Run, Ride and a Rock — Phoenix Forties

Dec 10

Dec 10 Run, Ride and a Rock

A full day of touristing today!! We’re staying near the Presidio which is one of the original forts of San Francisco and where the earliest settlement was. Most importantly, it right near the Golden Gate Bridge so it was of course an obvious destination for a morning run to get our first up close glimpse of one of the most famous bridges in the world.

Next up was a mode of transport to get even closer to the bridge: a bike. We hired bikes from the inner city and rode along the waterfront to the foot of the bridge. Sight challenge here for those of us used to riding around Melbourne: being at the foot of the bridge meant having to ride up a fairly steep little hills. The heart and thighs really felt that! However, it was worth it as we got to ride over the bridge which was spectacular. Fun Fact: there is 129,000 km of steel wire used in the two main cables.

Following the destruction of our hamstrings getting up to the bridge on a bike, it was a whizzy ride back to the bike hire and then onto Pier 33 to catch the ferry across to Alcatraz, or what the locals call The Rock and more infamously known as Al Capone’s home for a few years. In actual fact, the buildings on the island started out as a Civil War fort, then a military prison during the World Wars and it was only for its final act that it was a federal penitentiary. Anyhoo, history notwithstanding, conditions for occupants of any era appear to have been less than pleasant: the wind is cold! Bitingly cold and we keep being told that its warm in San Francisco right now.

A visit to San Francisco is apparently not complete without having a Clam Chowder in a sourdough bowl which I can confirm is absolutely delicious. Kate - this holiday is turning into the tour of Spicy Margaritas and the one at Fog Harbour nearly rivalled the one we had at Lucy Liu!