Part II – Point Reyes, San Francisco & Alcatraz
After a restful sleep at our B &B in Sonoma we were treated to another great breakfast before checking out of our room and heading off to visit a few more wineries. We stopped at Imagery and BR Cohn wineries for tastings. I enjoyed BR Cohn the best out of these two. BR Cohn is the winery owner and manager of the Doobie Brothers. In addition to having a great selection of wine, the tasting room had several band pictures and gold records on display. After visiting these wineries we traveled west through Sobastopol toward Bodega where we picked up Hwy 1 for a really great drive south along the coast. We stopped at a few neat shops on the way south back toward San Francisco. Along the way we stopped at the Point Reyes lighthouse . The light house was a pretty long drive off the main road and I was a bit worried as we drove and drove knowing that our rental car was due at the airport that evening. We arrived at the lighthouse with just enough time to walk around and take a few pictures. The wind at the light house was strong and the views were spectacular. I think we both felt Point Reyes light house was well worth the drive.
After visiting the light house we drove back toward Hwy 1 and traveled south toward Hwy 101. We really enjoyed the drive along the twisty road that looked out over the sea. We stopped a few times to take pictures and check out the view. We missed sunset by about a half hour which was too bad. However, we weren’t sure how long it would take to arrive at the airport so we tried to keep moving as best we could. When we arrived back at Hwy 101 we gassed up and picked up some burgers and In N Out , a well known California burger chain. We then headed to the airport and dropped off our rental car with about 30 minutes to spare. We caught the Bart metro train which took us into the city and then took a cab to the Mayflower hotel. We were going to take a bus from the train to the hotel but the clerk at the hotel suggested a cab since the bus would have gone through the Tenderloin which is a rather dicey area. The Mayflower is an old hotel that was modest, but clean and it suited our needs. Our room was only $98.00 which is a steal in downtown San Francisco.
The next morning we enjoyed a really nice breakfast and then checked out of our room. The hotel was kind enough to let us keep our bags in a secure room while we enjoyed the day walking around San Francisco. Our walk included China Town, Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz. At fisherman's Wharf we shared a clam chowder bread bowl and then watched the sea lions before taking our tour of Alcatraz. Our tour was fun but it began to rain while we were in the prison. The rain prevented us from walking around the grounds so we headed back to the ferry for the short trip back to the city. After returning on the Ferry from Alcatraz we walked to Ghirardelli Square and then caught the cable car back to China Town. We visited a few shops and bought a few souvenirs in China Town before walking back to the hotel to pick up our bags and then catch a cab to the train station. We then rode the Bart train back to the airport and grabbed a quick bite to eat before catching our red eye flight back home.
In 4 short days we really fit a lot into our trip. I’m looking forward to our next adventure – wherever that may take us.
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