As a start to tourism, I headed for a pier with various historic looking boats, on the grounds that it’s probably a tourist attraction.<\/p>\n Turned out to be Hyde Street Pier, part of the Historic Maritime Area, and as luck would have it they were having a free day, so I wandered around the steel-hulled sailing ship Balclutha & the sidewheeler Eureka.<\/p>\n Balclutha had been through a few trade incarnations over it’s life, so they had the historical interpretation stuff in the upper hold divided into sections for those trades. They also had the Captain’s cabin rigged as it would have been in port, with all the nice furniture and delicate lamps brought out of storage.<\/p>\n Apparently the papers were signed after said Captain’s wife, who’d been in on the negotiation and was an active part in them, confirmed that a deckhouse was still there, as she wanted a spot above deck where she could do crafts & keep watch on the ship.<\/i><\/p>\n Eureka<\/a> started life under a different name, and was completely rebuilt after military service because of the strain put on it. Too many heavy cargos.<\/p>\n It did the cross-bay trip with cars and passengers, and had a restaurant on board. And it’s a double ender, which is why they went with side wheels.<\/p>\n According to the plaque, the issue with the sort of engine it has is that if the piston stops at the top or bottom of the stroke, steam pressure won’t get it started again. To get around this, they’d turn the paddlewheel manually through an access hatch, using a big damn lever they kept there for the purpose, and move the piston that way, ideally before they hit the dock.<\/i><\/p>\n Coit Tower<\/a> was the second tourist thing. And, apparently, the Coyotes.<\/p>\n There’s a fair bit of view.<\/p>\n And the tower, which I’m told only coincidentally resembles a fire hose nozzle. <\/p>\n In the car park, Columbus stares at Alcatraz.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/hoarde.net\/craigblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/img_20160924_092627957_hdr.jpg\")
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\nIt’s … up a ways, and it was a hot day, so I took advantage of some convenient steps to take a breather & enjoy the shade and the view.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOn a memorial to a woman who was famous for how much she loved firefighting & fire companies.
\nRiiiiight.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n