Take A Ride On The F Line

The “F” line of San Francisco’s “Muni” system (the “Municipal Railroad” to be precise) runs on the surface streets for its entire route — which starts on Fisherman’s Wharf, follows the shoreline along The Embarcadero and then turns up Market Street all the way to 17th and Castro.  And many of the vintage streetcars see service on the F line alone, as the other Muni routes require modern cars that can traverse the underground/subway parts of the system.

One day while the grandchildren were in town, and staying on Fisherman’s wharf, we took a trek on the F Line — along the Embarcadero waterfront, hopping off for some time in Levi’s plaza, reboarding (using the transfers) and exiting at the Ferry Building (and the Muni Railway museum).   From there, we took cable cars up California to Nob Hill, and then another cable car back to Fisherman’s wharf.   A nice outing!

The girls were pretty excited, getting aboard and getting seated, just like the grownups.  I was surprised that the passengers seemed to be “regular” San Franciscans, not tourists.   And that made the ride even more authentic.

Our first stop was Pier 23, and Levi’s Plaza, which is a little park adjacent to the headquarters buildings for Levi Strauss and Co.  As you can see, the park has lots of places to sit, nice water features and an oasis of calm in the middle of San Francisco.

 

The next stop was the Railway Museum, near the Ferry Building. Debi and I had visited there when scouting for this trek (see Zipline in San Francisco. This is a small brick building with posters, paraphernalia and a cable car cabin where “the kids will be able to pose, as if running a cable car.” Little did I know, that the major “kid” for this exercise would be Caleb.

Next, we walked the two blocks to the foot of California Street to catch the cable car. Caleb got some good pix and a nice video:

A great day all in all!