SAN FRANCISCO

FERRY TO SAN FRANCISCO
Today is Wednesday, July 28, 2010. We are leaving Quail Creek at 9:15 - right on time! - for the Ferry building in Vallejo. From there, we will catch the 10 o’clock boat to San Francisco. Counting Kelli and Tony, there are ten of us aboard our mini-bus. This is the largest group that I have seen in the two years that I have been going on the Quail Creek “Outings”.
We pass the Arco station, and gas is $3.00 a gallon. I don’t know what Shell, nearby, is charging, because Tony used the newly opened Manuel Campus Boulevard cut-off. This saves about 5 minutes (and much less traffic) than our former route. This new road is part of the larger $5 million North Texas/ Highway 80 interchange. The large project has been in progress for over two years. The Futures price for crude oil today is $77.50.
The weather is clear and cool - probably 50 degrees. If I had a “smart phone”, I would know for sure! The traffic, in both directions of I-80, is light. (I was just over this same stretch yesterday, when Anne drove us to Napa for lunch, and then on to Yountville.) It seems like there are more trucks in the westbound weigh station, than I have noticed before. I would think this is a sign that the Recession is easing, but there are other mixed signals that is not the case. We pass the large Sunnyside Dairy. I don’t see many of these anymore.
As we approach Hunters Hill, I can see the high-fog bank overhead. Tony exits on to West bound Tennessee Street in Vallejo. It seems good to be in Vallejo (where we lived for 46 years), and not be en-route to the Kaiser Medical complex. We pass the beauty shop where Marie used to have her hair done and, in another few blocks, the barber shop where John cut my hair for 40 years! Vallejo hasn’t changed much in all that time.
Our Senior all-day pass on the ferry was $13.00. As I remember, when the ferry service started 25 years ago, the round-trip fare - Vallejo-San Francisco was $6.00! We are aboard Bartlinks’ original ferry - the “Vallejo”. This is a much smaller boat than the larger ones that they run during the commute hours. It is also slower - taking ten more minutes to get to the Ferry Building. Consequently, it is packed with vacationers and people like us. We back out of the dock at 10:02.
The Captain sets the throttle at 5 knots as we head south on the Mare Island channel. The slow speed minimizes any wake damage on shore. After 14 minutes of “Idle” throttle, the Captain gooses the twin engines and our speed increases to about 30 knots. I can see Mt. Tamalpais- in Marin County - straight ahead. The water, a few feet away has a grayish color, rather than being blue. Now, Mt. Tam is at 3 o’clock, about 5 miles away. The San Francisco panorama ahead is spectacular. I spot the U.S. Bank building at One California Street straight ahead - behind the ferry Building and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. I always look for the building - named the Mutual Benefit Life building during the 14 years that I worked for California and Hawaiian Sugar Company. My office was on the 19th floor. I don’t see any cruise ships dockside.
We tie up the Ferry Building dock at 11:00 - right on time. About half of the passengers disembark. The others staying on board are headed for Pier 41 - between Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. According to the encyclopedia Wikipedia, the current structure on the Embarcadero, was designed by Page Brown, and the terminal opened in 1898. The building survived both the large 1906 and 1989 earthquakes. The large clock tower on top of the building is a landmark. The clock and chimes are operational. The 12th century Giralda bell tower in Seville, Spain was the architectural inspiration for the Ferry Building clock tower. The Bay Area Rapid transit (BART) tracks run beneath the building.
We walk the length of the Ferry building, and then returned to Gate B, where we got off. This is near to the Slanted Door where we had a nice lunch. From the restaurant, we had a great panoramic view of the waterfront - Bay Bridge. Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island. The latter was a man- made island constructed particularly to support the infrastructure for the San Francisco World’s Fair in 1939 and ’40. The ritzy World Trade Center is directly above us. With the great food and view, this is a prestigious place to have lunch - if you are lucky enough to find a member who will invite you! Luckily, we arrived early - before the business cliental arrived. I ordered their chicken noodle soup, and it was delicious. It was listed at only $6! This is not a San Francisco price. I was suspicious, presuming that I would be the “cup” portion. I was pleasantly surprised by the large bowl.
After lunch, we split up. We had a couple of hours before our return boarding, plus everyone had different interests. So, I repeated walking the length of the Ferry Building - passing (would you believe?) food shops! I particularly like to go in the “Sur La Table” at the end of the shops. They have many interesting items - geared primarily to the kitchen. Then, back to the other end. I was in the mood for some ice cream, so got in line at the Ciao Bella Gelato. I had trouble deciding between all the tempting flavors. Finally settled on the Mocha Chip. It was very good - even though the ambient temperature was about 60 degrees. I took my delicacy on a bench outside and enjoyed the view and my ice cream.
I still had an hour and a half before meeting back at the Ferry Dock. So, I walked over to the Hyatt Regency Hotel - a couple of blocks away - across the Justin Herman Plaza. En-route, I walked past the most interesting Vaillancourt Fountain with water flowing out of it’s many openings. Also there was a large tent, where Peter Pan was performing. I ended up in the interesting lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Marie and I went to a Tea Dance here in the lobby about 30 years ago, not long after it opened I sat in the lobby for 45 minutes fascinated by the five unique inside elevators going up and down.
I returned to the waterfront. I still had a half hour to kill. Eastbound traffic on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge is light. In two more hours I won’t be able to observe this. The tower clock bongs three times. I don’t get to hear this melodius sound very often. So, my time wasn’t wasted, I got another gelato - this time I tried the Dulce de Leche flavor. I prefer the Mocha Chip. At $3.65 for one scoop in a cup, I spent more on gelatos that I did for lunch! It wasn’t a total loss, as it brought back pleasant memories of our visit to Rome in 1985.
About 3:30, and the inbound Vallejo Solano ferry is docking. This a larger and faster twin-hulled boat. What a great invention the side-thrusters are! The Captain can maneuver along side of the dock and then move the boat sidewise for a smooth berthing. We are lined up on the dock waiting for the passengers to get off so that we can board. There are many arriving San Francisco Giants’ fans, dressed in their team colors of orange and black.
They expedite our boarding, and we move out from the dock at 3:34 - three minutes late! A green “China Shipping Lines” freighter moving across our bow, heading for the port of Oakland. Probably loaded with Christmas goodies! I get a good view of the new East span of the Bay Bridge under construction. Today, they are hoisting the huge first section of the unique single tower self -supporting suspension span between the viaducts. The bridge is scheduled to open in 2013 - six years late! - at a cost of 3.6 billion dollars - a cost over-run of 2.5 billion dollars! The Current parallel - structure between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island - will then be dismantled.
It must be a little more windy now, as there are white caps on the Bay. We are passing a tanker unloading oil at the Chevron Refinery in Richmond. A good view of the California & Hawaiian Sugar Refinery beneath the bridge at Crockett. I worked there for seven years before transferring to the C & H corporate office, in San Francisco, in 1949. I can see the Maritime Academy (now part of the California College system) on the other side of the Carquinez Strait. At 4:13 the Captain is slowing the boat down to 5 knots. We are passing the former Sperry Flour Mill on the right. We are passing another Vallejo Ferry heading to San Francisco. We arrive back in Vallejo @ 4:28 - right on time. We arrive back at Quail creek at 5: 10. It is much warmer in Fairfield than it was in San Francisco - about a 20 degree temperature spread in the 40 miles. We have been gone 8 hours. While it was a long day, it was a very nice one.
RCL - 8/5/10.