An Afternoon Visit at The Palace of Fine Arts

One of the mostly recommended places to visit when you're in San Francisco is the Palace of Fine Arts in the marina district of San Francisco, California. It is specifically located on Baker St., at the eastern edge of the Presidio and at least 2.5 miles west of Fisherman's Wharf and 3 miles northwest of Union Square. It has a tranquil lagoon filled with variety of birds and even turtles.

It was originally erected for the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915 for the purpose of artwork exhibits.

The palace is only one of the few surviving structures from the Exposition when the original palace was demolished in 1964.

One of the main reasons why it became one of the tourist's main attraction is its Greek-architectural style colonnades with soaring central rotunda which became as its most recognizable features, and mostly easily seen from San Francisco's northern skyline.

The place is even famous for wedding events and other special gatherings, so don't be surprised if there are ones you see while you're visiting. 😊

Also, another interesting thing to note is that the Palace of the Fine Arts has been locations of movie shoots from the year 1950's and later.

Up to this day, the palace has been San Francisco's favorite landmark to love! No wonder, it's got breath taking views you'll ever cherish after your visit.

The Magnificent Scenic Drive Along Avenue of the Giants

At last, as we reached California from our Oregon road trip, we got to experience sight seeing along this world famous scenic and magnificent 31-mile drive!

The good thing was, we took time enjoying these 51,222 acres of redwood groves by stopping over and took so many photos as much as we did!

Amazing! Our Creator deserves to be praised because of these majestic trees standing gallantly in the entire 500 mile redwood belt.

This scenic drive is about 200 miles north of San Francisco and 100 miles south of the Oregon boarder. It is a 31-mile country road that intersects Highway 101 and is easily accessible with convenient services provided along the way.

This location has also some picnic areas, camping, hiking, swimming, fishing, rafting, biking or just a place where you can enjoy and experience serenity amidst the cool hush of these ancient old growth forests.

Experiencing The Tour-Thru Tree!

There is a tour-thru tree in Klamath, California which is a privately-owned toruist attraction. It was purposely created for tourists who want to have a unique experience of driving through a healthy, living Redwood tree. (Sorry, not in the photos, coz I was the photographer...😞

This tour-thru tree is approximately 785 years old. It was burned in the past but survived. When the area was logged in 1967, it was spared due to its gigantic size, then a tunnel was made through the tree until it was completed in May 1976 then it opened to the public the following month.

The tree has an opening of 2.23 meters wide and 2.90 meters high which enables passages of even bigger vehicles like vans, pick ups and even those with car top luggage carriers.

Take Note: if your vehicle has rigid extended mirrors or extra wide tires, it would NOT go through!

The tree is also 17 feet in diameter at eye level and is about 90 feet tall to the point where the top was blown off. The side branches has an overall height of 183 feet! So, go figure! 😁😉

A Wonderful Experience at Trees of Mystery & Sky Trail

The Trees of Mystery is an easy-access attraction in Klamath, California along US Highway 101. It is located in between the huge Redwood National State Parks with lots of things to be done and enjoy.

At the entrance is the big statue of Paul Bunyan; - the legendary man from whom the trail of tall tales is devoted to his folklore and his unique adventures reflected in giant redwood carvings done with a chainsaw.

The end of the trail museum is also located on the entrance area which is a native American museum that displays one of the finest private artifact collections in the world. Entrance is free to visit the museum.

Take note: There is a lot of walking if you are thinking of going on the Main Trail which is at least 8 miles. Be sure you have a good plan when it comes to going and coming back (that would be 16 miles of walk total), and the Sky Trail is only until 5pm. This is only if you have a plan of completing the walk along the Main Trail.

If you think you are running out of time to catch the Sky Trail, shuttle service is available between the courtyard at the gift shop and Brotherhood Station. Be sure to ask at the front desk of the gift shop about their shuttle service. 

You can either ride the shuttle to and from the Brotherhood station (this is where the embarkation area for Sky Trail is), or ride one way.

If you want to experience gliding through the forest canopy, try the Sky Trail, - a 7-9 minute-ride in an enclosed 6-passenger gondola to Ted's Ridge. You can see gorgeous views here from the observation deck.

