Today, a lovely, if brisk, sunny day on the San Francisco waterfront. Sheila and I decided to visit Fisherman’s Wharf. We hopped on the nearby Powell Street cable car and rode it to the end of the line.

That put us at the national park end of the harbour where we were able to explore the historic tall ships – admission free today.

The ships are well kept (although not likely seaworthy) – park rangers were available to answer questions. We chose to mosey about on our own rather than take a guided tour. I preferred looking around at my own pace.

A collection of period fishing boats were moored on the other side of the pier. Fishing has been an important industry since the founding of the city. San Francisco still has an active fishing fleet which contributes to the local economy. (Notice Alcatraz in the background – you’ll see it if you click on the above photo.)

We had a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the tall ship decks.  We were also afforded a view of the hardy Sunday morning swimmers who entered the cold bay waters at the Aquarium beach, swam out to the breakwater, along the inner side to the open sea end, then back again. We could identify the various clubs by the color of their bathing caps and their swimming gear (one group were wearing wetsuits – smart people!).

Seals and Sea Lions were enjoying the day as well. A group of four had taken ownership of the deck of one of the exhibit fishing boats. Quite likely the park rangers will evict them at some point during the day, a ranger informed us, because at 450 lbs each they pose a risk to the boat!

After viewing the ships we walked our way down the waterfront to Pier 39 at the other end of the waterfront but there wasn’t much interesting to see except for a couple of art galleries which we dropped into on our way back. Both were showing the work by contemporary artists in a wide range of media, some of it expensive. Fun to look at.

We caught a cable car back to Powell and Sutter where we got off. The block back to the hotel along Sutter from Powell to Mason is a challenging uphill climb. Along the way we came across this pair of abandoned shoes! Apparently a guy placed them on the sidewalk then went on his way – for the next needy homeless person perhaps.

The week-long sewing retreat begins this evening. We’ll get set up tonight and be ready to roll in the morning.

Pants, shirts… I’ve got both on my “to do” list.