Pier 39 in San Francisco is THE place to be, whether you're a person or a sea lion (there are docks set up just for the sea lions and they're quite the sight--and sound!). I'd been there a few years ago, and loved it. Always something cool to see. This time--we saw Bert and Ernie kidnapped by a thief, and a one-man-band street performer who did a pretty good imitation of Johnny Cash.

First, the sea lions. They're amazing. So cool and fun to watch as they sunbathe, jostle for space, wriggle their way across the docks, then glide gracefully through the water. They're playful and stubborn. Kind of like kids ;-).

If you ever get a chance to go to Pier 39 in San Francisco, you have to be sure to stop by and see the sea lions. Spend some time just watching them--they're a blast.

Speaking of things to watch...the street performers are a breed unto themselves. Between them and the beggars (my daughter and I saw two guys with a sign that said "Change for Weed"--now that's being honest, LOL), the entire Pier 39 experience is an...adventure. All those human statues. Guys making graffiti art. People trying to make a buck by drumming on parking signs. Bands playing their music on a corner, hoping to get discovered.

And then there was this guy. A one-man band who played a pretty good rendition of Johnny Cash and another of Bob Dylan. Entertaining and engaging, and pretty damned coordinated, if you ask me. And smart--in the ten minutes I saw him, he must have made fifty bucks, just charming the crowd. Probably not what his parents wanted to send him to college for, but hey...he's making a living.

Finally, the Bert and Ernie kidnapping. My daughter and I were sitting outside a restaurant, when four cops (four!) come by, hauling a mid-20's guy in cuffs with them. He was a big guy, too--about 6"3", 200 or so pounds. The cops are trying not to laugh.

It's when they turn him to bring him into the building that we see why--

The guy is holding (in his cuffed hands) the object of his thievery. A pair of Bert and Ernie hand puppets.

Okay, first, I don't want to know WHY he was stealing Bert and Ernie hand puppets. Second, the sheer humilation of being paraded through Pier 39 in handcuffs with Bert and Ernie dangling from your fingers...the guy might not even have to serve any time after that little experience, LOL.

The cops were trying not to laugh. They bring the guy in the room, take the puppets from him, and then one of the cops slips a puppet onto his hand.

Apparently, Bert wanted to start the interrogation.

Only on Pier 39 ;-)

Shirley