CRUISE LIKE A DAVIS : From the Baltic to the Bay- Day 7

From the Baltic to the Bay- Day 7

Welcome to the Rock

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Another Bucket List check off.

Morning

It was planned to be a busy last day in the bay and I was up early not feeling 100%. We woke up with the sunrise, got ready for the day and went to get breakfast in Chinatown. There was a great bakery near our hotel and we walked the short 3 blocks to get some food. The Brioche Bakery offered hot and fresh breakfast food like quiche and eggs benedict as well as fresh fruit and bakery items. It is very reasonably priced and the service was outstanding.

This was a very small family-operated business and we LOVED it!

I ordered the French Baguette and fresh fruit.

Chris had the eggs benedict.

I ate very light and was still not feeling very well. As I continue to recovery from my bout with Covid Pneumonia 3 weeks prior, I am just so tired and physically exhausted about every 5 days or so. This happened to be the day I was feeling terrible. Combine this with the "late cruise bloat" (the non-stop eating and binging during a vacation and then at the end you feel as if you could just pop) and I was just done. We went back to the hotel and packed all of our belongs and then checked in for our return Southwest flight to Houston the following morning. TIP- If you are flying Southwest, remember to set an alarm for 24 hours prior to departure to "check in". I actually set it for about 20 minutes before that actual 24 hour mark. You cannot check in until the actual second the 24 hour mark hits but I am ready and just push CHECK IN as soon as the clock strikes. This time we got boarding Group B, again, but #5 and #6, so overall it was not a bad draw.

The walk back to our hotel was just beautiful!

I loved this hotel and room so much!

A view of Chinatown from the front of our hotel.

Then we went to drop off our luggage with the hotel Front Desk Customer Service while we toured Alcatraz. This was so nice and convenient and the hotel was very accommodating. We had set up an Uber the night before and this, too, was very easy.

Our Uber driver was a little late but we planned well enough this didn't effect us. We arrived at Alcatraz Landing at Pier 33 around 9:10AM for a 9:30AM check in time. We meandered around the grounds and read up on the island before I decided to go over to the check in area and get behind someone who looked like he was the 1st in line. Man, was that GOOD IDEA! All of the sudden, the line got VERY deep. Luckily, I was the 2nd party in line. We got checked in for the tour and then boarded the boat around 9:55AM and got a GREAT seat for the ride to Alcatraz Island. TIP- THINK POSH for the ferry to Alcatraz. Port Side on the way out (to Alcatraz) and Starboard on the way home (Back to San Francisco). This helped a lot and we got PRIME TIME SEATS to Alcatraz!

This was a larger scale demonstration of Alcatraz that explained the areas to you before you arrived on the island. It was like a HUGE map and really helped me know where to go and how to get there!

We did the POSH and got GREAT SEATS!

Coit Tower from the Ferry.

The Bay Bridge from our ferry.

Alcatraz Island

Pier 39 and downtown San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge

As I've mentioned in previous cruise blogs, I LOVE small boat/ ferry rides!

Chris enjoying the ride to Alcatraz

Downtown San Francisco

We found it odd that this sign was still there... For the tourists, I guess.

The final approach.

The ferry ride to Alcatraz Island is only about 15 minutes and we arrived around 10:15AM. We then started to make the 10+ story climb towards the cell house. TIP- As of July 2021, Alcatraz Island is 100% capacity BUT is still limiting the number of people in the cellhouse at any given time. Because of this, we made sure to get off the ferry and then immediately go towards the cellhouse. The climb to the cellhouse was NOT for the faint of heart and I was still not feeling very well. So much for getting there early, I guess! But eventually we made it and got our small devices for the Audio Tour. TIP- You can download the Alcatraz app and run the tour through your phone but I wanted my phone for pictures and I was worried about the battery draining. We just took the CLEAN radio-like devices and it worked out VERY WELL!

Our first view of the cellhouse was very humbling.

Once in the cellhouse, we were told all about the cells, prisoners and so much other information. We were able to see the main lower areas of this prison house, as well as the recreation area, library and even the dining hall. The stories we heard about the prisoners was absolutely fascinating. This was easily the most interesting and fascinating tour I have ever taken in my life! I highly recommend you take this tour, if tickets are available. TIP- We purchased our tickets from the official tour company Alcatraz City Cruises for $42 each.

Chris's wingspan was wider than the cells which were 5 feet wide and 9 feet deep.

This was so fascinating.

A look at a normal cell on "Broadway" in the cellhouse.

Another view of "Broadway"

The Rec Lawn.

Making memories... I love doing this WITH you!

More of the cells at Alcatraz.

Some of the most famous inmates to serve time at Alcatraz.

Towards the end of the tour we learned inmates had instruments and hobbies like "crocheting" supplies mailed to them.

It's time for visitation.

A reenactment of the inmates who actually escaped Alcatraz.
They placed fake heads on their beds. It is all just completely fascinating.

I have always known when we made it to San Francisco we would do Alcatraz but as COVID precautions were still not lifted in May, I wondered if we would be able to see it. Then on May 29th from my hospital bed, I got notification that Alcatraz would be 100% so I jumped on it and we actually got tickets. GOD IS SO GOOD!

