So we spent the night on the train — not the best sleep but enjoyable. Sunrise from our window.
Here I am getting up and going out for coffee.
And Ed when the bed is up and we are back to our seats.
And then the “facilities” — behind the door on the left is a combo toilet and shower. We actually used the shower. Not too bad.
We were delayed until 8:45 so we ended up having breakfast in the dining car (got our 3 pre-paid meals in). We sat with a couple who were about our age but looked like they were still stuck in the 1960s. We thought we would have nothing in common but we did. Turned out that they were Major League Baseball enthusiasts like us and had been to all but 4 of the stadiums. (We still have 12 to go.). But here’s the thing. They had reached all of them by train!
Travel note — the train to San Francisco stops in Emeryville or Oakland. Then one has to switch by bus to an intermodal station in downtown. Then Uber to your hotel. We arrived around 10 to the Westin St. Francis on Union Square, where we first lodged in 1977 and have several times since.
Surprise! Our room was ready and it was beautiful. Although it was not on a high floor, we even had an outdoor patio.
We took a brief nap (since train sleep wasn’t great) and then headed out to Fisherman’s Wharf to revisit another of our favorite haunts. Mid summer the tourist traffic is fierce, so we didn’t even try to ride the trolley. Instead we took a nearby city bus which was cheap and convenient.
The Wharf was very much as it has been, but very crowded today. Weather was gorgeous but extremely windy. We just enjoyed walking along the waterfront.
We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Alioto’s, and snagged a table on the patio by the street to people watch. The special of the day? Petrale! We indulged!
Afterwards we walked all the way to Pier 39, which had become way too touristy for us, but fun to see again.
The highlight was viewing the sea lions which are on the nearby K-Dock. They mysteriously took up residence there after the October 1989 earthquake and hundreds now “haul out” there seasonally — for the available food supply and lack of predators.
We also caught a glimpse of Alcatraz.
We ended our walk down memory lane at Ghiardelli’s Square, where they gave away free squares of chocolate and sold a variety of chocolate specialties. Too bad we were still full from lunch.
Then we headed back to the hotel by bus. On the way, I stopped at nearby Britex Fabrics before it closed, but didn’t find anything special.
Tonight we went to our favorite San Francisco restaurant — Tadich’s Grill, the original “cold day restaurant” (long story) established in 1849, making it California’s oldest restaurant. Part of its tradition is an only male wait staff clothed in white starched uniforms, but tonight we noticed a female in the same uniform. It was crowded as usual (they don’t take reservations) so we sat for a minute at the bar.
Soon they had a table for 2 nearby. We both had petrale — Ed had grilled and me panfied, equally delicious. The food, the ambiance and the evening was as great as always.
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