Hello all, I just got back from a quick trip to San Francisco.
No pictures, however, I must say that this time I chose not to take Amtrak. Don’t get me wrong, but the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Oakland is great, but at 12 hours, it was too long for the quick Labor Day weekend that I wanted to spend. I also didn’t want to risk a stall on Cuesta Grade out of San Luis Obispo as has happened many times in the past.
And the San Joaquin's—well, a bit shorter, but I feel that train is turning into a commuter-type operation, as there are too many stops and the scenery is not very interesting (except maybe between Stockton and Martinez.) Also, over the years that I have taken the San Joaquin's, more “questionable” characters are riding that train.
But I must say—when I told people, “hey I’m going to San Francisco,” first question they ask me is, “you going to fly or drive?” It’s sad that people never even think of asking “you taking the train?”
So off I left from Ontario (CA) to Oakland, and then I connected to the “Air BART” shuttle bus that would take me to the Oakland Coliseum BART Station. At $3.00 just for the shuttle ride itself, it was overpriced.
At BART Oakland Coliseum, I got on BART to ride to Powell Station, as my hotel was near there.
Boy, BART really needs some new cars. They were old, the windows were dirty, the carpets were dirty, and I had never ridden through the tube before---it was so loud, I don’t see how commuters can do this each day.
A few things about the Labor Day weekend. Almost every F streetcar was PACKED to the gills, it was nearly impossible to use that unless I started at the beginning at Fisherman’s Wharf. There were even buses being substituted for the F streetcars! They would run down the tracks and use the same route that the F streetcar would use.
The cable cars…the wait was well over one hour for the Powell Hyde and Powell Mason lines. (Not the California Line, I did ride that one).
And I also noticed that MUNI bus drivers and cable car operators were very moody, rude, grouchy and not too friendly. I don’t remember that the last time I was there. Check this out…so I boarded a F streetcar—which was actually a bus being substituted—from Fisherman’s Wharf to what I thought would be downtown on Market St.---Nope, at the Ferry Building stop, the operator said, “last stop…no more.” Basically, he told us to get off, maybe he just had too much with the crowds? Anyway, there was a streetcar immediately behind him, but of course that was packed. There was nothing wrong with the bus, I waited around to see where he would go. He would have to move, as the streetcar that was immediately behind him would not be able to move. He took off, following the tracks, but then I lost him once he got to Market St. So off I walked to Embarcadero station and took a very quick and pleasant MUNI line (light-rail under Market St.) to Powell.
Another weird thing---so after the Cable Car Museum, I started walking back to Stockton St. to get to the 30 bus (because the cable cars were jammed with people). Low and behold, I see an empty cable car (Powell and Hyde) coming down Powell St. to turn on Jackson St., I see he stops and some people are getting on! What the? Where did this empty cable car come from? I ran as fast as I could and got so lucky. I had some lemonade with me, and the first thing I hear is “no drinks allowed on cable cars.”
I paid $3.00 for that lemonade, and had to leave it on the street.
Anyway, this operator was strict also, everyone that boarded, he would say “move to the back” in a serious tone. And one tourist was filming out the front window, I guess he got in the way of the levers, and the operator tapped his shoulder rather hard it looked like. He didn’t say anything he just tapped him real hard. It was kind of funny actually.
And on Sunday afternoon, Fisherman's Wharf was packed like I had never seen before. And the F streetcars, aren’t they supposed to run every 10 minutes? Isn't MUNI supposed to monitor what is going on and add more vehicles based on demand? I (along with perhaps hundreds) must have waited at least 30 minutes for one to come, and when they did come, they came in like one right after another. (And the waiting crowd just kept growing LARGER and LARGER). And when it did finally arrive, boy it was push and shove as everyone literally ran on to claim their seat. This F streetcar line is beyond capacity, something needs to be done. Even when it leaves its starting point, it is jam packed.
And when we finally got moving, there were times when we were stopped for what seemed like a long time. I was like, "why aren't we moving?"
(of course, I couldn't look forward, as people were jammed in and blocking the view). You can tell some people were getting panicky, here we are, kind of warm, the streetcar is not moving, everyone is jammed in like sardines. Doesn't the F streetcar have its own right of way? I know there are some traffic signals along the Embarcadero that it has to follow, but this was ridiculous...either the traffic was bad or something was up, as it took a full 30 minutes to get from Fisherman's Wharf to Market and 5th. That seemed like an eternity in those conditions.
So I got to ride three gauges—BART at wide gauge, MUNI at standard gauge, and the cable car at 3 foot 6 inches. And I also got to ride line 30 which uses electric trolleybus...I forgot to mention, that line 30 bus also was jam packed.
So in summary, these are the major touristy things I did:
Saturday: Coit Tower, Greenwich Steps, Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 39, California St. Cable Car R/T.
Sunday: Cable Car Museum, Ghirardelli Square for chocolate, Fire Engine Tour (that was so much fun—highly recommend it)--it is a 1955 fire engine that you sit in the back and takes you across the Golden Gate to Sausalito and back...just about everyone would turn their heads to see this cool fire truck, and you are on board. Kind of reminds me of when you are on a steam excursion train where everyone is in awe and taking photos of you and the train (in this case the fire engine!). Google it: San Francisco Fire Engine Tours.
Next time I go to San Francisco, I will take the Coast Starlight only if there is another detour via Tehachapi and/or Altamont Pass. And next time, I will not go over a summer holiday weekend. The crowds were way beyond what MUNI can handle. MUNI needs to help out by adding more service over busy holiday weekends.
And I was thinking of going back for the America's Cup, which is scheduled for September 2013 (?) I think. I can only imagine how the crowds will be, but I really want to go and check it out.
