I’m back to my vacation and the last stop on our tour of California – San Francisco.

Vista along 17-Mile Drive

On the way to San Francisco, my husband and I stopped in Monterrey and drove the 17-Mile Drive. This picturesque road is not to be missed. It winds through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. We stopped several times on our drive to take in the beautiful vistas and to see the sea lions and otters.

San Francisco was just as I imagined it and was one of my favorite cities on our trip. The weather was nice, but cooler. If you go, take a light jacket because you’ll need it, especially with the breeze coming off the water.

Coit Tower

View from Telegraph Hill

In San Francisco, we saw the Painted Ladies and went up to Coit Tower, which is on Telegraph Hill. We also went to Alcatraz where Al Capone and Robert Stroud were once inmates.

Painted Ladies

Most of our time was spent at Fisherman’s Wharf, which is huge and offers a variety of shops and dining options. The sea lions have their own dock. They are loud, but adorable.

Fisherman’s Wharf

One of my favorite places was Ghirardelli Square.  We stopped in the Original Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop and got hot fudge sundaes. We also sampled some of the chocolate. This was a highlight for me. It gets crowded — the line was out the door when we went — but it moves fast and is worth the visit.

Sea lions on dock

Now, this leads me to what I believe is not worth the time — the cable car. My husband bought tickets for the cable car because it was the one thing he really wanted to do in San Francisco. The line was long, but according to the sign, the wait was supposed to be only an hour. I later found out that the wait can be over two hours in the summer. We waited about two and half hours and, when we finally got on, the cable broke down. No, I’m not joking. It was another half hour before the cable was back up and we got our ride. If, like my husband, the cable car is a must do, then be prepared to wait a long time. I don’t like long waits and, with so many other things to do in San Francisco, I don’t recommend a cable car ride.

Golden Gate Bridge

You can take the time you don’t spend in line waiting for a cable car ride and go to the Golden Gate Bridge and Walt Disney Family Museum, which is what we did on our last day in San Francisco. I wish we’d planned for more time at the Walt Disney Family Museum. It is an interactive museum, which means you should plan two to three hours. We didn’t have that much time, but I still enjoyed learning about the Disney family and how Disneyland and Disney World came to be.

Have you been to San Francisco? If so, what was your favorite thing to do?

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