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Introducing the “Sunset Duck Tour” from Ride the Ducks San Francisco – What It’s Like to Ride an Amphibious Vehicle on the Bay

Monday, July 14th, 2014

IMO, writer Tony Hicks has got things spot-on right here in the San Jose Mercury News:

“Taking the Kids: Quacking up and around the city by the bay“

I just took the media cruise for the new-ish “Sunset Duck Tour” from Ride the Ducks San Francisco - it starts at 7:30 PM.

Here’s Captain John:

Quacking away with people in another duck boat while passing by:

So that’s how things start in Fisherman’s Wharf. Then you begin a circuitous trip to the launch ramps down south of AT&T Park. I’ve never been up so high in an open vehicle, so this was a new experience, kind of like what I imagine the “hop-on hop-off” city bus tours are like.

So off you go, past the working part of Fisherman’s Wharf…

…past the Gary Danko (perennial No. 1 in the Bay Area for “Food, Service and Popularity” per Zagat)…

…through North Beach and on to Chinatown, where you look down upon the #30 Stocktons as you pass them by…

…and then through the tunnel to Union Square and then through SoMA to the launch area.

I gotta say that that was the touristy part of the tour, so check out Beth Spotswood’s take on that in the Tourist Trapped Culture Blog of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com if you want more on that.

So finally you get to launch – it looks like this:

And then you’re slowly cruising the bay, albeit near to shore for the most part.

This was the late-starting 7:30 PM sunset cruise so things were getting darker as we made our way past AT&T Park:

You might catch a little spray from the bay but most likely you won’t.

This riding-on-the-water part in a military-style vehicle with not all that much freeboard is an experience – I recommend it.

Then after puttering around on the water, you drive out of the water to take the Embarcadero back to the Wharf.

Looking back at the Bay Bridge through Doris and Don Fisher’s Cupid’s Span skate park / tourist hiking platform – plenty of oohs and ahs at this point here:

Interacting with happy passersby on the way home…

…while zipping past the historic F-Market streetcars:

These ducks look somewhat menacing at night, huh?

And there’s your trip:

So, you need to show up at least 15 minutes early to keep your reservation, I think.

And this tour can get quite cold and windy, needless to say.

If you want to see some more photos, there are some good ones on Yelp.

This was a great experience – I think it’d be good for tourists and locals alike.

Tags: 2014, amphibious, at&t park, baseball, bay area, boat, bus, california, Captain, chinatown, City, d day, Duck, duck tour, ducks, dukw, families, fishermans wharf, fun, Jefferson, kids, landing, launch, market, McCovey Cove, military, quackers, ramp, review, ride the ducks, San Francisco, San Jose Mercury News, soma, south, stadium, street, taylor, Tony Hicks, tour, tourists, union square, vehicle, vessels, visitors, wwii
Posted in kids, vessels | No Comments »

“The San Francisco Dungeon” Opens – It’s the Newest and Spookiest Addition to Fisherman’s Wharf – What People Are Saying

Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

Here it is, the San Francisco Dungeon up at 145 Jefferson St. between Mason and Taylor in Fisherman’s Wharf – it’s the newest and spookiest addition to Fisherman’s Wharf. Check it out. It’s opening Thursday, June 26th, 2014.

And that makes it the ninth Merlin Entertainments Dungeon in the world. The roster: Berlin Dungeon, Hamburg Dungeon, Amsterdam Dungeon, the Blackpool Tower Dungeon, the Edinburgh Dungeon, the London Dungeon, the York Dungeon, Warwick Castle and now San Francisco.

Beth Spotswood of SFGate says she “screamed bloody murder.”

And here’s Annie Sciacca’s take

And here’s San Francisco Bay Guardian skeptic / Harvard-boy David Kurlander’s bit. He dropped by last week and wrote a lot about the dungeon. He says, “…the Dungeon transcends a lot of the more toxic elements that drag down other Jeffersonian locales.” I guess that’s a compliment.

And here are the Yelp reviews.

I’m thinking that if you’re part of a fun group and you’re in the mood to have good time, then the SF Dungeon just might be for you.

Here are some scenes:

Colonel Jack Gamble welcomes victims (guests) to the San Francisco Dungeon in San Francisco, California

Nikko, of Shanghai Kelly’s Boat Ride, claims his victims (guests) in the San Francisco Dungeon in San Francisco, California

Underground boat ride? Mmmm… Maybe I’ll make it up there someday. (It seems a lot more appealing than any wax museum, just saying.)

All the deets, after the jump.

See you there!

(more…)

Tags: 2014, acting, actors, attraction, bay area, boy, california, children, David Kurlander, dungeon, dungeons, eemployees, families, fishermans wharf, fun, group, harvard, inexpensive, kids, play, San Francisco, sf dungeon, the dungeon, the dungeons, tourist, trap, trapped, visitor
Posted in theatre | No Comments »

And The Award For San Francisco’s #1 Tourist Trap Restaurant Goes To … Castagnola’s Seafood and Chophouse

Thursday, April 17th, 2014

Here we go, start reading - this place is horrible.

IMO, San Francisco would be better off without this particular place up in Fisherman’s Wharf, but the Golden Gate Restaurant Association disagrees, oh well.

Of course nobody cares what I think so head on up there and check it out, if you want.

And be sure to try the “unnecessarily complicated Shrimp Louie“