We only had two days in San Francisco so we had to choose the things we most wanted to do. The activity I was most excited about was biking across the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm no biker, but I thought it would be a fun way to experience the iconic landmark and get some exercise! It was pretty cloudy in the morning, which was disappointing, but the clouds lifted by the afternoon, which you'll notice in the pictures. By the time we actually made it to the bridge, it was clear and beautiful!
Turns out biking the bridge is harder than it sounds. The bridge itself is only a mile or so long, but we had to bike from the place where we picked up the bikes to the bridge - a few miles on not necessarily smooth trails - then go across the bridge on a pathway that's only about six or seven feet wide with bikers and pedestrians going both directions (not the smoothest biking experience) then bike another mile or two from the end of the bridge down into Sausalito - the little town where we caught the ferry back to San Francisco. Once back in San Fran, we had to bike back from the ferry landing to the bike shop. It was about eight miles round trip, which isn't terrible, but when you're not used to biking, it's rough. I don't think I'd ridden a bike in about twenty years. I seriously think my last biking experience involved the kind of bike where you just push back on the peddle to brake. No gear or handlebar brake experience. The people at the bike shop didn't seem to care or notice, though, as they hurried us through each station - watching the safety video, getting us fitted for a helmet, getting us a bike and explaining everything, then testing out the bike there in the shop. Nevermind that I literally crashed into another bike while testing mine out. No need to stop and make sure I actually know how to ride a bike (which I myself was a bit worried about at first). Nope. They just got us on the bikes and sent us on our way. The first little ways was a bit nerve-wracking as I re-learned how to ride a bike. Yikes! We ended up having fun, though, and being on the bridge was incredible. It's such a striking structure. This day might as well also have been known as the See How Many Pictures of the Bridge I Can Take Day. Jaime didn't love the constant stopping for photos.
The view from San Francisco - that's Alcatraz Island on the right.
There was a guy drawing these character-looking shapes on the beach with a rake. I don't know if they actually mean something.
I think that smile was a more-nervous-than-I-feel-comfortable-admitting-as-a-grown-adult smile.
View of the city from the bridge.
It's so imposingly tall close up! I think we read that the towers are over 700 feet tall - nuts! That's like a 70-story building! The road itself is about 200 feet above the water.
The ride over the bridge was actually really stressful. So many people and a novice bike rider don't make a good combination. I made it over without crashing or maiming anyone, though, so I felt pretty accomplished.
I was reeeeally glad we weren't biking on the actual road. I would have died, for sure.
When we reached Sausalito, we had lunch then waited for the ferry. We'd wanted to take more time to explore the town - it's super cute - but the ride took longer than expected and we had to catch the last ferry.
The ferry ride back was freezing, but we did get to see this sailboat nearly capsize. Just kidding, apparently being this slanted is normal.
The ferry dropped us off at Pier 39, so we locked up our bikes and explored a bit before heading back to the bike shop. We saw these sea lions which were crazy. There are pleeeenty of docks available, but they insist upon lying on top of each other.
After we dropped off our bikes, we headed over to ride the cable car. We had to wait about 45 minutes just to get on, though, which was disappointing. We did get to see them turn the cars around which was cool.
By the time we got on, it was nearly dark and we were freezing, so we hurried in and grabbed a seat. Once we were in, though, I realized we'd made the wrong choice. We didn't get to hang onto the side like you imagine for a cable car, and we only rode it for about two blocks anyway. I'm not sure it was worth the wait for such a short ride. That's my biggest regret of the trip - I wish we would've sat or stood on the outside and ridden it for a bit longer. We got off at Lombard Street to see the crooked street but by the time we got there it was dark anyway, so we should've just stayed on and enjoyed the ride. I guess I'll just have to go back! It was cool, though, to see how the operator ran the car.
The view of Lombard Street from the top. I couldn't believe how steep these streets were! It was pretty dark, so we decided to go back the next day with the car so we could get better pictures and drive down the switchbacks!
When we finally made it back to our hotel that night, we were both exhausted. We ate at an Indian restaurant about two blocks from our hotel and we mostly just sat and stared at each other because we were so tired. I was so ready to go to sleep!
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