Day 5

Lombrd Street

We took our first true cable car ride today, right from the bottom of the hill at the waterfront.  It goes up an incredible grade and part of the way up we got off at Lombard Street, which is supposed to be the crookest street in the world.  There were no seats so right from the start we were one of those that you see hanging on to the side of the cable car!

We walked ½ ways down the sidewalk next to the street and then back up to catch the next cable car.  We rode it to Union Square, had a snack and met out tour guide. 


This tour took us by bus first and then by foot for the next 2 1/2 hours viewing Victorian houses and then walking around the Pacific Heights neighborhood overlooking San Francisco Bay.  This is where the truly rich and famous live and it was fun walking tour.  We then took a cab to the Stanford Court Hotel, one of the oldest in San Francisco.  There we grabbed a sandwich from a corner stand and met out next guide.

This tour started at 2:00pm and went for 2 hours and was a tour of Nob Hill.  The top of the hill, where we spent most of our time is the location of some of the most famous hotels in the world, The Fairmont, The Mark Hopkins and the Huntington Hotel.  It is also home for Grace Cathedral, the third largest Episcopalian church in the United States.

The view from the side

After touring Nob Hill, hearing about its history and going in the hotels and church, the tour was over.  We then took a bus to an Italian Restaurant we had heard of called Tony’s in the Italian section called North Beach.  At Tony’s we had a slice of Pizza and a Calzone.

Then we headed back to the hotel to change for the fireworks.  We dressed very warmly and thank goodness because it was cold on the ship where we had seats.  The ship was a former WWII Liberty ship and gave us a great view of the bay and the fireworks.  Ed even bought a stocking cap and Barb had five layers of clothing on.

It is amazing when we looked at the forecast before we left Illinois; the weather was predicted to be in the low 70’s during the day.  The problem is that nobody told us about the wind off the bay and how cold it would be!!  Ed brought 1 pair of blue jeans and 4 pairs of shorts.  He has not worn the shorts yet.  Barb bought warm clothes for the evening and has ended up wearing them during the day and night!  But, it has to be better than 100 degree tempetures back home.

$3 - 5 million each

The fireworks were fun and we were very fortunate that we were only a few blocks from our hotel because the street was packed on the way out after the fireworks were completed.

We arrived back at the Marriott by 10:30pm and were we cold – but it was a fun evening.  The fireworks were just ok and there is no question that the fireworks in Boston were the best ever last year.

We finished the evening watching the Boston Pops and the fireworks in Boston on the television in the room.

But – we have made new memories here in San Francisco, frozen as they may be.

Mary Martin and then her son, Larry Hagman

Of course it's cold!!

Tomorrow is our anniversary – Happy Anniversary Barb!!