Foggy Bridge and Tall Trees

October 20, 2022

I had another good sleep, so I guess there is something to be said for sleeping without train horns, rattles, and bouncing. I knew I had to quickly make some plans for the day. The last part was clear, I needed to catch the Amtrak bus at 8:50 that would take me over to Emeryville for my 10 pm train. That left over eight hours to fill after my noon checkout. I did not want to be walking for that long, no matter what shape I was in.

I decided that a tour was in order. San Francisco bay cruises are popular, but chose another option, a tour across the Golden Gate to see the redwood trees in the Muir Woods. I would get to stop at the Golden Gate Bridge on the way and then could forego my ride back and return on a ferry from Sausalito, using that as my bay cruise.

I began my research into a Muir Woods tour the old-fashioned way. I inquired at the front desk. I then returned to my little café and knew this time to ask for a croissant with my latte. The woman asked, “No yoghurt today?” She remembered me. I ordered a yoghurt, too.

Back at the hotel I was told that their usual company had no afternoon tour to Muir Woods. I vetoed any investigation of a morning tour. I needed to fill in my afternoon, not the time I had left in my hotel room. The desk clerk tried a couple of other places with no luck. I had now learned that tours sell out in San Francisco. I thanked him and said I would look for myself. I checked online and confirmed that most tours were already booked. Finally, I found a tour with the Big Bus company. This company is better known for their Hop On-Hop Off tours. For some reason they had some bad reviews of the Muir Woods outings, but they had room, so I immediately reserved a place.

I made a quick WhatsApp call to my ladies and packed my bag. It was time to check out. I left my suitcase, planning to be reunited in about 8 hours. My tour started at Fisherman’s Wharf, a 45-minute walk from my hotel.

I took a few photos on the way.

We waited at their office. As noted, the company runs the Hop On-Hop Off tours.

I was pleased with our bus after the driver opened up the roof.

The bus made its way along the waterfront.

We made a stop at the Palace of Fine Arts.

We then drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was loud, windy, and cold with the top down. But no top meant I could get this shot of the bridge.

The driver stopped on the north side. The bridge was enveloped in fog. It was still loud with traffic noise. The bridge might be beautiful, but it is still part of a highway. A company rents bicycles for tourists to pedal across the bridge. I doubt that would be pleasant on a cold and foggy day.

As we drove up the hill above Sausalito, we got a very quick view behind us of the city and bridge enveloped in fog.

Our destination was the Muir Woods National Monument. Coastal or California Redwood trees, once common, are now only found in a narrow strip between Monterey and Oregon. The species includes the tallest living trees on Earth and are also among the oldest living things. The Muir Woods, at that time known as Redwood Canyon, were saved from logging and flooding, and were designated a national monument in 1908.

This was my second visit to the park. My uncle had brought me here back on my 1975 trip. I have great memories of my time with him. It was also sobering to think that the visit was 47 years ago.

The driver told us that we only had about an hour and a half in the park. We all went off on our own walks. I found the photography quite challenging as the forest was dark with bright light shining in the canopy.

I told the driver that I wanted to take the ferry back, so he dropped me off at the dock. I was the only person to get off.

There are two ferries. One is the Blue & Gold Fleet which goes to Fisherman’s Wharf. The other is the Golden Gate Ferry which goes to the ferry terminal in downtown San Francisco. The Blue & Gold ferry was boarding when I arrived at the dock, which made my decision easy, I did not want to rush. After all, I was trying to fill up my eight hours. I was also happy to be landing at the downtown terminal.

The Golden Gate Ferry is part of government transit and cost me $7 for a senior ticket. The boat was not crowded. I found a place on the upper deck in the stern and spent the next hour bouncing around taking photos and videos. This was harder than taking them on the train since wind was added to the equation. The sun was directly behind the Golden Gate Bridge, so all I could do was point my camera in that direction and hope I was capturing it.

We docked at the downtown terminal. I started walking in the direction of my hotel.

I was looking for a place to have supper, but as I got closer to my hotel, I decided to just go back to the Thai restaurant. I knew the food would be good. I had the crab noodles this time. It also had the advantage of a quiet corner seat. I might have been happily sharing tables on the train, but I was content to sit by myself at other times.

I arrived back at my hotel a bit early, having used up only seven of the eight hours. But I was too tired to do anything except relax in the lounge. I knew that it was more comfortable than the waiting room at the bus stop, a little park with benches.

I felt excited as I anticipated another overnight train ride. That answered my question from a couple of days ago when I had wondered how I would feel when it came time to board another train. I was ready to jump back on.