Day 17: San Francisco

Today was our Motorized Cable Car tour day. We arrived at Fisherman's Wharf a little early so we had some time to stroll which included passing by a WWII submarine and cargo ship.


We boarded the "bus" at 11 and with only 6 of on board, we got front seats.


The tour was interesting and got a bit of a history lesson, but the ride itself was a bit to bumpy and we didn't get any really good opportunities for pictures. This is one of the Golden Gate bridge looking over a park.


This is the motorized Cable Car we were riding on.


After the tour we walked over to the Coit Tower in anticipation of getting a good view of the city from the top. This was one a church we saw during the walk.


Arriving at the tower we were disappointed to discover that it was closed for maintenance work so we were unable to get the view and pictures we had hoped for. Our next destination was the "crookedest street in the U.S.". Here's the view of it from the base of the Coit Tower. Note that while the elevation difference doesn't seem that great, we had to walk down hill and then up again to get there.


From the top looking down at the twisty parts.


Turning 90º one sees the Bay.


From there we caught a cable car to the cable car museum. "Museum" is a bit of a misnomer as while they have history information, it is still the fully functional station that powers all the cables for the active cable car routes. This was a very informative stop.


From there we walked to Chinatown. Unlike Winnipeg's Chinatown, being in this part of San Francisco was as close to being in China as we have ever experienced. We stopped for lupper at the House of Dim Sum and we able to fill up on a variety of dumplings for $10 ... including a generous tip. We got a kick out of the dishes.


Here's the restaurant from the outside.


A market.


And another store.


Walking from there we continued to be amazed by the streets and residences in San Fran. I can't imagine having to back into this driveway on a regular basis.


Typical buildings on the street inclines.


Another.


Up and down ... down and up ... the norm for San Fran.


The Broadway tunnel. The city is built over it in such a way that other than the ends, there's no indication that it's even there.


Back at Fisherman's Wharf. The former Ghirardelli factory that is now a mall and hotel.


The sunset on Alcatraz as seen from Fisherman's Wharf.


That pretty much wrapped up our touring day other than the walk back to our hotel.

The plan for tomorrow is to wash the car and then to tour a larger area by car.