Today was a bit unusual. It's the first time since I've started my trip (heck, it's the first time I can remember for months and months) where I fell asleep in the afternoon. I remember checking my email, closing my eyes for a minute after signing off, and BAM! Out cold. I guess this travelling thing can get to you.

I woke up just before 6 PM, and decided to see what I could salvage of the day. I pulled out my San Fran maps and thought I'd head towards the Haight-Ashbury area. Well, somehow, I ended up walking in the totally opposite direction and ended up at Fisherman's Wharf. It's just as well. I wanted to go there anyway... so there!

I arrived just as a few of the stores were closing. The last tour for Alcatraz had already come and gone. The sun was one of those blinding bright suns, and casted elongated shadows over everything. I found my way to the world-famous Pier 39, and stood quietly for a bit while I watched the Sea Lions sit out on their docks and sleep. These "Sea Lion-ebrities", as they've been called, are an international sensation, measured by the crowds of visitors that come to watch their antics.

Shortly after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, these Sea Lions camped out on Pier 39's K-Dock. They started arriving in droves, pretty much taking over the docks in January of 1990. At first, they numbered anywhere from 10 to 50, but due to plenty of food, the available dock space and a protected area, the population grew to more than 300 within a few months. In the winter, however, the sea lion population grows as high as 600, and I can't possibly imagine what the smell must be like.

After spending a few hours browsing through the shops and leisurely meandering around the Wharf, I decided to catch a cab back to the hotel. It's much colder down here than I had thought it would be. I think it's the wind that does it to ya. I'm just a sniffling fool now. (Where'd my kleenex go?)

Hopefully, I'll be able to get to sleep easy, and wake up tomorrow and have an entire day to spend prancing around the streets of San Francisco. (Well.. maybe I'll just walk. I'd look awfully silly prancing.)

See you on the road...

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