get on the car that has been sitting ready for quite some time now.

Then it's full. We have moved up  a ways now, surely we will be boarding the next one soon. Yeah right!

But it's not quite full. Got a couple of spaces over here, standing on the step.
Does Sarah want to stand on the side? What do you think?

So we wait while some people come from further back in the queue.

Waiting. A couple more spots over here. Standing only, come on through.

Then it leaves. Half of the people cheer. The other half are obviously used to this nonsense.

Then we wait. After another eternity (can you get two eternities? Back to back? Doesn't that just become a bigger eternity? Do eternities come in sizes? European sizes or US? I guess these must be US eternities, so a size 6 eternity then), our car is pushed down, spun around and brought into loading position.

You guessed it, another wait. These guys are clearly in no hurry. The only reasonable explanation is that they are working to a timetable. One every half hour, perhaps. Maybe the mechanism has a limit of how many can be hanging off the cable. If Sarah was running the boarding process, she would have them in and out in a flash. Four minutes apart. Bang, bang, bang. Imagine all the cars on the one line, scattered about 10m apart, all the way up the hill. Yikes!

So we got onto our car, sitting inside, just like Sarah wanted.
Then the seats filled up.
Then the aisle filled up.
Ready? Not yet.

"OK, everybody in the aisle, stand on this side of the aisle and turn to face the window. Now you people, move up beside them, facing the other windows."

Sardines, much?

Maybe these guys worked in the cannery in a previous life. Or maybe they're on commision. Or maybe just a sweepstake.

Whatever the reason, I was stuck, unable to turn and look at the views. Well, that's not strictly true. There were a couple of guys planted in my face. They got the view outside the window over my shoulder, I got their... um ... belt buckles. Nice.

Note to new entrants: Despite the inherent danger (or perhaps because of it), the outside pole position is really the best place to be. But, having been on a less sardiney ride down the hill, I support the suggestions of the operators. Wear your backpack on the front, and as you pass another cable car going the other way, Suck it in, Princess! They get pretty close.