I Left My Heart In San Francisco: There is so much to see and do!
#TravelBeaverton&Beyond
I sure did after moving my son to San Francisco on this sunny and hot weekday in August. I was glad to leave behind the heat in Beaverton and even hotter night driving through Medford. Crossing the Oregon/California border, the view of Mt Shasta sits just as majestic and proud, as on my last road trip to California back in 2010.
My son’s two cars, a Prius with AC and a Chevy Spark with no AC. I opted for the Prius of course and followed the 16-foot U-Haul down to San Francisco.
Arriving into San Francisco in midafternoon, and a ‘cool’ 77 degrees, I forget how big the city is sitting alongside highway 101. The city itself is the fourth most populous city in California and is known for its historic landmarks, lively neighborhoods, and many other sites that you can immerse yourself as a tourist in this great city. One long breath of sea air calmed my nerves after driving in and dodging California traffic.
The famous San Francisco fog just sits off shore, looking like a menacing monster waiting to pounce and engulf it’s arm around the whole city, just waiting for the right moment. Lucky for us it held off until the next day when we took a one-way flight back to Portland.
The next day, after getting my son settled into his new apartment the night before, before our afternoon flight, we had just a short time to see San Francisco, so we headed out to see as much of San Francisco, as time allowed.
We did drive over the Golden Gate Bridge twice with the fog hiding most of the famous bridge, enjoyed Union Square, cruised Chinatown (the oldest in North America), walked along Fisherman’s Wharf, drove through Castro Street, drove around the Haight/Ashbury area, before heading to the SFO airport.
My tip for the next trip will definitely include buying a 24 or 48 hour hop on/hop off bus tour to get the ‘lay of the land’ with 21 major stops. It’s $55.00 for a 24 hour bus pass and $65.00 for a 48 hour bus pass. Well worth the cost.
Other sights to not miss on our future trip: Little Italy, ride a cable car, find where the ‘Pink Ladies’ are located, drive down Lombard Street, go back to Fisherman’s Wharf and try their clam chowder or their famous Cioppino Italian dish, take a side trip to see Redwood Forest, cruise over to Alcatraz Island, visit the many museums and see historic architecture, have breakfast at the place where the first Irish Coffee was introduced to America at the Buena Vista Café, rent one of the cute 2-seater ‘GoCar’ to zip around the streets.
There are more sites to see and do, but that will have to wait until our third visit!
By Joyce Bates, owner of Sun Connections Travel & Cruises, the ‘go to’ travel agency for all occasions. For more info on this subject or to book your next trip, email joyce@sunconnections.com, visit www.sunconnections.com, or call 503-655-4850.
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