San Francisco, CA

After leaving Sequoia National Forest, we headed further up north to the city of Marysville. On the way, I wanted to make a pit-stop at Three Rivers, a little place right outside of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.

We got there around 930AM and parking was already filling up. It was so difficult to find a parking spot that I ended up parking off the road where it was more secluded and away from the crowd. We spent close to an hour or so exploring the area before we continued north. One of the best thing about this spot was that it felt like we had the whole area to ourselves!

We got to Marysville in the afternoon and my Grandma had opened the door for us. She was home alone watching television and had been complaining of an upset stomache and was throwing up her food, hence the reason why she chose to stay home. Once everyone got back, we had all planned to pack up and head to San Francisco the following morning.

Holy cow was the traffic from Marysville to San Francisco heavy! I've never seen traffic backed up so bad. I'm sure it might not have been like this if we had left in the early morning. But it is what it was. We all got to Fishermans Wharf safely and were able to park closeby one another. We walked around the wharf and when everyone decided it was time to eat, we chose to opt out and leave early because we wanted to get back home before dark...

Not before another pit-stop of course. I figured since we were in the area already, we should stop by and see the ruins of the Sutro Baths, located about 25 minutes west of Fishermans Wharf.

The Sutro Baths was the largest indoor saltwater bath house built and owned by a former San Francisco Mayor, Adolph Sutro. The bath closed down in 1966 and was burned down that same year.

There's a large designated parking area located at Merrie Way. We began our short hike on Land Ends Trail and made a left onto Sutro Baths Upper Trail. We followed the trail until we reached Point Lobos. This is where we, including the pup, admired the Sutro Baths from afar.

Now if you wanted to explore the Sutro Baths upclose, there's different trails you could start at from the parking lot that will leads straight down there. From the parking lot, head west of Merrie Way down the long unpaved stairs. Or, you can walk towards Lookout Cafe and to Louis' Restaurant. At Louis', you will find a steep and unpaved trail that will lead you straight down to the baths.

After embracing the ocean sounds and air, our energies were recharged and we were ready to say farewell to the busy city of San Francisco to take that 6.5 hour drive back home. I wonder where our next adventure takes us...

- Jules