Tuesday was “turn around day” which means the ship returns to San Francisco, all the passengers leave, and then a new set of passengers gets on to start a new voyage. Turn around day is crazy busy for just about everyone on the ship, except me. It’s my day off. So, after moving from my luxurious passenger cabin with a giant window into my windowless crew cabin, I got off the ship to explore San Fran.
I spent most of the day walking around the Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf area, enjoying the sunny weather and the sights. My favorite thing was all of the California sea lions that hang out on Pier 39. They first arrived there after the big earthquake in 1989 and have stayed since. During the winter there are up to 900 sea lions on the pier, but in the summer a lot of them migrate south. During my visit there were probably about 400 sea lions and they were a riot. They bark and bark and bark. I made an audio recording but can’t figure out how to post it here.
For lunch I had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl because it seemed like a very San Franciscan thing to eat. Then I re-boarded the ship – we are now heading north to Ketchikan, Alaska. Here are a few pictures from my afternoon in the city by the bay…
I’ll be returning to San Francisco every 10 days, so if any of you have suggestions for things to do or places to see, please let me know!
The Adventures of Stephanie 