The Sky Trail gives you a bird's eye view of the redwoods as you also witness these magnificent tree formations, shapes and sizes. Amazing!!😍

From Ted's Ridge, there is a mile walk going down through the Trees of Mystery where you can see the largest tree on the property called "The Brotherhood Tree." As you continue to explore, you will witness various extraordinary specimens of redwood trees of which are highlighted along the trail with informational displays and audio presentations. You will see the Cathedral tree, - one of the most majestic trees of all, with 9 living trees growing as one in a cathedral formation! In fact, many weddings and Easter services are being held in this area quite often!

The Queen Mary's Self-Guided & Audio Tour Guide

Here is a short tip I want to share for those who would prefer doing the self-guided tour with an audio.
I mentioned in one of my previous posts about my experience with the audio tour and unluckily, I wasn't able to finish it.

There is a little bit of a tricky part on the audio tour's instructions that I ended up getting lost and couldn't find the right spot.

On your audio instructions, you need to walk out to another location starting at stop three (3) which is located on the promenade deck.
You will need to walk to the Upper Decks for the next stop on the audio tour. To travel from the lower decks to the upper decks, exit the Queen Mary Story Timeline (D Deck) and walk towards the Attraction Attendant where you first entered. They will point you to the staircase leading to the Queen Mary Walkway.

Follow the walkway alongside the ship, which will lead you to the main elevator tower. Take the elevator to Level 4. This will take you to the Promenade Deck where your next audio tour stop awaits at the stern (back) of the ship.

The Exhibits and Points of Interest:

Sports Deck - Officers' Quarters, Wireless Room (W6RO), Access to Bridge and Wheel House

Sun Deck - Life Boat Demonstration

Promenade Deck - Passenger Information, Starboard Bakery, Access to Bow, Main Hall, WWH Display and Stairs to Isolation Ward

"M" Deck - Main - Bow Area

"A" Deck - Ghosts & Legends Exit, Immortal Chaplains Sanctuary, Old Fire Station, Hotel Lobby and Isolation Ward

"R" Deck - Queen Mary Walkway, Ghost & Legends and Queen Mary Art gallery

"D" Deck - Wharf - Stairs to Ghosts & Legends and Queen Mary Art Gallery Entrance, Russian Submarine, Entrance to the Engine Room, Timeline, Queen Mary Historic Exhibit and Audio Tour Booth.

The Queen Mary

The Queen Mary is one place worth visiting when you want to go back to those days where steam ships were the quickest and most elegant way to travel.
The Queen Mary was once a magestic luxury liner and always the first choice for the elite of high society way back 1936. This year was was her first maiden voyage as a grand ocean liner including during the war years, until she finally stopped her voayge in the year 1967. Her maiden voyage in 1936 was the grandest ocean liner ever built and made her play many roles throughout her illustrious career.Many considered her the only civilized way to travel.
She was fondly called "The Grey Ghost" when she was transformed as a troopship overnight and transported more than 800,000 troops and played a vital role in every major Allied campaign.
She finally retired and was purchased by the city of Long Beach which became a Long Beach icon for more than 40 years.

Finally, settled in Long Beach as her permanent residence, it is now a site of attraction for tourists where every visitor is welcome to explore.

Queen Mary has a very rich, colorful history, a good reason why it is worth recommending to get up close with it to give you an in-depth look at the ship's past.

There are guided tours, the best way to have if you want to make sure you will be getting the most out of your visit.
There are daytime and evening tours, so whether you are interested in history art deco design or paranormal investigations and mystery about the ship, you can choose a tour package that goes with all of them.

Full exploration tours do a lot of walking so if you think your feet are tough enough to complete your visit in a day, go! :)

There are dinings on board as well, including signature dining, casual and quick eats and special dining events. Bar and lounges are also available.

The Queen Mary is also commonly used for land filmings of both television and films, photo shoots and commercials with a filming location of more than 80,000 square feet of space with 14 Art Deco salons that are uniquely decorated with murals and original paintings, wood paneling, brass and nickel silver fixture and etched leaded glass accents.

Would you believe you can book your hotel reservations aboard the Mary Queen as well?

Enjoy your stay!

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