San Francisco

We met Roger and Myrna and went into San Fran. We parked at Fisherman's Wharf with a view of Alcatraz. Spanish for pelican, this Isla de los Alcatraz was named after the birds that were it's only inhabitants. The first prisoners were from the Spanish American war until 1934 when it became the infamous maximum security prison called The Rock, for members of organized crime such as Al Capone.
The Golden Gate Bridge was considered unbuildable because of foggy weather, 60 mph winds and strong oceans currents. It sways 27' to withstand winds of up to 100 mph. The 2 huge cables contain 80,000 miles of steel strands, enough to encircle the equator 3 times. The concrete poured into its piers and anchorages would pave a 5' wide sidewalk from New York to San Francisco.
We jumped on a cable car and rode up and down very narrow streets and hills. The 53 miles of 21 cable car routes with 600 cars were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. These remaining cars are delightful and people hang off the sides as well. It is fun to see the men physically turning the car on the turntable at the end to start again. We passed Lombard St., known as the crookedest in the world. It has 8 sharp switchbacks zigzagging around beautiful flowers and shrubs with a view of the Bay while going down a 40 degree slope. Along the way, we passed the 'Painted Ladies' the Victorian houses painted many different colours. We finished back at Fisherman's Wharf where we lunched at Bubba Gumps for delicious shrimp.