Some returned to establish roots in San Francisco. Many returned to homes across the country and around the world with stories of hardship, ruthlessness and poverty. Once you've situated yourself within this small city of 49 square miles and made friends with a few of its 750,000 people, you will quickly realize that San Francisco Bay dominates the life of every San Franciscan. You don't need to be in a wind-whipped sailboat with salt water spray stinging your face, although that's not a bad idea for a recreational respite. Large image is 162K bytes.
Sailboats are available for rent but the next best thing is a ferry boat ride.
Ferries loop the bay ducking under the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate for a reversed bird's eye view. Others speed across sometimes choppy waters to Sausalito, Tiburon and Larkspur. Moaning foghorns, barking sea lions, ships' whistles and yapping gulls create their own cacophonous symphony heard far inland. At Fort Point, where the very best, close-up view of the Golden Gate Bridge can be had, pelicans swoop out to sea. There is no better place to enjoy the Bay than along the Northern Waterfront.