Trip to San Francisco Day 8

Had breakfast at The Buena Vista Restaurant, where Irish Coffee was first introduced to the United States (my wife had one). The place is really small and tables are shared; we shared our table with a couple from Las Vegas. We briefly peeked into the Musee Mechanique. Then it was on to Alcatraz.





Darwin Coon, one of the last 29 convicts to leave Alcatraz, was there selling his (not particularly good, if Amazon reviews are an indication) book. The time on the island was definitely interesting. We did the audio tour and spent some time wandering the facility. A little more time would have allowed us to the exhibits discussing things like the occupation of the island by Native American activists in the late 60s.

Back on the mainland, we ate cioppino at Cioppino's on the Wharf, and followed this up with a sundae at Ghirardelli's. For some reason the sundae was all melted; the one we had at the Downtown Disney store in Orlando last year was much better.

The slow meandering walk back to our hotel from the Wharf was possibly the best part of the trip, probably because we knew the city pretty well at this point. Lombard Street (the "crookedest street in the world" but not really) offerred some spectacular views. Columbus Avenue, with the best view of the Transamerica building anywhere in the city. We made a brief stop at the Fairmont Hotel, where the UN charter was drafted in 1945.

Eventually, relucatanty we got ourselves to the airport and took the redeye home. This was an excellent vacation. My wife and I have resolved not to let 2 years pass before the next one.