SMA PLT GETS LOST ON VFR FLT ACROSS BAY AND PERFORMS AN UNAUTH PENETRATION OF AIRSPACE. PROX OF CLASS D AIRSPACE. WRONG ARPT APCH.

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ON FEB/SAT/97; I DEPARTED LIVERMORE ARPT WBOUND FOR SAN CARLOS ARPT AT APPROX XA30 PM. THIS WAS THE FIRST WEEKEND THAT PROVIDED CAVU CONDITIONS IN MANY WKS; THEREFORE; THERE WAS HIGH ATA TFC. UPON CLRING LIVERMORE'S AIRSPACE; I CONTACTED BAY APCH WITH MY LOCATION; ALT AND DEST. THEY GAVE ME A XPONDER CODE AND INSTRUCTIONS TO REMAIN CLR OF CLASS B AIRSPACE. ONCE PAST THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN; I DSNDED TO 1200 FT MSL TO INSURE CLRNC WITH THE OVERLYING CTLED AIRSPACE (1500 FT MSL). AT THIS ALT AND WITH A LOW SUN DIRECTLY AHEAD; IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO POSITIVELY IDENT LANDMARKS UNTIL WITHIN APPROX 1 MI OF THEM. 1/2 WAY ACROSS THE LOWER SAN FRANCISCO BAY; BAY APCH DIRECTED ME TO SQUAWK 1200. DURING THIS TIME I WAS FREQUENTLY REFERRING TO MY SFO TERMINAL CHART AS MY PRIMARY CONCERN WAS NOT TO ENTER THE CLASS B AIRSPACE. I THEN CONTACTED SAN CARLOS TWR; PROVIDED LOCATION AS APCHING FROM THE E AND THAT I HAD RECEIVED THE ATIS BROADCAST. ALTHOUGH I HAD NEVER LANDED AT THIS ARPT BEFORE; I DID NOT TELL THIS TO THE TWR CTLR. THE TWR CTLR INQUIRED AS TO MY INTENTIONS TO MAKE EITHER A R BASE ENTRY OR A R DOWNWIND ENTRY. I NOTIFIED HIM OF MY PLAN TO MAKE A R DOWNWIND PATTERN ENTRY FOR RWY 30. HE REPLIED WITH A TFC RPT TO LOOK FOR A PITTS (BIPLANE) IN THE PATTERN. HE THEN NOTIFIED OTHER PATTERN TFC OF WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS ME; NOTING THAT MY LNDG LIGHT WAS ON; WHICH IT WAS. I BEGAN MY DSCNT TO PATTERN ALT APPROX 2 MI BEHIND THE TFC AT LAST SIGHTING. THE FIRST POSITIVELY IDENTIFIABLE LANDMARK WAS MOFFETT AIRFIELD AT MY 12 O'CLOCK POS. I IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED THAT I WAS TOO CLOSE TO IT TO BE IN POS FOR SAN CARLOS ARPT. SIMULTANEOUSLY I IDENTED WHAT I BELIEVED TO BE PALO ALTO ARPT; NOT HAVING LANDED THERE EITHER; AT MY 1 - 2 O'CLOCK POS AND SPOTTED 2 ACFT IN THE UPWIND PATTERN. I NOTIFIED SAN CARLOS TWR OF MY ACTUAL POS AND IMMEDIATELY BEGAN A CLB. PER INSTRUCTIONS I SWITCHED TO THE PALO ALTO TWR FREQ. I CONTINUED TO CLB AND PROCEEDED TO NAV A BOX PATTERN UNTIL I WAS OVERHEAD CLBING THROUGH 1600 FT MSL. AT THIS POINT I MADE CONTACT WITH THE PALO ALTO TWR VERIFYING MY POS AND DESIRE TO PROCEED TO SAN CARLOS. AGAIN; PER INSTRUCTIONS; I SWITCHED TO SAN CARLOS TWR. THEY INSTRUCTED ME TO MAKE A STRAIGHT-IN APCH TO RWY 30 FROM MY PRESENT POS AND THAT I WAS TO CONTACT THE PALO ALTO TWR BY TELEPHONE UPON LNDG. AFTER REACHING TRANSIENT PARKING; I WAS GIVEN THE PHONE NUMBER FROM THE GND CTLR. UPON CALLING PALO ALTO TWR; I WAS TOLD BY THE CTLR THAT I HAD ENTERED HIS CLASS D AIRSPACE WITHOUT PERMISSION AND THAT HE HAD TO NOTIFY 2 PLANES IN THE PATTERN OF MY POS. THE GENTLEMAN'S VOICE SOUNDED QUITE AGITATED AS HE REPEATED THE NECESSITY TO PROVIDE SEPARATION OF THE PATTERN TFC AND THAT HE (SARCASTICALLY) COULDN'T JUST IN ESSENCE DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. HAVING NEVER BEEN IN A SIT THAT REQUIRED ME TO CONTACT A TWR; I EXPLAINED THAT I DIDN'T FULLY UNDERSTAND HIS STATEMENT. HE THEN TERMINATED THE CONVERSATION WITH (AGAIN SOUNDING SARCASTIC) 'HAVE A GOOD DAY.' UNDER THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL TO REQUEST RADAR VECTORS FROM BAY APCH WHILE STILL ON THE E SIDE OF THE BAY AS BOTH PALO ALTO AND SAN CARLOS ARE BUT A FEW MI APART. NOTIFYING BOTH THE APCH CTLR AND THE TWR CTLR OF MY UNFAMILIARITY WITH THE DEST.