I would be surprised if you were to find any locals here. This is as touristy as Waikiki Beach. I try to avoid this entire area. The restaurants here are also very cookie cutter. Please rate my entry, I need the points. Thanks!

This was surprisingly one of our favorite parts of the trip to San Francisco. Adjacent to Pier 39 are about a hundred California sea lions that quite enjoy putting on a show. (They also draw a large crowd of onlookers.) When we were there in June, we saw a wide range of sea lions: about a dozen pups, a few large adults, and what looked like quite a few adolescents (although I'm certainly no expert - that was just the appearance). Supposedly, all of the Pier 39 sea lions are males.

It was fun watching the sea lions play 'king of the dock' and bump each other off into the water. A large bull seemed to enjoy barking at the tourists. The pups were content to curl up amongst themselves and sleep.

Next time we are in California, we will drive down the coast towards Carmel and hopefully see more sea lions in a more natural habitat than Pier 39.

We had a stop for lunch at Pier 39, and all went off in small groups to have a look around. Our group went through most of the shops, looking for gifts for friends and family back home rather than the rides, and ended up at one of the cafes for lunch. We were told to try the chowder, and I wanted to try the sourdough bread... and so when we found a cafe that had chowder IN a 'bowl' made of sourdough bread, we had to eat there! YUM!

Afterwards, we went and took the photographs of Alcatraz from the end of the pier, and went to watch the sea lions for a while, before heading back...

Check out http://www.pier39.com/ for more information of what to see and do at Pier 39!

There was a lot of shopping areas, lots of dining, art galleries, jewlery stores and sea lions. There is a beautiful two tier venetian carousel that is a must. On the Crystal Geyer front stage there are many local performers. Everything from juggling to comedians.

Underwater World is an Aquarium that is set up to look like dive tunnels. You walk through tunnels as sea life swims all around you. My husband and I saw great schools of silver anchovies teaming above our heads, and we marveled at the size of a giant red octopus in the tanks. There were many sharks swimming about as well, though I understand they are well fed and rarely prey upon their aquarium mates. Admission into the aquarium was $12.95/person. Kids under 3 were free. There was also a family package available that gave a little price break for those traveling with children. The admission was a little pricey for the length of time one could spend in the aquarium, but I would still recommend Underwater World. My husband and I had a great time touching the leopard sharks in the petting pools. Any child would have loved that experience. I greatly enjoyed looking at all of the different fish in the tanks, and I appreciated a reprieve from the cold wind that was blowing off the bay the day we ducked into the aquarium. I also did not mind my ticket cost too much as I read that proceeds help allow thousands of school children living in San Francisco to participate in Marine Parks in the Bay Area for free.