As mentioned in previous post the rain as forecast was coming down, although it was easier throughout the middle of the day. We headed to Fisherman Wharf and parked the car in a nearby carpark. We decided given the weather to catch the Hop on Hop off bus around the downtown area and some of the main sites. We will take the other route across the Golden Gate bridge tomorrow. The bus ride was very informative and I didn’t realise this was where Levi jeans were first made and remains the world head quarters for this company.

After the tour we headed for Pier 39 to check out the shops and the seals snoozing on the docks. Not so many today but enough to make the walk worthwhile. After spending time taking photos of the seals and of Alcartraz which could be seen easily from the end of the pier. We decided on lunch at where else but Bubba Gumps and yes we all had shrimp but I also had the clam chowder, I can never resist a good chowder. After a very enjoyable lunch, our table overlooked the bay, we head back to the pier for a wander through the stores.

The rain was starting to get heavier so we decided to call it a day, collect the car and head back to the hotel.

Day 2 saw the weather improve a little but still showering heavily at times. The sun tried hard a couple of times to put in an appearance but not successful. The day started for us after parking the car again near Fisherman’s Wharf the catching the Hop on Hop off tour over the Golden Gate bridge and in to Sausolito. We donned the rain ponchos provided and proceeded to top of the bus, Sharpie declined and stayed downstairs and dry. Not sure why he wouldn’t want to ride around in top of open double decker bus in the rain ducking rain soaked tree branches.

It was so worth a bit of moisture and cold to experience driving across the Golden Gate in such a way. The views of the city and the bay were ourstanding and the guide commented on the views as often in good weather fog or smog blocks the view. The next part of the journey was to the quaint, very exculusive and expensive Sausolito. This was interesting and on a fine day it would have been fun to wander around and catch the ferry back to the city, not for us given the weather.

After a hot chocolate and drying off a bit we headed to Union Square and visited Macy’s, very crowded with shoppers so we didn’t hang around long before taking a drive around some of the steep streets for a look before heading back to the hotel, it was teaming with rain by this time and Ian was doing well with the driving especially through the main part of the city in such conditions. We had a very early dinner or late lunch at Denny’s which was located next to our hotel. A wet but enjoyable visit in San Francisco tomorrow we head back towards Los Angles via the coast road.

We decided to drive right through in the day to allow us extra time in San Francisco. San Francisco is 502 miles (800 km) north of San Diego and we traveled on the Interstate 5 (I5) for the entire trip. Until we passed LA the traffic was a bit steady but not as slow as the M4 on a good morning. It was truly amazing how the countryside changed along the way there must have been at least 150 miles (maybe more) of nut trees and they had ripped a lot out due to irrigation restrictions.

Today we saw the most cattle any of us had ever seen before in one place, they were in a big feedlot that went on for miles and miles. They were all black cattle and I would hate to think of the volume of feed they would consume in a day. The feedlot (Harris Ranch) can process up to 250,000 head cattle annually. At any given time, seventy to 100 thousand head of cattle are present at the lot. Cattle typically spend twelve to sixteen months grazing before arriving at the feedlot at 650 to 750 pounds. Once there, the cows spend three to four months fattening up to an additional 400 pounds before they are slaughtered at Harris Ranch’s Selma plant. Now the largest cattle feeder on the West Coast, Harris Ranch produces nearly 200 million pounds of beef a year but is still considered a moderately sized operation. The nation’s largest operations located in the Midwest and Texas feed can feed over 400,000 head of cattle at one time. Mega-feedlot operations such as these pose significant human and environmental health threats including surface and groundwater contamination and air pollution including emission of greenhouse gases. 

We arrived at our hotel a few minutes after 4pm and were settled into our room a short while later. Ian and I duck across the road to Panda Express to get some take away Chinese for dinner. It was a long drive but very interesting just the same. The little red ford focus ticked over the 2000th mile since we picked her up in LA.

The rain started about 200 miles out of San Francisco and it looks as though our visit to the bay area will be wet. According to weather reports, there is substantial rain on the way.