A Birthday Cruise

Spent the day in Fisherman’s Wharf, as good a place as any to enjoy a birthday.  The World War Two submarine USS Pampanito, a direct creation because of Pearl Harbor, is decked in bunting to honor the anniversary. It, kind of, got to me. As much as the island invasions and the atomic bombs, these “Pig Boats’ helped to end World War Two. They were fast, lethal, and unlike the statue of Venus de Milo, well armed! (Oh, I’m in a weird mood today!)  Everybody’s taken the Alcatraz Cruise, the Red and White, and Blue and Gold cruises, but like me, you may be ignoring the little boat cruises in the lagoon. They’re only fifteen bucks, and a lot of fun!   Some of the scenery, left to right as you head toward the Golden Gate Bridge: Coit Tower, the Pyramid Building, Hyde Pier with the Balclutha, Russian Hill, Ghirardelli Square, and the Maritime Museum.   You hit some good swells as you approach the Golden Gate Bridge, which makes the little boat buck like a horse sometimes, and adds to the fun! “The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed! If not for the courage of the fearless crew, ‘Lovely Martha’ would be lost!” Just kidding, these rides are safe, and the crew knows what they’re doing. They even throw in a few trivia questions to add to the enjoyment! “What was Otis Redding doing on that “dock of the Bay?” (wasting time.) I got that one, but it wasn’t an accomplishment, it just meant I was the oldest one on the boat!   They do a loop around under the Golden Gate Bridge for as fine of a look at the bridge as you’re going go get. Watch that spitting up there, buddy!   When you double back from the Golden Gate Bridge, you head for “The Rock”.   The north eastern side of Alcatraz that you can’t see from San Francisco: On June 11th 1962, Frank Morris and two other inmates snuck out of their cells, and were never seen again. Thought to have drowned for years, credible evidence surfaced in 2015 that suggests that they made it to Brazil, and may still be alive, but this hasn’t been substantiated yet. The three prisoners slipped into their raft down below the building covered with the white tarp just to the left of the old Power Plant Building with the tall chimney Hell, I couldn’t even swim to the boat from there! Heading in and to the Buena Vista Café on a perfect Irish Coffee day.