San Fran 11\01\14

Great city, great transport system, great weather!
After having some fun with our shuttle from the airport to our accommodation - it was an hour late; we slept in the next day and had a fun afternoon catching the old cable car in Powell St to Fisherman's Wharf where we saw the seals and sea lions that rest on the marinas in the bay. They are very close to the wharves so plenty of photo opportunities but a bit on the nose after awhile. Kids went souvenir shopping and played the arcade games.
Next day we went to the Mission District to visit Mission Delores first. It is the oldest mission started by the Spanish and still standing in California. It was built in the late 1700s and survived the big earthquake in 1906 while the church adjoining was destroyed. It was rebuilt and was designated by Pope Pius 12 as a basilica and visited by Pope John Paul 2. The old graveyard next door is mostly Irish immigrants following the gold rush in the 1800s. The district is now mostly Latin American.
Next stop was Haight Ashbury where the hippy movement of the1960s was most prevalent. The boys had a local brew while the girls shopped.
Then off to the Presidio where the kids visited the Walt Disney museum and back on the bus home where Davo cooked all a nice dinner. We caught buses and trams everywhere - the transport is so good.
The following day I went on my early morning run around Golden Gate Park (which is no where near the bridge by the way...). Its a huge reserve stretching to the ocean but it is not well lit, so a little difficult to navigate around in the dark and on the move and avoid the homeless people (there are many in the city), but I saw some racoons and a coyote until a dog dragging its owner chased it.
This was our last full day in SF and it was lovely and sunny so we decided to hire bikes and cycle over the Golden Gate bridge into Sausilito across the bay for lunch. Em and mum walked the bridge but didn't join us for lunch. We caught the ferry back past Alcatraz and met them back at Giradelhi Square and headed home as all were pretty tired.
Just waiting at the airport for our flight to LA. Our trip is almost over as we leave the country tomorrow for home sweet home. So this will probably be my last blog. We will upload all the photos since Quebec when we are back in Aust.
See you all soon.
Mike