Category: Train Trip

I took the cable car down to the wharf. I got off at Lombard St, not sure why. Turns out it’s known as the crookedess street in the country. Not for illegal stuff but because it has bends in it. So I searched for what to see and it came up with a farmers market. Sounded good so I started walking. I started up a steep hill, at the top I turned right and found a corner grocery store named the farmers market. My bad. So, not seeing any twists and turns and not knowing how to search for them, I headed down the hill to the wharf.

I arrived at pier 39 and strolled among the shops until I came to an out door magic act just starting. I got picked to assist in a magic trick. Thinking of a card number. Then I walked to the end of the pier and took pictures of some sea lions sunning themselves.

I walked to the next pier and went into the Musee Mecanique, featuring antique coin operated arcade games. I tried a couple and took some pictures. I then went to see the exhibit of the WWII submarine USS Pampanito. I just saw the outside because I couldn’t find a place to buy a ticket.

I was getting hungry so I started looking for a place to eat. I got a clam chowder bread bowl and cioppino. Then I went over to the Ghirardelli chocolate place. I say place because I there was an ice cream store and chocolate store, but no sign of a museum. By now I was tired so I headed back to the cable car stop and took it bad to the hotel.

I’ve got a couple of days in San Francisco to see the sites and recover a bit. This trip has been fun, but it is tiring. I am on the bus that will take me on a tour of Muir Woods and Sausalito.

Last night, riding the bus across the Golden Gate Bridge, I was amazed at how pretty San Francisco looked all lite up. I couldn’t get a good pic, though, so you’ll have to come out here and see it. The buildings are so tall. I know they’ve been designed to withstand earthquakes, so I imagine they will do a lot of swaying during one. The walk to the hotel was nice, not too cold and people were out on Friday night. The good thing was, it was mostly flat. This morning I saw the hills. Also saw the cable cars.

Went over the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to Muir Woods. We stopped at the bridge viewing parking and got some good pictures.

Muir Woods was great. The trees were huge and it was so peaceful. The drive to Sausalito was nice too. I did some shopping and decided to take the ferry back to SF. It was a good choice. Nice ride.

I had lunch/dinner at Nick’s Lighthouse at the wharf, clam chow and Sauté Shellfish Platter. Too much food for me to eat but it was good. I took a cable car back to the hotel and later went out for a donut for dinner.

What a great day. I’m thinking of taking the cable car back to the wharf tomorrow to do some shopping. It’s a 30 minute walk, but these hills are killing me. I thought about doing Alcatraz or Treasure Island, it I think I’ll save them for my next trip to SF. Definitely a place to return to.

I woke up to cold, very cold. It’s due to start snowing this afternoon. My train leaves at 10:17 pm. Most of the places I planned to see are closed due to weather. The hotel, a Hilton Home2 property, has extended my checkout until 1:00. It’s a great place. I spent the time doing my laundry. Not too many hotels have a washer/dryer for the guests, but Home2 does.

I decided I had enough of sitting in my room watching old comedies. The Amtrak station has a lot of stuff to see and do, so I checked out and walked the short distance. It’s cold. Surprise, surprise, most of the attractions are closed due to the weather. I got a few hours to figure out something to do.

Good news. I was able to leave my bags with the Amtrak ticket person. Now I can tour the station and take the walkway to the shops on the other side of the street.

Lots of good stuff to see, unfortunately, most of it closed because of the weather. I tried to go back to the bbq place I ate at last night, but it was too cold. So I went to one at the shops at the end of the walkway, called Burnt Ends. Good stuff, but I think I’ve had enough ribs for a while. Kansas City is a place I will return to when the weather is warmer so I can see all the things I’ve missed.

Back at the station I met a young man on his way from Arkansas to Los Angeles to help his aunt. Stephen is a nurse, married for two months to an airman (airwoman?). It’s people like him who give me hope that the next generation can fix some of the problems that my generation has created. Meeting people has been one of the best experiences of my trip.

Had to get up early to catch the train to Kansas City. I debated walking vs Lyft, Uber was more expensive. After talking to the hotel desk clerk, I decided to walk the 1.2 miles in 13F weather.

I’m taking the 311 Missouri River Runner. It makes 9 stops so I won’t get into Kansas City until 1:50 pm. I have a piece of pie from yesterday’s ginormous lunch and I’ll get a cup of coffee on the train.

Riding on the train and passing through towns called Otterville and Knob Noster. There was a 50 minute delay outside of Sedalia blamed on track congestion. Country side is nice, a lot of undeveloped land and manufacturing plants with small towns around them. One made corn cob pipes. Wonder if they’re still in business?

The train got in an hour late. No big deal, still daylight and it’s too cold to do anything. It’s 19F in Kansas City, going down to -8F on Thursday. Fortunately, I’m leaving tomorrow night. The low tomorrow is 0F.

The hotel room was a short walk. I’m having dinner at Jack Stack BBQ – Freight House, a very short walk from the hotel. Got a ginger bull drink to take the chill off. I’m feeling good. One of these is plenty. Got a sample plate of pork ribs and burnt ends, it’s good. Definitely a place to return to. I’m having carrot cake for dessert. Fortunately there isn’t a scale nearby. I’m going to have to rename this blog ‘how to eat yourself into a cross country stupor’.

It’s cold in St Louis, 25F, and flurries. I got a 9:10 am to take the tram up to the top of the Gateway Arch. Fortunately, it’s a short walk. At the visitor center I got into a small pod that took me up to the top of the arch. My group stayed up about 10 minutes, looking through the small windows and taking pictures. Then we took our pods bad down. That was it. A little disappointing. The museum at the bottom made up for it though. The exhibits told the story of St Louis from early Indians to the building of the arch.

Now I needed to eat. My choices were the bbq place I ate at last night or a breakfast place. I chose the bbq place. Bad choice. There was a long line to order. I sucked it up and 40 minutes later, ordered a full rack of ribs (see picture). It was so much, I only ate half of it. I took the rest back to my hotel room.

I decided I had to see the Mississippi River no matter how cold it was. So I went back to the gateway arch and walked down to the river. Afterwards I went to see the Old Cathedral and its museum.

That’s enough for today. I have to get up early to get to the train. Kansas City is a lot colder than St Louis.