Day 8: Quick Tour of San Fransico

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from parking area (Cell Phone)

Today was our last day in California, we fly home tomorrow.  We left Visalia around 7:30 AM and got to our hotel outside the San Francisco Airport around 11:00 AM, where our room was ready for us to check into.  After we checked into the hotel we drove down the road to In-N-Out Burger for lunch, then headed into San Francisco for stops at Pier 39 and the Golden Gate Bridge.  

We stopped at Pier 39 first, so I could see the seals and Jim could get a view of Alcatraz.  Pier 39 has turned very touristy compared to the last time I was there, which was about 10 years ago. We thought about taking a tour of Alcatraz, however, all the National Park Tours were booked. Yes, Alcatraz is now part of the National Park System.  After seeing the seals, we went to the aquarium, where I got a 50-percent discount on admission for being a National Zoo member. Which was a good thing since the aquarium is rather small.  After touring the aquarium, we headed back to car to go over the Golden Gate Bridge viewing and visitor’s center.   At the bridge visitor center I got my park passport stamped and then we walked to the first tower of the bridge.  We considered walking the whole span, but that would've taken a while and I only paid for an hour of parking.   After that we decided to head back to the hotel, thus concluding our vacation.

We need to get up very early tomorrow for our flight home.