Morning came early for me since I was still on East Coast time. I found one restaurant that opened at 7:00. I was the second one in, and the place was full by 7:30! I ate at the Hollywood Cafe on North Point Street. It was an amazing breakfast!! I needed to eat well in preparation for my day, and my order of "Vivian Leigh" was perfect. Feast your eyes below! Look closely at the fresh fruit which included every fruit I could imagine except peaches. I highly recommend this place.
After breakfast I had some time to kill and visited Lombard Street. This is a very steep hill which includes several sets of stairs, lovely flowers, pretty homes, and limited traffic. It was absolutely gorgeous and probably my favorite part of San Francisco!
My big physical activity on tap for the day was biking across the Golden Gate Bridge. I pre-ordered an excursion from Dylan's Tours. I was impressed with the price ($85), the kindness of the employees, and the organization of my tour. The excursion included the bike rental, a shuttle to Muir Woods, and a return shuttle to Fisherman's Wharf.
I really enjoyed the bike ride through part of Fisherman's Wharf, along Marina Drive, across the bridge, and into Sausalito. Surprisingly there was a good deal of downhill riding. Full disclosure though, there were some hills that I had to push the bike up. I tried, but some of these hills are freakishly steep!!!
I loved Sausalito! It is a little bayside village with several shops and tons of restaurants. (I visited the Sausalito Taco Shop and had the BEST homemade limeade. It hit the spot after the bike ride.) There were so many flowers that I could smell them as I rode in. It really is a lovely little town. I learned later that it is extremely expensive to live there. (Some teeny houseboats right outside of town go for $2 million!!!!)
The next part of the day was majestic Muir Woods. The shuttle took us on a road with more hairpins than I've ever been on, including driving through the Smokies. The tense ride was definitely worth it though when we got to the woods. Muir Woods is a well-managed national park with trails, bridges, streams, and TREES. The shuttle driver recommended staying on the main trail which was well-marked and passed four bridges. I took his recommendation and avoided the less-walked trails. I really enjoyed my walk. It was well worth the additional $15 which I had to pay to get into the park. I apologize ahead of time for all the tree pictures. I could not resist.
Day 2 was delightful in so many ways -- lovely views, exercise, new experiences, personal accomplishment. It was a day well spent.
P.S. Sorry, San Francisco, but I still love NYC more. :)
Oh!!! I love this day, too. With you in spirit.
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