We had our first sound sleep in 6 days and woke feeling refreshed and ready to explore the city.

After our morning coffee, or two, okay fine maybe three, we loaded the bikes into the dinghy and off to shore we went.  Our mission for Day 2 in SF:  Ride our bikes to Blue Pelican Marine Consignment.   We got out our google maps, departed from Hyde Pier and started making our way towards the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  Our bike ride took us past Fishermans’ Wharf, the largest Candy department store you have ever seen, along The Embarcadero past all the piers from Hyde to Pier 1 and through the waterfront wiggles.  We thought it might be possible to ride our bikes over the Bay Bridge, until we saw the full size and mass of it up close and in personal LOL… besides the fact there was no actual bike lane across the bridge, we were more than happy to backtrack through the business district and take the San Francisco-Oakland Bay ferry.

The ferry did not disappoint.  It was a jet boat powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which is the world’s first commercially operated of its kind.  The ferry uses a version of hydrogen that is locally available but could eventually use green hydrogen made from water and renewable electricity.  The ferry had places to store the bikes and a convenient bar on board.  We enjoyed a beverage and disembarked on the other side of the bay approx 25 mins later.

San Francisco has a great bike system in place and we were able to continue our ride to Blue Pelican along the Shoreline trail.  It was a little rugged in spots but just up our alley!  We arrived 15 minutes before the store was closing and the grumpy man inside was not staying a minute past 5.  We quickly took a look around the store, purchased a few discount items and were ushered out of the store.  We didn’t leave without picking up a couple infamous Blue Pelican hoodies though 🙂

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, CA located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area.  It is only 23.5 square miles in area, making it one of the smallest cities in the Bay Area.  The Spanish named the area Arroyo de la Alameda because the willow and sycamore trees along the river reminded them of a tree-lined street.

Alameda became a Navy town in 1940 when the Alameda Naval Air Station opened.  The airfield operated for 56 years.  Today, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, which saw action in World War II, is now a floating museum at Alameda Point.

And for all you movie buffs, Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County.

Photos below are from our ride on the San Francisco Bay Ferry – From Pier 1 to Alameda.  We enjoyed riding the streets and checking out a different part of town, away from all the hustle and bustle of Fisherman’s Wharf.

Photos below from our bike ride through Central Alameda along the Shoreline Mountain bike trail.  Absolute heaven.   We followed the trail along the beach and then headed down Grand Street to the other side of town towards the Brooklyn Basin.

We ended our first full day surrounded by friends, new and old, and enjoy a delicious shirmp red curry dish aboard Jen & Dave’s sailboat Pacific Wren.  Dinner was fabulous!

Videos above: San Fransico Bay Ferry.  Capacity of 320 passengers and employ a waterjet-propulsion system with a 32-knot service speed.  Built by Mavrik Marine for $15 million each.

Next post:  San Fran Day 3 – Bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito