Day 27 - San Francisco

Day 27 – Wednesday 5^th February 2014 – San Francisco

At 06.30, the vessel arrived at pier 35, San Francisco.  We were awake at 07.00 and went to the Britannia Restaurant for an egg benedict breakfast at 08.00.

All passengers once more had to go through US Immigration; each deck level had been given a time when to present themselves at the tables, where the process would take place on Deck 3 of the Restaurant.  Each passenger deck level was allotted thirty minutes for the process.

We arrived at our allotted time of 08.45 only to find the queue commenced at the aft end restaurant to the theatre at the front end, the full length of the ship.  Enquiring who was in the queue, it emerged very few had taken any notice of the allotted time.  There was no provision for the old and infirm, I decided to return to the cabin and return later, it was a fiasco.

Returning to the queue at 10.00, we eventually passed through by a friendly US official (sic) at 10.30, I then preceded to the gangway on Deck 2 to go ashore, but was confronted by another queue and informed, no one could go ashore until everyone had gone through Immigration.  To calm down, I went onto the open Deck 3 and reclined in one of the loungers under a lifeboat, and had a kip.

Alcatraz Island

At 11.30 we were ashore and turned right and walked along for five minutes to Pier 39, there are lots of restaurants, cafes, and shops, at the end there is a fine view over the bay to Alcatraz, the famous prison where Al Capone spent a little time at his government’s pleasure.  The island is not too far away (1 ¼ mile) and I was surprise how close it is to the shore, I believe only one prisoner escaped and managed to swim ashore, seemingly the bay is notorious for the cold water and strong currents which run through it.

Golden Gate Bridge

From Pier 39 the view to the left is of the Golden Gate Bridge which we had passed under at five in the morning, needless to say, missed that one.

The bridge colour is red, seemingly when it was built, and the steel work was primed with red lead paint, the locals liked the colour and wanted it to stay that way.  The original plan was for the last coat of paint to be grey.  This may account for a lot of the grey buildings in San Francisco.

Jeremiah O'Brien

 From the same vantage point is an old preserved Liberty Ship ‘Jeremiah O’ Brien’ built in 1943 which served in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres in the world war two.  She is berthed at Pier 45, Fisherman’s Wharf, a short walk from Pier 39.

  This ship was on my bucket list to visit.  The ‘Jeremiah O’Brien’ has a link with another vessel in the UK called the ‘Shieldhall’, based in Southampton, of which I am a member.  The link being, they are the only sea going steam ships still operating in the world, powered by steam reciprocating engines.  Both ships are run on a volunteer basis, and when time allows, I assist in maintaining and running the ‘Shieldhall’.

View over to Cruise  Ships

'Jeremiah O’Brien is open to the public for a small fee, I was aboard and found the Chief Engineer, Bruce Reilly, an  Australian who gave me a wonderful tour of the engine room.

Chief Engineer,  Bruce Reilly at the controls

Happy Alex, wearing Bruce's Engine Driver's Hat

  For me, it was absolutely fascinating, the general lay out, the open triple expansion main engine, the boilers, generators, and pumps. Although, the Foster Wheeler boilers were not in steam, with one opened up for inspection, it was great to be on board and have such a genuine, knowledgeable, Marine Engineer to show me around. We have both promised to keep in touch.

Fisherman’s Wharf is another attraction with its fishing boats alongside their berths with the mainly sea food restaurants and cafes nearby.  We walked along passed The Cannery to the cable car terminus near to the Aquatic Park.  We purchased a $15 day pass to be able to travel on the many different modes of transport. 

Cable  Car

After queuing for a while they loaded up the cable cars, we were off, on this exhilarating ride on the Powell-Hyde cable car line.  It is an amazing trip, as we careered along sat next to the brake man.  How these cars work is fascinating and every time we start off, the brake man dings the bell.  Passengers alight and get on at the flat bits in the middle of the road, sometimes at busy junctions, as you ride up and down the many hills.  If not seats available, passengers hang onto the sides, stood on a short walkway.

Market Street

We passed the cable car museum on our way to the end of the line at Powell Street station which is situated on the Market Street, the main thoroughfare which goes diagonally across San Francisco.

For a main street, I was amazed at the lack of private cars on the road and I believe this is due to the public transport system being that good.

It was time to do a little shopping and a short walk brought us to Macey’s, the biggest department store in the city.  Situated on two blocks, one for women, while the other for men.

Union Square

Macey’s overlooks Union Square, the main central area and from here, it is a short walk into Chinatown. 

Chinatown

This was all hustle and bustles within its narrow streets of exotic shops and restaurants.  We ended up on the street where they have an open markets, this was very busy with people in and out of the colourful fruit and veg. shops.

Lombard Street

We jumped onto a trolley bus to take us to Lombard Street.

This is another visitors attraction where at the top of a steep hill, there is a one way street where the cars wind their way down in between the flower beds, while pedestrians can go up and down on one side.  It must be even more beautiful when the flowers are in bloom.

Grateful for a walk now down the hill, we found Jack’s Bar at Fisherman’s Wharf, where we relaxed before boarding a street car to take us back to the ship.

After a shower and change we were ashore again, this time in the company of two lady passengers, Edwina and Margaret, back to Chinatown for a meal in one of the restaurants.

It was a bit disappointed in the meal, too much for the tourists, but the wine was great. It was raining as we left there, and a short walk to the Hilton Hotel, to finish off with more wine in fine surroundings.  Back on board for midnight and it had been a fascinating day out in this wonderful city.

Looking forward to tomorrow; as we have another day ashore.