Black Point

With the rain drenching Insignia and washing off the sea salt it accrued during its rough overnight passage to San Francisco, we were in no hurry to disembark the ship for our wander around the city.

As a matter of fact, most of the passengers scheduled to leave us in San Francisco were already off the ship when we joined the stragglers to disembark around 9:30a. By then, the rain had stopped. There were even patches of blue sky visible … here and there. The overcast returned soon enough, but the rain held off … until we were re-embarking Insignia at the end of our wander. It has been raining ever since.

From where we were docked at Pier 27, we headed towards Pier 39 … to Fishermans Wharf and beyond … and as far as Fort Mason before turning back around. All was quiet at that hour of the morning. That would change by the time we were heading back mid-afternoon.

Somewhere in the middle of our wander, we stopped to say hello to the Pier 39 “Sea-lebrities” — aka the California sea lions — that have claimed the area as their haul-out. A nearby sign explained that they are “… an international sensation, measured by the multitude of visitors that come to marvel at their playful antics.”

On this 19,699-step wander, lunch was the only time we found ourselves sitting … at the San Francisco Brewing Company at Ghirardelli Square. We then got ourselves some ice cream to enjoy as we made our way to Fort Mason for a distant glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then, it was time to retrace our steps back to Pier 27 … to meet up with RTW friends old … and new.

I understand that the RTWers embarking Insignia today were welcomed aboard with a reception, but the event was over by the time we made it back on the ship. No worries … we’ll get to meet at least some of them at the informal meet & greet tomorrow morning.Read more