San Francisco

We spent our last morning of the trip in Santa Cruz. We got breakfast at Zachary's, it is a breakfast and lunch place. They had outdoor seating with some heaters near the tables. The food was excellent, but the service was terrible. The poor waitress who was taking orders from the four groups seated outside completely mixed up all of the orders. Another waitress came in and sorted it all out, but it was pretty bad. Once we got our food it did taste great - so they had that going for them. 

Next we walked up the Santa Cruz Wharf. It is a huge pier with lots of shops and restaurants. We didn't really care about the shops or restaurants. We just enjoyed exploring this area. At the end of the pier were open squares where you could look down and see underneath the pier. There were tons of Sea Lions down there laying on the pier. 

Near the pier is a nice long sandy beach. Just off the beach is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It is an amusement park with a variety of games & rides right on a mile-long stretch of sandy beach. I have actually always wanted to visit this park, maybe next time we come back after the pandemic. 

Nearby there is a lighthouse that contains the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. All along this area is a narrow road and walking path. This area is known as West Cliff. We thought about walking around the lighthouse, but it was fairly crowded. Instead we drove further down West Cliff until the crowds dispersed. Once there were fewer people we got out and had a very pleasant walk beside the ocean. 

After our walk we drove to San Francisco. Our first stop was at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a great time to visit the bridge. It wasn't that crowded, particularly for a weekend with perfect weather. It was a sunny, clear, warm day. We parked and we walked across the bridge. It was a fun afternoon activity. 

This individual was wakeboarding right under the bridge 

We were hungry, but we had dinner reservations so we decided to eat Ghirardelli for lunch. Alison and I shared a Lands End brownie sundae. It hit the spot. 

We walked down past Fisherman's Wharf and to Pier 39. We enjoyed seeing the Sea Lions at Pier 39, but mostly avoided the shopping because it was crowded. Instead we hiked up to Lombard Street and watched cars navigate this steep and windy road. Then we made our way to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. We found a grassy spot to sit and enjoy the sunset. 

Alison made us reservations to eat at Scoma's Restaurant. It is a waterfront restaurant serving seafood pulled straight off the boat. They were able to move all of their operations outside. We enjoyed incredible seafood while once again sitting at looking at the ocean. The meal was fantastic, easily the best of the trip and the service was superb. We weren't going to get dessert because we were very full after our meal, but our waitress raved about the pastry chef and talked us into trying the cannoli - it was worth it. 

That was the end of our trip. It was a good, relaxing weekend getaway.