Day-tripping Essay with Pictures ~ Sightseeing San Francisco ~ Sausalito Ferry

Visit San Francisco

On our sightseeing trip while in San Francisco many years ago we decided to use one of our days to experience seeing this City on the Bay from the water while taking a ferry to Sausalito and back. Many photos will be shown of that day-tripping watery adventure. Think of this as an essay using pictures!

It was towards the end of April and the sunshine seemed to kiss the tops of the waves in the water like so many diamonds being sprinkled from the sky.

The cool brisk air and salty breezes made wearing a sweater comfortable.

Tickets in hand after taking a cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf, we boarded the ferry at 11:05 in the morning.

(c) Peggy Woods - All Rights Reserved

Sausalito Ferry

These ferries run on regular schedules between San Francisco and Sausalito. 

Instead of driving and paying fees to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and also having to pay for parking spaces, we found out that many businessmen and women regularly use these ferries as their typical mode of work day transportation.

Makes sense!  Once they arrive in San Francisco the cable cars are in frequent service also running on regular timed schedules if walking distances are too far or taxi's too expensive.

Naturally tourists also clamber aboard for sightseeing adventures such as my husband and I were doing on this fine day.

We chose the top deck as did these people in the picture for our cruise across the bay to Sausalito.

Alcatraz Island

This would be as close to Alcatraz Island as my husband and I have ever gotten. Each time we were vacationing in San Francisco and wished to tour Alcatraz in person, events were being held there or at the time we wanted to go, the tickets had already been sold out.

Alcatraz Island sits out in the cold frigid waters of San Francisco Bay a mile and a half from the shore. It has a lighthouse, was a military fortification in past days and it also served as a prison.

The latter is what made it so famous.  When it was serving as a prison, escape was virtually impossible because of extremely strong and treacherous water currents.

Today it is open for tours and special events and is a national recreational area.

Golden Gate Bridge

What a great and dramatic backdrop!

Many people seemed to be enjoying this fine day and were out in a myriad of boats including many sailboats. 

The brisk breezes did a great job in keeping those multi-colored sails filled and with the expertise of the sailors aboard the boats seemed to be skimming the waves and fluttering back and forth like so many brightly hued butterflies.

Sausalito photos

After rounding Alcatraz Island and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, our ferry kept traversing the bay waters drawing us ever nearer to Sausalito where we would disembark for several hours of sightseeing.

At first Sausalito appeared small and insignificant as all things do when seen from a distance.  As we kept getting closer, details started emerging and coming into better focus and perspective. 

Sausalito California

With transportation being frequent and regular between San Francisco and Sausalito, the piers accommodating the embarking and dis-embarking passengers are well thought out and constructed.

This accommodates the easy passage of many people going to and from these destination points.

We exited and gave ourselves quite a few hours to walk and explore this charming town of Sausalito.   

Rustic houses cling to the sides of the steep slopes offering terrific bay views.  Lush greenery abounds and this is a boat lovers haven.  Open deck restaurants or those with large windows capitalize on the aquatic views.

Sausalito yachts

There is no shortage of Sausalito yachts, sailboats or other water craft of every type size and description in Sausalito.

With the mild climate people who can afford to live in places like this certainly seem to enjoy life.  And for others, visiting can be a fun and rewarding experience.

One can be as nautical as one desires by renting watercraft or hiring others to take one out on the water for different occasions.

Love this sign we saw posted on one of the piers going out to the boats in the marina!

These Sausalito dogs must be well trained and mind their manners!

Sausalito scenery

This small town (and I do mean small!) consists of only 2.2 square miles (5.8 km) and of that only 1.9 square miles ( 4.9 km) is actual land.

Prices for these homes are expensive.

Sausalito is in Marin County.

As of May of 2009, people living in Marin County were considered as having the 5th highest incomes per person in all of the United States.

I guess that helps account for all of those beautiful boats moored in the many marinas!

We continued our exploration of Sausalito on foot keeping track of the time.

Nasturtiums

As we walked some of the steep hillsides leading to the homes where people dwell, many of those hillsides were covered with nasturtiums.

It drew our attention because my mother-in-law used to grow nasturtiums in her garden in San Antonio, Texas and often added some of the flowers to salads. They add a spicy note when eaten and of course are also a pretty plant.

Grown here in Sausalito, they also obviously make a good ground cover helping to negate the effects of hillside erosion.

Chinese junk

The picture above was shot through a glass window from a restaurant where we took time to have some lunch. San Francisco is in the background but what drew our immediate attention was that black colored Chinese junk! It was a dramatic difference from the norm seen in these waters.

Ferry to San Francisco

All too soon our time had come to re-board the ferry back to San Francisco.

So with wonderful impressions of Sausalito we walked on board the ferry and enjoyed these watery views on the return trip. 

Hope that you enjoyed this day-tripping essay with photos of sightseeing options while in San Francisco. Taking the Sausalito ferry was a most enjoyable way to get a different perspective of both San Francisco and Sausalito and also the sights in between like Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, the numerous pleasure craft dotting San Francisco Bay and the town and cityscape's from the water.