Pier 39

The northern tip of San Francisco has an area known as Fisherman's Wharf. Obviously, fishing boats used to dock here but that's long gone. A number of tour boats and ferries now make their base and hundreds of sea lions have decided it's the place to hang out.The center of it, Pier 39, has become a circus. It's full of tourist junk, tasteless jewelry shops and mass market restaurants. (We ended up at Bubba Gump's for dinner but that's a long story.)

There was an entertainer out at the end who was pretty good. He tried to whip up the crowd, telling us candidly that noise attracts more people, a bigger audience and, hopefully bigger tips.