Into the City....

Day 15:

We woke up at the Marin Park where needed to first check in and then walk to the ferry terminal at the next exit on the freeway.  It seemed like it took forever to get checked into the park.  As it turned out, we only signed up for two days with an option to stay an additional day if the weather is good and we want to go visit the city again.

On our way out, an English gentleman noticed our large family and asked if we wanted some produce items.  They were here on holiday and returning home and couldn't bring it all with them.  He told us that he had it all in a chilly-box if we were interested.  We had to ask him before we came up with the American term "ice chest," which the man confirmed.  It was a Styrofoam container from Wal-Mart.

Once we were checked into our spot, we started walking briskly to the ferry terminal.  First, there was a short bridge we had to cross, about as long as the Steese bridge over the Chena River back home.  Once we'd gotten half way across the bridge, Jenny noticed that one of the diaper bags she'd packed was not with us.  Ben and I turned back for it, me with Jonathan on my hip.  I gave him the keys and he ran on ahead.  

The Larkspur ferry was a very windy ride.

When we finally got the diaper bag (where she had packed the extra diapers AND her wallet) Ben and I made a break for the ferry terminal.  But it was too much for Ben to run with the loaded down diaper bag, so I actually took the diaper bag and the baby, running to get to the boat in time.  It was like The Amazing Race, family edition, running up to the terminal.  Jenny couldn't buy the tickets because she didn't have her wallet.

As it turned out we just barely made the ferry.  Two enlisted Coast Guard seamen were on the deck and I thanked them both for their service.  We rode across the Bay into San Francisco on the Larkspur Ferry.  It was foggy and threatening rain, but beautiful!!  Ben was the one who found the Golden Gate Bridge.  And I showed the kids some of the important buildings in the City as we rode in.

We rode the ferry into the Port of San Francisco.

Upon reaching the City, we first climbed the hills until we reached Chinatown, stopping quickly in a Starbucks for coffee and to confirm directions.  On the way, the kids stopped at a small, urban playground where we stopped to play near the Transamerica Tower.  When we left the park, we were almost instantly in Chinatown and we stopped for lunch.

Kimberly purchased a parasol in Chinatown.

Stopping at a few shops, we collected a few things and the kids had the first opportunity to spend some of the money we've been saving for this trip.  We finally arrived at the gateway arch, the official beginning of Chinatown, where we got a few pictures and moved on, boarding a Trolley and heading north for Fisherman's Wharf.

The Snethen Seven, riding aboard a trolley car in San Francisco.

Upon our arrival at the end of the line, I showed the kids the turnout, where the cars change directions and we walked another couple of blocks to Burger King, where we were able to rest for a few minutes, Jenny was able to feed Jonathan and get our bearings for the next few hours.  We actually stopped because we thought they might have a changing table, but they didn't.  They did, however, have a trash can divided into three sections, compost, recycle and trash, and we were able to explain the difference to the kids.

The Snethen Seven stop for a picture at Anchorage Square in San Francisco.

Leaving Burger King, we headed east toward Ghirardelli square.  By the time we got to the historic area, Kimberly had to go to the bathroom.  (She hadn't gone since right before we left Burger King.)  Of course, the bathrooms were on the third floor.  The lady in the shop told us they only let handicapped use the elevators, so Kimberly, Benjamin and I ran up the stairs while Jenny and Rebekah rolled the stroller up the hill with Daniel and Jonathan.

The Snethen Seven play by the mermaid fountain at Ghirardelli Square.

After looking around the shops upstairs, Jenny and I decided that some of those places might have been better to see as just a couple without the kids.  Finally entering the main chocolate store at Ghirardelli Square, we descended the hill.  It might have been a nice time to have a stroller with hand-brakes.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, there was a small park with a walking trail along the beach.  Of course, since we were inside the Bay, there were no considerable waves, but we all admired the intense beauty of the waves coming into the shore.  In the harbor next to us, we saw a tall ship and wondered about it.  

From the Hyde Pier, we could see the Golden Gate Bridge and the Tall Ship.

