August 28, 2018 | 1:32 AM
After a long day exploring the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, I hopped on a plane to San Francisco. My friend Sal dragged himself out of bed to get me from the airport. On the way back, I caught my first glimpse of the foggy city.
♪ Going to California - Led Zeppelin
8:54 AM
Still sleepy, we got up early to explore the Golden Gate Bridge. Even with a thick layer of fog, I was impressed. We got up close and personal and walked a quarter-mile out onto the bridge. We didn't have time to visit Alcatraz but saw it from a distance.
♪ I Wanna Go Out - American Authors
12:06 PM
We set out to discover the city without much of a plan. The Exploratorium on Pier 15 piqued my interest. For the next few hours, we let our curiosity roam free as we wandered (and laughed) through various creative exhibits.
♪ 2 Heads - Coleman Hell
2:42 PM
At Pier 45, we played around in Musée Mécanique, the 20th-century penny arcade featured in The Princess Diaries. We competed at pinball and skee ball, watched "dirty" films, and found our fortunes.
Hungry and gamed out, we had lunch at Fog Harbor Fish House, accurately ranked as one of San Francisco's top 5 restaurants.
♪ Summer Sound - ROMES
6:30 PM
No trip to San Francisco would be complete without visiting the sea lions at Pier 39. We spent about 30 minutes watching as they swam around and pushed each other into the water.
♪ Washed Up Together - Knox Hamilton
7:46 PM
Our last stop was whale watching just outside of the city. As the sun was setting, we watched them flip and swim around in the ocean.
As soon as my head hit the pillow that night, I was out like a light.