Muir Woods, Sausalito, South of Market and Union Square

Out of bed by 6:30am and once we were dressed we headed downstairs for some breakfast. After eating we waited outside the hotel to be picked up for our tour that we had scheduled for today. The Tower Tours bus picked us up right on time and then we drove around the Union Square area picking up other people before heading to the tour office to check in. At the office we were given our tickets for the day and loaded on to the appropriate buses. Once everyone was on board we headed out.

Redwoods at Muir Woods NM

We drove through the Presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin county and on to Muir Woods National Monument.

Looking Up!

The drive took about 40 minutes and was absolutely beautiful. We had about an hour and a half to walk around Muir Woods. We walked the main trail for the most part but we did take a detour and walked about a mile of the Ocean View Trail. The whole thing was amazing - beautiful trees in the most serene area. I am really glad we took the tour and got to see this place and it was an incredible way to start the day. And this being Sunday it was way better than church, being out in nature is the best feeling. From Muir Woods we drove over to Sausalito and took a driving tour of the area. When that was done the driver let those of us staying in Sausalito and taking the ferry back out to explore the town.

Seagull in Sausalito

Thomas and I walked along the water and then did a little window shopping before grabbing a bite to eat. Then we headed to the ferry dock to make our trip back to San Francisco.

View of San Francisco from the Ferry

We took the Blue and Gold Fleet ferry which dropped us off at Fisherman's Wharf. We booked this tour through GuideYou.com and I think it was worth it. Back in San Francisco and on Fisherman's Wharf we decided to stop in at Musée Méchanique. This is an arcade type place with lots of older machines. Things that you would have found at carnivals many years ago. It was really interesting and fun.

Musée Mécanique

They also had about six squished penny machines - so I went ahead and got pennies for some of the places we have visited so far. We then left Fisherman's Wharf and walked down to Pier 39. We didn't have too much time here because Thomas needed to get back to the hotel and get ready for his conference which started at 5:00pm. So after walking around for about 15 minutes we walked over to Powell St. and took the #30 bus to Union Square and then walked the two blocks to our hotel. While Thomas was getting showered and changed for his meeting I went ahead and gathered my letterboxing things and some clues and headed out to explore and letterbox. From the hotel I headed to the area South of Market. I found my first letterbox in California about six blocks down from the hotel. That box was called Auspicious by SuziLivvi. It was a good hide but not in a very savory neighborhood. I didn't feel scared or anything but it looked like the area needed a good cleaning. Anyway I ended up sitting on the sidewalk about 25 yards from where I found the box so that I could stamp in - there just wasn't any good spots to sit.

Mural off of Howard Street

I then had to wait a few minutes before I could rehide the box because a couple of guys decided to chat for a bit. Finally they moved on and I got the box back in place and then I was able to move on. I did encounter a few incredible murals in an alley on the way to the box and that was great. I love finding these beautiful unexpected art pieces hidden around. For the next box I returned the way I came and when I got to the next spot (which was very exposed and in a busy area) there was a security guard standing 5 feet from the hiding spot. So I just moseyed on by and went to the next box. This one was hidden behind the old San Francisco Mint Building. The area is kind of a back alley place with a pedestrian mall space. There is a restaurant, a coffee shop and a credit union back there. The box was hidden in a hole in the wall under a metal thingy. I know my descriptions are weird but I don't know how else to describe what was there. Anyway I found the box, grabbed in and found a nice place to sit and stamp in. I have to tell you I was so disappointed. I am not even going to mention the box or planter here because it was so bad. I opened the box to find a store bought notepad (not too bad, at least it wasn't lined paper) and a store bought stamp of the number '4'. That was the box. I am sorry but that just showed no effort at all on the part of the planter. And I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one that felt that way - others had made similar comments in the logbook. But I did stamp in and then got the box back in place and headed back to the other location I had to skip. Thankfully the guard was gone and I easily nabbed the box by pretending to tie my shoe. I am not sure why I did that because at the time I was grabbing the box there were no people or cars around. I guess I just thought maybe someone might be looking out of a window or something. I took the box a half block away to sit and stamp. I was happy to see that this was a nice hand carved stamp by Kazam and the box is called San Francisco Seals. After stamping in I returned the box to its hiding spot and then continued on my adventure.

Heart in Union Square

I made my way to Union Square and took my time walking around and taking pictures. Let me tell you it was a happening spot this afternoon. The place was packed. After hanging around for about 30 minutes I went in search of my next box. This was down a side street (closed off to cars, which reminded me of Burro Alley in Santa Fe, it had a little cafe and a couple of shops) where there is the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco. And that is where the box was suppose to be. I took a few pictures waiting for the coast to clear and then I stuck my hand through the grate and felt around in the planter. I tried three times but each time I came up empty handed. I am not sure if the box is there or not because I was a little nervous with people coming through as I tried feeling around for the box. Eventually I gave up and made my way to the end of the lane and listened to this woman sing Opera (here is a video I found of that woman). She was amazing and I found myself thinking why is she singing in an alley when she should have been on a stage - she really was incredible. At this point I was trying to decide what to do next. So I found a place to sit and looked at my map of letterboxes I had clues for but decided that nothing was close enough to walk to (that probably isn't the total truth, I think I was just getting tired and didn't want to do anymore) and I decided to start back toward the hotel. Thomas was attending a dinner at his conference so I was on my own. I ended up stopping at a little place called Cafè Bellini's for a spinach, strawberry, walnut and feta cheese salad with pomegranate dressing. I took this back to the hotel and after taking a shower I enjoyed the salad while watching a movie. Now that I have this done I can get some rest for tomorrow. Not really sure what I am doing - I will figure that out in the morning.

This is the view from our room at the Parc 55 in Union Square - this is facing west - City Hall in the bottom right and Sutro Tower in the top left.