On Tuesday, I drove into San Francisco to complete my cross-country journey on the Lincoln Highway. Lincoln Park is on the western edge of town, with spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown in the distance. At the bus stop near the Legion of Honor museum, I found the marker of the Western Terminus of the Lincoln Highway. This part of my journey had come to an end.
San Francisco sits on a peninsula in the bay, and the city is built on numerous steep hills. I couldn't take a picture of it, but I drove that crazy Lombard Street section that goes steeply downhill through a series of s-curves. Tourists were everywhere taking pictures and videos of people driving down that street! It was actually a really pretty street, but I bet the locals get tired of all the attention. Here are some views of downtown San Francisco.
I had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, which was the central shipping district for many years. Now, it's pretty touristy with the container ships docking somewhere else. You can see Alcatraz clearly from the shoreline. Everyone's cooking seafood, and gulls and pigeons are everywhere waiting for you to drop something.I couldn't resist; I HAD to take a cable-car ride. I'm so glad I did! The cars are turned around manually at the end of the line on a crude turntable, and the driver stands upright about 15 feet behind the windshield. On the 2-3 mile trip to the shopping district, they make several stops in the middle of the street, and traffic has to stop for them. People board and disembark, and a conductor gets their tickets or money. I looked around downtown for a few minutes, then rode back to the Wharf. The hills are incredible, and you can smell the brakes!
I'll be in Southern California next as I begin to wind my way home...
