Yes; they are sea lions. I couldn't remember what they were called.
And yes, Fisherman's Wharf is a total tourist trap. I lived four blocks from it and never visited it once. And you're right that the sea lion barking carries that far -- I could hear them clearly anytime the windows were open (which in San Francisco with its Mediterranean climate was most of the year).
I worked in the financial district, and walked to work everyday, passing right by The Condor (with Carol Doda's blinking nipples on the sign).
What a trip. What a city. It was like living in Disneyland. Now I couldn't afford the cover charge.
As a tourist, that was exactly my impression: "What a trip. What a city. It was like living in Disneyland. Now I couldn't afford the cover charge."
What I found interesting was that in the weeks leading up to my trip, it seemed that EVERYONE I knew had recommendations of things to do there and, especially, restaurants to dine at. Nearly everyone told me to avoid Fisherman's Wharf, but I was staying in a Holiday Inn only a few blocks away, and I've always loved sea lions.
SF is also the "gayest" city in the U.S. We spent a good part of one day exploring "gay stuff" in SF, and I found it fascinating.
The number of homeless people there -- everywhere! -- was also eye-opening. And this coming from a girl who lives in NYC.
P.S. All of this has nothing do with Trump. But I've never met a hijack I didn't follow...
I worked in San Francisco for a month, back in 2012 - we rented an apartment in Haight-Ashbury, & first local I spoke to was an elderly man in a rainbow shirt who skateboarded past me and offered me weed.
The workshop I was based in was a few yards off Market Street, so my journey home was a tram-ride to the end of the line in Castro, then a hike up the hill.
It is my favourite city on the planet (well, maybe a tie with Venice), and I would have moved there permanently, except for the lack of a proper health service (and being too old to be accepted by immigration...
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