The Traveling Idiots-Where The Tuck Are They Now?: A day in San Francisco........

Fishermans Wharf is always a fun place to visit in San Francisco

We've covered most of San Francisco on previous visits, but always enjoy looking around a bit when we get the chance. From where we are staying there are two ways into the city, car or ferry. Driving is somewhat challenging but doable, although parking is sometimes tough to find and expensive. Uber/Lyft is also an option, but is expensive as well.
In my opinion, the most stress free and scenic way to get into the city from north of the Golden Gate Bridge is by ferry. We've taken the ferry from both Tiburon and Larkspur. The cost is approximately the same from either place. From Tiburon the ferry runs to Pier 41, which is in the heart of the very touristy wharf area. The Larkspur ferry runs to the ferry terminal building, a 1.5 mile pleasant walk along the waterfront to the wharf area. Both ferries are operated by the Blue and Gold Fleet. Schedules and fees can be found through the link below.
Blue and Gold Ferry Fleet
We opted to take the ferry from Larkspur, which is a popular terminal for many who commute to the city. There is a small fee ($2) per day to park at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal on weekdays but no fee on weekends and holidays. If you are going to use this terminal on the weekdays, please note that the parking fills up by 9:00. Another option is to connect to the ferry by using the SMART train that runs from as far north as the Sonoma County Airport to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. We had taken James on the train to Petaluma a few days earlier and had a blast!

Waiting on the SMART Train...…….

It's here!

Taking in the views on the way to Petaluma.

James was literally a "kid in a candy store"!

SMART Train
Our journey into San Francisco was on Saturday morning, so the ferry terminal parking lot was virtually empty when we arrived. After a chilly but very scenic 30 minute ride across the bay we arrived at the terminal building. Facing the city as you exit the terminal building, you have three options. Go left for a waterfront walk towards Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Go straight ahead and you'll be in the downtown district. Turn right and enjoy your walk towards Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf. We had only one destination in mind for the day, and it was in the wharf area, so we turned right.
The only specific item on our itinerary for the day was the Aquarium of the Bay, which is located adjacent to Pier 39. The aquarium is small but very nice with numerous displays and two underwater walkways, one featuring fish that can be found near the shoreline and one featuring a deeper water environment. We took our time and enjoyed it, but we covered the entire aquarium in less than an hour. The regular admission price seemed a little steep. We paid half price thanks to our ZooTampa reciprocal membership. The fifteen dollars per person that we paid seemed about right.

Aquarium of the Bay

We spent the rest of the day roaming along the waterfront going as far as the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Along the way we enjoyed watching the sea lions bark and frolic at Pier 39. We had lunch at the Boudin Bakery, delicious samples of Ghirardelli Chocolate, and soaked in the fantastic views of the stunningly beautiful city.
We enjoyed our day without a full itinerary, simply wandering around, stopping whenever and wherever we wanted to take in the sights and sounds. Around 2:00 we started casually making our way back to the ferry terminal building in plenty of time for the 3:30 ferry back to Larkspur.