FERRY BUILDING
Friday, July 20, 2007.
Today, Mary, Joan and Manny, Sue, and Marie and I had a great outing. We met at the Vallejo ferry Terminal, and took the ten A.M. ferry into San Francisco. We pushed back from the dock right on time, and headed South to San Francisco - some 25 miles away. The trip used to take 50 minutes, which was 10 minutes faster than the first ferry put in service about ten years ago. Due to increased fuel costs, they have slowed the boat down, and now it takes an hour - just like it used to.
This is a catamaran- type ferry (twin hulls), and gets its high speed by hydroplaning over the water. It gives a smoother ride, too. Our boat is named “Solano” - after our county. The capacity is about 300 passengers. I asked one of the crew how many were aboard and he said 200. I also asked him what the “break-even” number was. He said that he didn’t know, but he was sure that someone in management had calculated it.
We cruise along the Mare Island channel at five knots, in order to minimize any wake damage along the nearby shores. Have a close-up view of the eastern waterfront of Mare Island. It is a smooth ride. It is a little windy, but no whitecaps. We are sitting in the front row, so have a good view ahead. Can see the sun bouncing off the cars crossing on the Coquinas bridge. In the distance I can see Mt. Mamalis. I can see the oil tankers at the pier of Phillips Petroleum in Rodeo, and the refinery in the distance. We pass beneath the Richmond-San Rafael bridge (Highway 580). As we pass South of Angel Island, I can see both the San Francisco- Oakland Bay Bridge, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. We arrive at the Ferry Building dock at 11 o’clock - right on time. Most of the passengers stayed on board, as the ferry would go up to Fisherman’s Wharf/ Pier 39, before returning to Vallejo.
We split up and browse among the many nice shops inside the terminal. The terminal survived the big earthquake of 1906. It was a busy place before the Bay bridge was completed in 1937. The only way to get to San Francisco back then (other than a long circuitous route over land) was by ferry.
We met for lunch together - what a great invention - the cell phone! Then we sat on the waterfront for about an hour and ” people watched” until our ferry came in for our 3:30 return to Vallejo. Our return trip on the “Mare Island” was uneventful, and we saw the same scenery that we saw coming down. It was a beautiful day, and I hated to see the end of our delightful day jaunt.
Friday, July 20, 2007.
Today, Mary, Joan and Manny, Sue, and Marie and I had a great outing. We met at the Vallejo ferry Terminal, and took the ten A.M. ferry into San Francisco. We pushed back from the dock right on time, and headed South to San Francisco - some 25 miles away. The trip used to take 50 minutes, which was 10 minutes faster than the first ferry put in service about ten years ago. Due to increased fuel costs, they have slowed the boat down, and now it takes an hour - just like it used to.
This is a catamaran- type ferry (twin hulls), and gets its high speed by hydroplaning over the water. It gives a smoother ride, too. Our boat is named “Solano” - after our county. The capacity is about 300 passengers. I asked one of the crew how many were aboard and he said 200. I also asked him what the “break-even” number was. He said that he didn’t know, but he was sure that someone in management had calculated it.
We cruise along the Mare Island channel at five knots, in order to minimize any wake damage along the nearby shores. Have a close-up view of the eastern waterfront of Mare Island. It is a smooth ride. It is a little windy, but no whitecaps. We are sitting in the front row, so have a good view ahead. Can see the sun bouncing off the cars crossing on the Coquinas bridge. In the distance I can see Mt. Mamalis. I can see the oil tankers at the pier of Phillips Petroleum in Rodeo, and the refinery in the distance. We pass beneath the Richmond-San Rafael bridge (Highway 580). As we pass South of Angel Island, I can see both the San Francisco- Oakland Bay Bridge, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. We arrive at the Ferry Building dock at 11 o’clock - right on time. Most of the passengers stayed on board, as the ferry would go up to Fisherman’s Wharf/ Pier 39, before returning to Vallejo.
We split up and browse among the many nice shops inside the terminal. The terminal survived the big earthquake of 1906. It was a busy place before the Bay bridge was completed in 1937. The only way to get to San Francisco back then (other than a long circuitous route over land) was by ferry.
We met for lunch together - what a great invention - the cell phone! Then we sat on the waterfront for about an hour and ” people watched” until our ferry came in for our 3:30 return to Vallejo. Our return trip on the “Mare Island” was uneventful, and we saw the same scenery that we saw coming down. It was a beautiful day, and I hated to see the end of our delightful day jaunt.
1 comment:
Hi Grandpa! Looks like you guys had a good time in the city! Congratulations on your blog. I look forward to reading it often. Love you!
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