Leaving Port

One of the best parts about San Francisco is that it's relatively cheap to take a ferry, whether to Angel Island, Sausalito, Tiburon, Alameda, or Oakland. Hustling through the noontime energy at the Ferry Building, you can grab a quick $7 coffee (ouch) and some fresh baked bread then set off on an adventure. And that adventure starts right on the boat. I advocate sitting outside on the lower deck where you can get the best wraparound views of the water sluicing past the ship. Riding out on the deck is one of the few opportunities to see both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate in one panoramic sweep. Last time, I got lucky and spotted a spray of mist followed by two flukes as a whale tunneled down under the water.