San Francisco Part 2 (Muir Woods, Sausalito, Alcatraz, and the Palace of Fine Arts)

On our second day in San Francisco, we got up early to wind our way (literally) to Muir Woods.  We had a park entrance reservation for 9 a.m. Lucky us–it was Arbor Day, so there were no entrance fees!

I was imagining the giant sequoias that I’d seen on a childhood trip to the area, but the redwoods were still awe inspiring in their own right.  There are several trails through the woods, all of them well-marked and mostly level though one section rose pretty high and got very narrow.

After about three hours in Muir Woods, we left the parking lot and, on the advice of the parking lot attendant, turned north to see Muir Beach, which was about 20 minutes up the road.  We Southerners were zipped up tight in our windbreakers, but there were (must have been) Eskimos there on the beach, frolicking in the cold waves of the Pacific Ocean.

A few minutes later, we were back on the road, heading for lunch in the little touristy town of Sausalito. There’s no fog in this sweet spot located only two miles south of the Golden Gate Bridge!

Sausalito reminds me of southern Italy, with its ocean views and beautiful homes nestled all the way up steep mountainsides.  We found the food and the shopping to be just right!

It was enough to wear us out and send us back to our comfy Airbnb for some much-needed rest.

The next morning, we parked again in the Pier 39 parking garage and made our way to Alcatraz.  After the easy 20-minute ferry ride, we donned our headsets for the free audio tour and spent about an hour walking through the grim halls of the maximum security federal prison.

The gardens on Alcatraz are beautiful, and they were cultivated by inmates, including Elliot Michener, who attributed his rehabilitation to his job in the gardens. The bookstore on the island sells a sweet children’s book about him entitled, The Gardener of Alcatraz: A True Story.

After spending some additional time touring the gardens and bird watching, we returned to the city for lunch and contemplated what to do next.  On our city tour the previous day, I’d only gotten a glimpse of the Palace of Fine Arts from the back of the van.  We were momentarily distracted by what looked to be another car break-in, and our driver quickly moved on.

Well, I wanted very badly to go back!  In light of what we knew about the car break-ins, we decided to leave our vehicle in the garage and Uber a ride to and from the Palace.

It was a cloudless and cool, windy afternoon, and the path around the Palace offered countless photographic gemstones.  I couldn’t seem to get enough of it!  What a treasure for the city of San Francisco!

Back in the Airbnb that night, we relaxed and watched the sun go down.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!