No pictures, however, I must say that this time I chose not to take Amtrak. Don’t get me wrong, but the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Oakland is great, but at 12 hours, it was too long for the quick Labor Day weekend that I wanted to spend. I also didn’t want to risk a stall on Cuesta Grade out of San Luis Obispo as has happened many times in the past.
And the San Joaquin's—well, a bit shorter, but I feel that train is turning into a commuter-type operation, as there are too many stops and the scenery is not very interesting (except maybe between Stockton and Martinez.) Also, over the years that I have taken the San Joaquin's, more “questionable” characters are riding that train.
But I must say—when I told people, “hey I’m going to San Francisco,” first question they ask me is, “you going to fly or drive?” It’s sad that people never even think of asking “you taking the train?”
So off I left from Ontario (CA) to Oakland, and then I connected to the “Air BART” shuttle bus that would take me to the Oakland Coliseum BART Station. At $3.00 just for the shuttle ride itself, it was overpriced.
At BART Oakland Coliseum, I got on BART to ride to Powell Station, as my hotel was near there.
Boy, BART really needs some new cars. They were old, the windows were dirty, the carpets were dirty, and I had never ridden through the tube before---it was so loud, I don’t see how commuters can do this each day.
A few things about the Labor Day weekend. Almost every F streetcar was PACKED to the gills, it was nearly impossible to use that unless I started at the beginning at Fisherman’s Wharf. There were even buses being substituted for the F streetcars! They would run down the tracks and use the same route that the F streetcar would use.
The cable cars…the wait was well over one hour for the Powell Hyde and Powell Mason lines. (Not the California Line, I did ride that one).
And I also noticed that MUNI bus drivers and cable car operators were very moody, rude, grouchy and not too friendly. I don’t remember that the last time I was there. Check this out…so I boarded a F streetcar—which was actually a bus being substituted—from Fisherman’s Wharf to what I thought would be downtown on Market St.---Nope, at the Ferry Building stop, the operator said, “last stop…no more.” Basically, he told us to get off, maybe he just had too much with the crowds? Anyway, there was a streetcar immediately behind him, but of course that was packed. There was nothing wrong with the bus, I waited around to see where he would go. He would have to move, as the streetcar that was immediately behind him would not be able to move. He took off, following the tracks, but then I lost him once he got to Market St. So off I walked to Embarcadero station and took a very quick and pleasant MUNI line (light-rail under Market St.) to Powell.
Another weird thing---so after the Cable Car Museum, I started walking back to Stockton St. to get to the 30 bus (because the cable cars were jammed with people). Low and behold, I see an empty cable car (Powell and Hyde) coming down Powell St. to turn on Jackson St., I see he stops and some people are getting on! What the? Where did this empty cable car come from? I ran as fast as I could and got so lucky. I had some lemonade with me, and the first thing I hear is “no drinks allowed on cable cars.”
I paid $3.00 for that lemonade, and had to leave it on the street.
Anyway, this operator was strict also, everyone that boarded, he would say “move to the back” in a serious tone. And one tourist was filming out the front window, I guess he got in the way of the levers, and the operator tapped his shoulder rather hard it looked like. He didn’t say anything he just tapped him real hard. It was kind of funny actually.
And on Sunday afternoon, Fisherman's Wharf was packed like I had never seen before. And the F streetcars, aren’t they supposed to run every 10 minutes? Isn't MUNI supposed to monitor what is going on and add more vehicles based on demand? I (along with perhaps hundreds) must have waited at least 30 minutes for one to come, and when they did come, they came in like one right after another. (And the waiting crowd just kept growing LARGER and LARGER). And when it did finally arrive, boy it was push and shove as everyone literally ran on to claim their seat. This F streetcar line is beyond capacity, something needs to be done. Even when it leaves its starting point, it is jam packed.
And when we finally got moving, there were times when we were stopped for what seemed like a long time. I was like, "why aren't we moving?"
(of course, I couldn't look forward, as people were jammed in and blocking the view). You can tell some people were getting panicky, here we are, kind of warm, the streetcar is not moving, everyone is jammed in like sardines. Doesn't the F streetcar have its own right of way? I know there are some traffic signals along the Embarcadero that it has to follow, but this was ridiculous...either the traffic was bad or something was up, as it took a full 30 minutes to get from Fisherman's Wharf to Market and 5th. That seemed like an eternity in those conditions.
So I got to ride three gauges—BART at wide gauge, MUNI at standard gauge, and the cable car at 3 foot 6 inches. And I also got to ride line 30 which uses electric trolleybus...I forgot to mention, that line 30 bus also was jam packed.
So in summary, these are the major touristy things I did:
Saturday: Coit Tower, Greenwich Steps, Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 39, California St. Cable Car R/T.
Sunday: Cable Car Museum, Ghirardelli Square for chocolate, Fire Engine Tour (that was so much fun—highly recommend it)--it is a 1955 fire engine that you sit in the back and takes you across the Golden Gate to Sausalito and back...just about everyone would turn their heads to see this cool fire truck, and you are on board. Kind of reminds me of when you are on a steam excursion train where everyone is in awe and taking photos of you and the train (in this case the fire engine!). Google it: San Francisco Fire Engine Tours.
Next time I go to San Francisco, I will take the Coast Starlight only if there is another detour via Tehachapi and/or Altamont Pass. And next time, I will not go over a summer holiday weekend. The crowds were way beyond what MUNI can handle. MUNI needs to help out by adding more service over busy holiday weekends.
And I was thinking of going back for the America's Cup, which is scheduled for September 2013 (?) I think. I can only imagine how the crowds will be, but I really want to go and check it out.
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