San Francisco ~~ 19 to 26 March, 2013. Part 3. Pier 39 at Fisherman’s Wharf

Oh my, how time flies when you’re having fun!   Here it was March 24 and our time left in San Francisco was becoming short.  We decided to go Fisherman’s Wharf on the city bus.  It didn’t seem that cold so made the mistake of not layering it.  I toughed it out or should say shivered it out, but Betty was smart and bought a sweatshirt there to put under her jacket.  When we arrived, there weren’t very many people there, but by afternoon it became very crowded. We headed for Pier 39 to see the California Sea Lions.  What a noisy bunch!  You could hear them long before you got near them.  ~~ They started coming to Pier 39 after the 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake.  It varies how many are there with the record being 1,701 in November 2009.  85 to 95% are males with some younger non-breeding females in the mix.  Most females live year-round at or near the breeding grounds which are primarily on the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara as well as on other islands south to Baja California and the Gulf of California in Mexico.   Males develop a bump on their heads when they are 4 or 5 years old.  They can live in the wild up to 20-25 years.  Males can reach 850 lbs. (390kg) and up to 7 feet (2.1m) in length.  Females can grow to 220 lbs. (110kg) and up to 6 feet (1.8m) in length. ~~  It was kind of interesting that some floats had piles of Sea Lions and others were empty.  Who knows why. .

This old fellow was “Zonked”. We took a break from watching the Sea Lions to warm up and walk around the pier.  We visited several shops.  There was a magic act we watched for a time.Then we got to act like a couple kids and ride the double decker carousel.  What fun!   Alcatraz Island (AKA The Rock) is out in the Bay about 1.5 miles.  It was a High Security Federal Prison from 1933 or 1934 until 1963.  Several movies were made about it.  Who can ever forget the classic 1962 movie,  “Bird Man of Alcatraz” with Burt Lancaster?Betty and I showed the “Flats” the sights.  😉The Golden Gate Bridge.San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. 

We had lunch on the Pier (don’t remember the name of the restaurant).  It was pricey, but good.  I had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and Betty had Shrimp Louie (sp?).  There was so much of it, she couldn’t begin to eat it all. This young man was having a ball.  We all applauded and congratulated him on how well he did afterward.   Back to the Sea Lions.  Be sure to have your sound up for this one.  They are a noisy bunch!!          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ11-Ef54j8

This little guy seemed to have some sort of injury which didn’t seem to bother him.

They called jumping up on the floats as one is doing below as “hauling out”.

We were so intrigued with this little guy as he came over near the people and just stared at us for some time before swimming away.  Of course, we stared back with smiles on our faces. As we were leaving, we stopped a while and listened to this “pan flute/guitar” player that put such feeling into his music.  It was a pleasant end to a pleasant visit to Pier 39 and it’s noisy California Sea Lions.  Arf!  Arf!    BTW, there’s a live webcam at Pier 39.Hope you enjoy!  There will be one more San Francisco Adventure entry —  Cliff House and Sutro Bath House Ruins which are on the Pacific side of San Francisco.