 
Walking along the beach headed east toward Pier 39, we saw a nice gift shop where we got a few pictures and discovered the San Francisco Maritime National Park.  I had never heard of it.  Walking along Hyde Pier, we saw the tall ship closer and some other historic things.  Incidentally, the gift shop we had passed was the National Park Bookstore.  On our way out off the pier, we stopped into the shop and Jenny got change to press a couple more pennies.  We skipped the park headquarters across the street in the interest of time.  It was starting to get close to dinner and we wanted to make sure to make the ferry back to our motor-home.

Continuing on, we decided it was about time for dinner, so we started looking for a place to eat, finally finding a shack in the midst of many that offered us crab cakes and fish.  Spending less than we ever could at McDonald's, we ate what may be the best crab cakes in the world, certainly the best I've ever had before going to see the sea lions at Pier 39.

The Snethen Seven on Pier 39 with the sea lions.

 They were out on the blocks and they were lazy, most of them piled up on themselves vying for the space farthest from all the "stupid tourists" who were out to see them.  In spite of that, the kids really enjoyed seeing the sea lions and we left the outer side of the pier for the shops in the interior.

If you haven't been to San Francisco before, you really ought to go!!  It is an amazing and beautiful city!!  Everywhere we went, we saw something new and unexpected.  Granted I haven't done the research recently to know everything about the town and I've only been there once before, a decade ago, but I was amazed to find some new things I'd never seen before.  And there's the beautiful highlights of the town.  Like, I think you should be able to see Coit Tower from just about every part of the City.

Moving onto the Pier, we got a free pearl from a vendor, which we purchased a setting and we'll be giving to Kimberly for her birthday next week.  Jenny went up to the Alcatraz Store and got a hat for Daniel that was actually too small for him so we're giving it to Jonathan, and we bought some bath salts for Jenny's feet.

The Snethen Seven boarded the F-Line to get back to the Port of San Francisco.

Leaving the pier, we let everyone out to play at a playground next to the Aquarium on the Bay for several minutes as twilight hit the City.  Then, we took the F-Line back to the Port of San Francisco, the ferry terminal.  When we first got there, it was nearly a quarter to eight.  Finding the only display boards, it said the Larkspur Ferry boarded at 9:10.  

Dashitall!!  We must have just missed it!!

Most of the shops were closed in the Port Building and we noted earlier that a lot of the Financial District closes after work hours.  We were surprised to see in the morning that Starbuck's closed at 6pm.  While we were trying to figure out what to do for almost an hour and a half, I managed to pull out a sheet of paper someone had given me that morning when we crossed from across the Bay.  According to the sheet of paper, there were ferries departing the City for Larkspur at 8:10 and 8:50.

Unsure about the inconsistency, I decided to ask an employee, but we couldn't find any at first, till we actually found the entrance to the ferry terminal.  There was no one present selling tickets, but we were lucky to find a man collecting tickets for the ferry to Sausalito.  He showed me where the Larkspur ferry boarded.  8:10.  And we were just hearing the chimes for the clock tower.  Eight o'clock.

The ride back was entertaining.  My children provided the entertainment as we watched the lit outlines of San Francisco fade from our view, watching the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate go away until out next visit to one of the most amazing cities in the United States.

Three of the five Snethen children provided entertainment on the ferry back to the Larkspur Terminal.

When we returned to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, we walked back to our RV park, about a half mile until we reached our coach, loaded all our "booty" and loaded the stroller back into the rear of the motor-home.  I even turned the water on that I had turned off in the morning before our departure because it was leaking and I did not want to waste water.

Within a minute of everyone getting into the RV and shutting up for the night, the light sprinkle which had persisted off and on throughout the day yet managed not to break, turned into a full-fledged storm.  If we had been on a later ferry, we'd have been soaked by the cloud that opened on Marin County.  The Lord really watched out for us and provided.  I stayed up later than anyone else, listing to the storm as I worked on the blog.  Jenny said when she woke up at one or two in the morning to feed Jonathan, the wind howled, rocking our home-on-wheels from side to side as sheets of rain pummeled the house. 

Wildlife count to date:  2 moose, 21 bears, 6 rabbits, 7 deer, 13 squirrels an elk and a kitten.  
Pigeons ??, seagulls ??, sea lions ??