The Dining Hall menu

They had to have the knives in a box with the shape of each knife so if after feeding times a knife was missing, they would know.

Good Prison food... That is like saying good school cafeteria food!
I'm a teacher... that doesn't exist!

After the cellhouse tour, we meandered all around the island until our return ferry arrived. There are designated times the ferry returns to San Francisco, but you are allowed to stay on Alcatraz Island as long as you wish. We stayed on the island for about 3 hours and then boarded the 12:30PM ferry back to San Francisco.

A view of San Francisco from the island.

We LOVE the Golden Gate Bridge

And this is why I am not driving these streets... Look how steep they are!

We loved San Francisco.

Mine... Mine... Mine! There were SO MANY BIRDS!
I am reminded, that I HATE birds!

The lighthouse on Alcatraz Island!

Another view of the cellhouse.

THIS... SO MUCH THIS!
This needs to be the motto of our society.

This was the most AMAZING and interesting tour I have ever taken!
It is a MUST if you are in San Francisco!

Afternoon

As we got back in to San Francisco, I ordered an Uber and the wait time was about 20 minutes. Then all of the sudden, a different Uber was offered for us. We practically walked off the ferry and into the Uber. This was nice and very convenient. The Uber took us back to the hotel and since it was 1:30PM, we decided to go get lunch in Chinatown. We did not have a place in mind so we just went to the first (good and safe looking) Chinese Dim Sum restaurant we saw. Dim Sum Plus on Clay St. was good and the service was fast, despite only 2 people working. Chris had the Peking Duck, which he said was fabulous, and I had the Shrimp Chow Mein. We had never had authentic dim sum so we ordered some of that too. We learned towards the end of our meal that this was a CASH ONLY place. Good thing we won at the casino and had cash, haha!

The Peking Duck.

The shrimp Chow Mein

Dim Sum

After lunch we secured our luggage at the hotel and completely checked out of the Hilton San Francisco Financial District hotel and headed to Baker Beach. Baker Beach is a FREE beach located on the central pacific side of San Francisco just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. Chris was able to touch the Pacific Ocean for the very first time and it was "refreshing". TIP- This beach was absolutely GORGEOUS with 3 different looks all in one. You can see a stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge, a rocky California view and a 3rd view of the small California town on the beach. However, be forewarned that if you walk closer down towards the rocks below the Golden Gate Bridge, this is a NUDE beach. We did not know this and accidentally stumbled upon a few weird sights. That is about all I will say but if you are traveling with kids, especially, stay closer to the Baker Beach parking lot.

Welcome to Baker Beach

I loved this beach.

Selfie time

This beach is worth this view... It is absolutely priceless.

California beach... I love you!

Priceless memories... We loved Baker Beach.

The California coastline.

After Baker Beach we started our trek down to San Jose where we would be staying for the night before our early morning flight back to Houston. This was our first encounter with heavy California traffic on the west side of San Francisco. It took us about an hour to get out of the steep streets of San Francisco and onto I-280. Here we also encountered stop and go traffic. I had to let Chris drive most of this because I was just so worn out and had absolutely no energy.

We made a pit-stop in Cupertino to see the Apple Park but unfortunately, it was also closed to the public so we could only see it from the outside. Then we went to Main Street Cupertino to try Philz Coffee. My sister in law, D'Ann, suggested this to us and it was a REAL WINNER! The best coffee I have ever had! Mr. Philz, please come to Houston ASAP! Thanks D for the suggestion!

The menu at Philz Coffee... not extensive but just what the doctor ordered!

Cheers!

The coffee did perk me up a bit but we still had some traffic issues getting to our hotel near the airport. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites San Jose Airport and they offered a free airport shuttle to and from the hotel/ airport. We were supposed to turn in our car rental the following morning at 5AM but we got an email during our drive stating the hours for the Rental Car Center didn't open until 7AM so we decided to turn in the car early.

This was not a fancy hotel but got the job done. Just a typical airport hotel.

We grabbed some dinner at Una Mas, think Chipotle, and then turned in our car at the San Jose Airport and took the hotel shuttle back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel around 7PM and I hated this so much at the time but we just chilled in our room watching an Office marathon on TV. I hated that it was our last night of vacation and we were in the lame hotel room but I was so tired and just couldn't bring myself to call an Uber and go to a bar or restaurant. I was asleep by 8:30PM. So sorry, honey, for a lame last night of vacation!

The steak fajita quesadilla at Una Mas.
Una Mas is a California fast-food chain and the food was not bad and reasonably priced.

It was a different type of last day of vacation but it was full of excitement and memoires. We are so grateful that we were able to see and do everything we wanted to before my post- Covid fatigue kicked in! Thank you Jesus!

UP NEXT... We're headed back to the Lone Star State.

Thanks for following along! We appreciate your support!

God is good... ALL THE TIME!

DID YOU MISS A DAY? Get caught up below:

The Backstory

Do You Know the Way to San Jose- Day 1

Redwoods and Wine Country- Day 2

And Then There Were Four- Day 3

A Capital Day- Day 4

We're Going Vertical, Mav- Day 5

The Far East- Day 6

Check out ALL of our LAND travels: