According to one of my sources, the Sea-Lions at San Francisco's Pier 39 are the third most visited attraction in the world. In case you didn’t know, the first two are Disneyland and Disneyworld. However, you probably shouldn’t believe that, because I’ve heard this statistic used for many other attractions. However, I guarantee that you will spend less money at the World Famous Sea Lions then you will at the Disney theme parks.
Yeah, they don’t charge to see these Sea Lions, but the phrase “you get what you pay for” applies. Think of it as a free zoo exhibit, with only one kind of animal. Usually zoo animals are only interesting if they are moving around and doing something, so if you are looking for marine animals that do something, I would suggest a trip to MarineWorld in Vallejo or Sea World in San Diego.
The Sea Lions originally came to the dock after the 1989 quake, and found that it was a pretty good place to hang out since their food supply of the herring was pretty abundant. After a while, San Franciscans just got used to them, and now, here they are. If it wasn’t for the fact that these creatures are so magnificently cute, San Francisco probably would have thrown these freeloaders out a long time ago. As it is, the K Dock now allows a few hundred Sea Lions to essentially do nothing but loaf around all day.
However, I can’t deny that they are excellent to see, and it’s easy to see why they are a tourist magnet. Be warned that their presence at Pier 39 is apparently seasonal, and there are apparently fewer of them from June to July. There is a site that has a live webcam, and you even see some close-ups. Of course, nothing compares to actually seeing them, and I recommend bringing binoculars. When I was there, the only activity I saw was a group nap, and one was swimming around, apparently looking for sleeping space. The other Sea Lions were reluctant to help the active one find a place to rest. Clearly, the title of World Famous Sea Lions has gone to their head. Get a job, sea lions, or at least get a life.
The World Famous Sea Lions are only one attraction at San Francisco's Pier 39, which I can and probably will write several more blogs about. A very odd thing happened to me while I was visiting the World Famous Sea Lions. I was eating a waffle cone while watching the Sea Lions, and a seagull swept down and jutted its beak into my cone. This caused a piece of my cone to break off, and was taken away by another sea gull. Clearly, the movie Finding Nemo was right, and seagulls are nothing more than “rats with wings”. Obviously, there must have been several gulls looking at my ice cream cone and began a chorus of “Mine, mine, mine”.
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