There's a Storm a Comin'

We arrived at San Francisco International Airport late on New Years Eve in the aftermath of one of the worst storms to hit California in over one hundred years. British Airways had lost one of our bags so we were running late. The motel was calling, querying our check-in time as the staff wanted to disappear for the evening to celebrate NYE. We still had the half hour journey on the airport airbus to the rental car building and the clock was ticking closer to midnight.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Then we met Warren Jones at Alamo Customer Services. Warren considered the one letter difference in our name somehow made us related and he insisted on a photo as I was now part of his family. Despite being exhausted, traumatised and desperately concerned about time, who was I to refuse his request? This quite bizarre introduction to San Francisco hospitality was a wonderfully warm gesture from a man who obviously saw two travellers at the end of a long journey (and their collective tethers) struggling to keep smiling.

Cable car, San Francisco

We collected the car and drove the wet and windy thirty minutes along the flooded highway to the city. Checked in late (but not too late) and made it out for pizza and a cold beer before the clock struck midnight and welcomed in 2023. All good, thank you Warren. Happy New Year fella.

We were staying in Marina district which is a little out of the way for central San Francisco but has great public transport connections. It's own busy neighbourhood bars and restaurants more than make up for being a little further afield. It's definitely a happening area and is on the doorstep of the Golden State Park.

Marina District Lighthouse, San Francisco

New year's day 2023 and we woke to stunning clear blue USA skies (although they wouldn't last) and jet lag ensured we were up early and out exploring the nearby sea front and checking out the Marina District Lighthouse. Whilst the immediate storm had passed, the sea was still grumbling and the waves crashed over the harbour walls. This made our first view of the formidable island of Alcatraz even more dramatic. In the other direction was the iconic Golden Gate Bridge stretching it's arms out wide.
We really felt we had arrived in San Francisco!
It’s a very pleasant stroll along the Golden Gate Beach heading toward the bridge. We were planning to walk to Fort Point which is the seaside fortification nestled under the southern side of bridge. It's home to a small lighthouse and was the location for the famous shot from the film Vertigo (1958) when Kim Novak leaps in to the sea, much to the distress of James Stewart. Unfortunately last night's storm had caused mudslides along the seafront, forcing the closure of the only road to the Fort.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

So instead we explored the hiking trails around the Golden Gate Park which offered loads of great views of the bridge. There you'll find the Golden Gate Bridge Visitor Centre which has great facilities and a shop boasting a few funky souvenirs. There's also a terminus at the park. There is a myriad of transport options in San Francisco: Bus, modern trams, the iconic steel cable driven cars and of course San Francisco is the birthplace of Uber should all else fail.

We were keen to get our bearings and check out the rest of the seafront of the city so we jumped on the number 28 bus at the Bridge terminus and quickly found ourselves at Fisherman's Wharf.

Fort Point Lighthouse, San Francisco

Fisherman's Wharf is a busy focal point for tourists. There you’ll be able to grab a famous sea food chowder and explore hundreds of tacky souvenir shops that stretch across the wooden boulevards of the huge piers. There are funfairs to explore and a huge range of boat trips depart from this area, including bay tours and excursions to Alcatraz and nearby Sausalito. Be sure to check in at Pier 39 to say hello to the most famous residents of the San Fran seafront. The enormous sea lions take no heed of the tourists flocking to watch them lazily bask in the sunshine (or rain), stretched across large swathes of the pier.

Fairground attractions at a rainy Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Perfect for a rainy day is the quite bonkers Musée Mécanique which is, according to the website “One of the world's largest privately owned collections of coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade artefacts.” There are over three hundred machines in their original working condition that shine a scary light into what has kept folk entertained over the years! There is also a fabulous Black &White photo booth (that we love) for great souvenir pics.

The Sea Lions of Pier 39, San Francisco

From Pier 33 the only authorised trips leave to Alcatraz come rain or shine, although the storms we encountered closed the national parks for a few days. Next door is the large ferry Building. Inside there are lots of expensive, foodie type shops. It’s a good spot to grab a waterfront view of the Oakland Bay Bridge, which is obviously the poor relation to the Golden State Bridge in PR stakes but is almost as spectacular to look at.

Union Square is the commercial centre of San Francisco and there you’ll find the usual large brands supplying consumer retail heaven. It’s also adjacent to the famous China Town and it’s definitely worth a wander through here grabbing some dumplings and tofu sweetcorn soup on the way.

A highlight of any stateside trip is breakfast or brunch at an authentic American Diner with coffee on tap. So a special mention to the Pinecrest Diner near Union Square as they delivered the perfect hangover brunch of corned beef hash and two eggs, over easy.

A few of the attractions of Musée Mécanique, San Francisco

Rounding up central San Francisco, Haight Ashbury was the focal point of the 1967 Summer of Love and is now a stoned, mural-garbed collection of expensive vintage boutiques and high-end skater clothing outlets, sandwiched in between shops selling smoking paraphernalia .

The murals are ok, one of Hendrix was cool. But Haight Ashbury and what it appears to stand for now, i.e. high-end targeted commercialism with not much love. Is it what Jimi would have wanted to be associated with? An exception to the expensive branded nonsense is the rather splendid (and huge) record store, Amoeba Music which can be found along the main Haight Street. Maybe the grey skies and drizzle tainted our view of Haight Astbury but escaping the rain we had a great couple of pints at the nice Magnolia Brewing Company. The beer was so nice so nice we bought the t-shirt, so we left HA on a high, as so many do.

Next time, more tales of San Francisco in the rain.

Jimi Hendrix, Haight Ashbury, San Francisco