Day 45 > 51 - Coastal Giants

DATE: Wednesday APRIL 20TH

TIME: 2:25pm mst

LOCATION: bozeman mt

So Im behind again. I am writing this on day 57 currently and its time to catch up. Lets talk San Francisco!

We had two days in San Fran, one to explore the city and a second to go see Muir Woods. We chose to explore first. We got up around our normal time and walked over to the Fisherman’s Wharf area, having lunch at Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe. It was here that I got to try Sourdough Pizza. It was really really good. The sauce was nice and tangy and the dough was delicious. After eating we started walking around the area and stumbled upon a Arcade Museum. They had an immense collection of old fashioned arcade games from the more traditional to the wild and wacky circus themed games. It was really cool to play some of the classics and walk around. Both of us had a really good time.

After the Arcade Museum, we walked further down the road to Pier 13. This was kind of like Gatlinburg but on the ocean. Very flashy, lots of touristy shops and games, rides, etc. I got some ice cream and we walked all around it. We got some good pictures of Alcatraz here which you can find below. It was nice but areas like that arent really my cup of tea normally. What WAS my cup of tea was watching the Sea Lions which were on the adjacent pier. Those guys cracked me up. There were probably around 60 of them all over the place talking to eachother, fighting, and playing King of the Hill. It was very entertaining watching them, well worth the time.

Once we finished up at the pier we decided to go check out Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped at the Welcome Center, but didnt spent much time in there because we thought that wasnt where you could get your stamp. More on that later. We walked one of the paths in the area then stopped for some pictures of the bridge. It was really cool to see it up close. After picture taking we got back in the car and tried to go to the visitor’s center. This turned out to be a rather difficult process. There were apparently a ton of them listed on waze, but most of them didnt actually exist. Why this was is beyond me. We tried to go to two of them getting kind of lost along the way, before realizing that the Welcome Center was actually the place to get the stamp. But unfortunately by the time we made it back there the welcome center had closed. Defeated, we travelled back to the hotel by way of Lombard Street. That was a really cool road and was even steeper than I had imagined. I hadnt realized people actually lived on that road, I think I would go insane. Once we made it back to the hotel, we ordered some food then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Our second day in the area was for Muir Woods. We got a reservation to enter the part at 2pm so we ended up killing time in one of the nearby towns. We got food at a place called Fish Store and I tried fish and chips for the first time. They kinda tasted like someone tried to make chicken tenders but failed. But they werent bad. After eating we got to head into the park and walk around.

So for those who don’t know, I have been trying to go visit the redwoods for literal years. Every time the opportunity arose to go see them I wasnt able to make it. But I am happy to report that I FINALLY made it to the redwoods. We were in the park until closing time, walking around and taking it all in. It was an amazing place. Like a lot of these parks, words don’t really do it justice so take a peak at the photos below. It was really beautiful.

The next day was a travel day, but we made the most of it. We drove along an area known as the Avenue of Giants. Its an alternate path to the main route in the area which takes you through these super dense redwood forests. We stopped to take pictures all over the place, it was really beautiful. Unlike Muir Woods, there weren’t any defined walking paths so you could basically get out and walk around anywhere. It was really cool. It only increased out drive time by a small margin so it is seriously worth taking if you are driving north through NoCal.

Our second stop of the day was at Redwood National Park. This place took what Avenue of Giants and Muir Woods did and stepped it up to 11. This place was amazing. It felt like something out of star wars. We unfortunately didn’t have much time in the park but what we did see we absolutely loved. I don’t think I have seen forest like that in my entire life, it was incredible. Once again, check the pictures below.

The next day we continues on to Portland OG. Our plan initially was to stop at Crater Lake to see it briefly but we unfortunately got snowed out. We had 2 full days in Portland which ended up being very relaxing. My favorite part of Portland was getting to see our good friend Nick! We got to hang out with him the night we arrived and most of our second day in Portland. We didn’t do much besides just hang out, watch tv together and chat, but it was a great time. In general I really liked what I saw of Portland, it seemed like a super nice place to live if you can get over the incredibly temperamental weather. All in all, really awesome time in Portland.

Thats where I am going to place the next cut in the story and start writing the next entry of the blog. The next entry is going to be a really big one so stay tuned!

Thats all for now, stay safe out there

Signing off

-H