Exploring The Bay
City By the Bay
Welcome to the Bay Area! From Oakland, to San Francisco, or up to San Jose - there is so much to see and do in the Bay. We had a blast seeing the coast, and so many cool parts of the city. Check out 7 of of these iconic stops around the Bay area for some California fun!
Stop 1: Grizzly Peaks
The first stop we made in the Bay area was right out side of our friends hometown of Oakland, California called Grizzly Peaks. It was an over view of the entire bay area, and although foggy you could still see a lot! Even the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge. It reminded me a lot of Tantalus back home in Hawaii. There are lots of hiking trails, and lots of view points on the mountain so its up to you how you want to explore!
Address: 6065 Grizzly Peak Blvd Oakland CA 94611
Hours of Operation: 24 hours a day
stop 2: Bay Bridge
To get from Oakland to San Francisco you can drive across the Bay Bridge which only took us about 20-25 minutes to get between the too. There is a toll of about $6.00 to drive across which the information can be found here. Our friend has a FastTrack pass so we didn't have to stop and pay a toll.
stop 3: Pier 39
The next stop was of course the iconic Pier 39! We got super lucky and found free street parking on a Sunday but keep in mind that parking can be very expensive and scarce in the city! A lot of people park at a BART station a few blocks aways and take it into the city for the cheapest parking!
There are so many restaurants delicious resturants around the area! We were after some seafood, and not to expensive, so we decided on the Eagle Cafe. and it was delicious! Above is the lobster bisq and it was the perfect warm pick me up.
I think one of the best highlights for me was seeing the sea lions on Peir 39. I have been to Fishermans Wharf before but never saw the sea lions! I could watch them for hours they are sooo entertaining! Fighting, swimming, sleeping they will keep your attention.
stop 4: Alcatraz
They also have street performers pretty regularly that are very entertaining. Just walking around Fisherman's Wharf is so fun! There is tons of shops and food, Alcatraz, Peir 39 and more!
stop 5: Golden Gate Bridge
The next thing on our list was of course driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so cool! It really is such an iconic thing and if you go to San Fransisco you have to drive across!
We stopped at a very popular lookout right after you cross the bridge it's the first exit on the right and ended up at a lookout over Marina. It was super crowded but super beautiful so I say it is defiantly worth it!
After that stop we decided to drive through the hills a bit and ended up at another great lookout of the bridge and the city! My best travel trip for the Bay is to just explore! It is so big, and there is SO much cool stuff (my list is long so I'll be back) so just do things and have fun!
Then we drove back over the bridge and drove around and found other places to sight see the bridge by the water. There is plenty of spaces that are not over crowded with people and free public parking!
stop 6: Lombard Street
Then we had to drive through the streets of San Fransisco to see the steep streets and cute houses and it really blew our minds people live on these steep streets!! It's so crazy. I could not image parking like that everyday, but its such a trade mark of SF!
Neither Rashawn or Drew had been down Lombard street before so I had to take them! Another ionic San Fransisco experience. It is a twisty turny road that you simply must see! Drive down or walk the side path, just go slow and admire all the homes along the way.
Address: Lombard St San Francisco, CA
Hours: 24 hours a day
* please note these are real homes and people do live here! Always be respectful :)
stop 7: A warriors game
Another highlight, and probably the biggest one for Rashawn, was going to the Denver Nuggets vs. the Golden State Warrior basketball game. Besides the Lakers game he hasn't seen NBA team sense he was little! The Nuggets are his favorite team and I of course love them too! And it's impossible not to love the Warriors and watching Steph Curry play was way cool! Our friend was nice enough to give us his 10th row season ticket seats!
Looking for some more adventures in the Bay!? Check out Haileys awesome sightseeing post here!
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