October 10, 2014 - San Francisco's Angel Island

We left the noisy marina to head to Angel Island.  Although we were in the heart of it all down there at Pier 39 Marina and all the shops and restaurants, the marina had swells coming in so our dock lines creaked all day and night.  The boat was also rocking around in a very uncomfortable manner as the, dock lines jerked the boat.  There is a lot of wave action in this marina.  This is not to mention the sea lion docks they had right behind us, and the noisy sea lion activity on them.  Still an awesome time and we could have used a day or two more.  Angel Island on the other hand was very quiet.  We had dinghy'ed over on a Sunday and the difference between weekend and weekday is like the difference between night and day.  During the work week there were very few people on the island, the tram tours were not running, the restaurant was empty and the cafe not even open.   We took the bikes to shore and enjoyed a nice ride around the island.

Trip #1 to the Angel Island.  It takes two trips to get 4 bikes
and 4 people to shore.

Flying in formation, just like the Blue Angel's who were scheduled to
practice today right in front of us,  We waited and waited for them but
finally gave up and continued on.

Great views, and a great bike ride around Angel Island.  That's Alcatraz over
Cindy's right shoulder and San Fran in the background.

Spectacular views, and no crowds.

There are virtually no people here mid-week.  We were here on the weekend
and it was packed with people.  

The Blue Angels had a practice scheduled for today, sometime between noon and 5:00.  We had hoped to watch them from one of the great viewpoints.  We waited quite a while but finally decided to leave.  They started their practice when we returned to the dinghy.  Bummer.  We were only able to see two of the planes fly over us in the moorage, in close formation.  They passed over us several times.  They were very close, and very fast.

The weather has been spectacular for our visit with clear skies (after the morning fog burns off) and temps in the 80's.  Several people have told us how lucky we are to be here this week, and it was cold and foggy all last week.

Friday the 11th we are headed over to Sausalito and hope to see their practice from there with the great view.  Saturday morning we leave the Bay area and head to Monterey Bay.