Filed under: California, California Sea Lions, Fisherman's Wharf, SF, San Francisco, USA, holiday, photos, vacation
Just wanted to share a couple more pictures of the gregarious California Sea Lions, and a YouTube clip of them. They look quite adorable, and you can hear their distinct barking.
Filed under: California, California Sea Lions, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, SF, San Francisco, USA, holiday, photos, vacation
The Fisherman’s Wharf is many things to many people, but to a group of California Sea Lions, it is home.
At the marina’s K-dock, a group of Sea Lions can be found throughout the year, basking in the sun, barking, and displaying all kinds of attention-grabbing antics.
The Sea Lions first started making their presence felt at Pier 39 after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Droves arrived, and by the January of 1990, they had commandeered the dock.
Thankfully, the City of San Francisco left the dock to the Sea Lions, and tourists from all over the world have been enjoying them ever since. The Sea Lions, who inhabit the dock on their own accord, barking out to the visitors who gawk at them, are immensely entertaining, and is perhaps an antidote to the surfeit of artificial attractions there.
Check here to watch a live Webcam of the Sea Lions!
Filed under: California, Fisherman's Wharf, SF, San Francisco, USA, holiday, photos, vacation
The Fisherman’s Wharf has a reputation as a place where San Franciscans love to hate. Variously billed as irredeemably touristy, crass, commercialized, it nonetheless has proved an enduring tourist magnet because of the diversity of its attractions, and, frankly, because it is simply a beautiful part of town.
A symbol of its arrival as a tourism mecca…
Symbols of nature’s beauty and harvest…
A symbol of the past…
A symbol of opportunities…
And a symbol of art.
Filed under: Alcatraz, California, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Hyatt, Pier 39, SF, San Francisco, USA, Union Square, holiday, hotels, vacation
If this is your first time to the tourist district of San Francisco and you want to stay near where the action is in a luxe, yet unostentatious environment, then the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf is worth checking out (or I mean, in).
Of all the hotel chains I’ve stayed at, I find Hyatt the most consistent in terms of quality and experience. At Hyatt, you can usually find competent, brisk guest services, quality furnishings, well-appointed amenities, and top notch facilities. The Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf is no exception. Its low-rise, red-brick facade exudes warmth and elegance.
The lobby is small, although functional. It has a corner that is updated with a touch of post-modernism, with quirky furniture and paintings.
The guestroom is superbly appointed with a plush, soft bed and smooth, clean sheets. The bathroom boasts generously sized amenities from Portico Spa. The spacious guestroom also features a multifunction workstation with an ergonomic chair that will please the traveler who unfortunately has to tow work along. There is Wi-Fi service throughout the hotel via T-Mobile.
Hyatt seems well-aware that there is a growing crowd of fitness conscious travelers to whom going on a vacation does not mean a holiday from their fitness regime, and is eager to tap into this market. It has an outdoor heated pool and jacuzzi, and a newly-renovated 24-hour “StayFit” fitness center. It consists primarily of cardio machines such as treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, and a small but adequate free weights corner.
On top of the consistent Hyatt touch, this property benefits from proximity to area attractions such as Alcatraz, Pier 39, the postcard pretty Golden Gate Bridge, and the shopping mecca of San Francisco’s Union Square. I’ll share pictures I took at each of these spots (and more) in my subsequent updates. Stay tuned!
