All hail the queen...

The Queen Mary II, that is.

She pulled into port here on Sunday afternoon to much fanfare, and spent most of yesterday parked along our waterfront.

And it was the nuttiest thing I've seen in ages.

As you may know, she's the biggest cruise ship in the universe. Or something like that. And definitely the biggest passenger ship to dock here.

So that drew large crowds... not only to watch her come through the Gate and cross the bay (I wish I'd been up to that, because... well... look at that picture from the SF Chronicle!), but just to walk by her while she was in port.

There were traffic jams, on the Embarcadero AND on all the side streets in the area. Traffic was backed up on the main thoroughfare that leads from that pretty bridge to the area where the ship was docked. ALL DAY.

The sidewalks were bustling all over the neighborhood. ALL DAY. Which was amazing, for a Monday.

Because of a big ship. I couldn't believe it.

Okay, so I was part of it -- she was docked so close to work that we took a little field trip over there, and even got close to getting on the ship, using our professional wiles, but alas... we could not, though we did get closer to the ship than most spectators.

It was a fun little diversion for an average mid-winter day. But it also made me long for a grand adventure...

Also? This is HILARIOUS.