I arrived in beautiful San Francisco
at 7am and after many wrong turns up very steep hills, I found my hostel. I was
informed that I could leave my bags, but I could only check in at 3pm, much to
my dismay as I really wanted to take a shower and maybe even go back to sleep
for an hour or two. Instead, I found myself watching an episode of Bones in the
Starbucks up the road, loading up on coffee and the most expensive panini I had
bought in a long time.
After I had some food in my system,
and more importantly, some coffee, I pulled up a map, decided on a general
direction, and headed off in pursuit of something wonderful. I walked through
union square and debated about going into the huge Macy's on the corner, but
deciding to save myself some trouble - and money - I took a sharp left and walked
up the next hill of the day, which ended at the gates to China Town. I
walked down one side of the street, and back up the other, going into
practically every store, which as with most China Towns, became very repetitive
very quickly. The same basic stock littered ever shop I walked into, aside from
the few defining items that allowed each one to somewhat stand out from the
others. I reached the gates once more and left, killing time at this point in
any way that I could. I didn't want to drift to far away, or climb to many
hills, as check in time was looming and for some reason I was rather eager to
get settled. The clock finally struck 3pm and I spent the rest of the day
getting organized, only leaving to get something to eat later that night.
The next day I was feeling rather
adventurous after my subdued day previously, and walked down to the main road
that runs the entire width of the city, called Market Steret. This is the
street on which many of the Street Cars operate from, but it decided to walk
that day, my only goal being to find the ocean at the end of the street. I
walked for Kilometers, taking in the city, checking out the stores, and
absorbing the atmosphere. I walked straight for ages until the road bent to the
right, but I defiantly crossed over it, and into a courtyard in front of the
Pier 1 building. I had reached the sea, and walked along the dock, happy as can
be. A wonderful surprise was not only the market place situated inside the
building, but also the Bay Bridge that ran across the body of water, connecting
one land mass to another. It was quite beautiful, so I decided to turn right
and walk toward the bridge. San Francisco has many huge art pieces, almost
randomly scattered across the land, and I discovered many beautiful ones on the
journey that day.
The next day, I hopped onto a Street
Car, going in the opposite direction to the one the day before, and hopped off
at Golden Gate National Park. It was huge, as most American parks are, and I
lost track of time and location, only partially on purpose, but caught myself
again quickly as I had plans that night. A day spent in a park is hard to
describe as you see and hear so many different things in every single moment,
but my evening was a little easier to explain.
I took the subway and met up with a
friend of a family friend who was going to take me to dinner and help me make
sure I got the most out of my time in the city. We walked around a bit and she
showed me some beautiful murals that decorated the walls, then lead me to a
Mexican restaurant which claimed to have the best Burrito in the Country; they
were not wrong. It was certainly the best one I had had, and would have for the
rest of my trip! We had a wonderful time, chatting the night away, and I ended
up at her house, where I met her daughter, who was only a year or so younger
than me. Eventually, she called me a cab and I thanked her and her family for
such a nice night.
I woke up the next day super excited,
and a little earlier than normal as I was headed down to pier 32 to catch my
ferry to Alcatraz!
Yes, that’s right, the notorious
prison out at sea the is known to be inescapable! I was so beyond excited to
finally see "The Rock” with my own two eyes- something I had dreamed about
since watching “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” as in my little mind,
the prisons were one in the same.
I jumped onto and off of the ferry,
wide eyes and bushy tailed, ready for the adventure ahead: I was mentally
prepared for all the incredible things I was to see, but I was not ready for
all the walking! That place was huge, but at the same time so tiny when
considering that some individuals spent their entire lives there. You may be
surprised to know, as I was, that Alcatraz served as a home not only to the
inmates, but to entire families! these families were those of the prison
guards, administrative staff, medical personal, and just about anyone else who
was needed to keep the prison running as the commute from the mainland was ever
so far and far to expensive to contemplate. It’s rather strange to think that
children grew up right next to the prison, and happily I might add.
Something else that struck me was the
physical beauty of the entire island, the gardens, the rocks - not only that
but the magnificent views of the city, the ocean, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
On the island, you could pretty much
wonder far and wide, as the signs slowly directed you up the the highest point
of the Rock: the cell blocks. When you entered the cells, you were handed a
self guided and award winning audio tour handset that led you through the ins
and outs of the prison blocks themselves. As you moved from room to room, cell
to cell, actual past prison guards and prisoners told you their stories- and I
promise you, every one gave you chills.
Some were sad, some were scary, some
were action packed, and some were even happy; none of which I will tell you,
and all of which you should go and hear for yourself.
It was a truly incredible experience,
and one that I will never forget.
Again, I got lucky as just by chance
while I was on the island, there was an art exhibit based on freedom and the
wrongly accused or oppressed- many of whom became heroes in their own
right.
It was absolutely gorgeous.
One section of it was made completely
of Lego, which made up portraits of famous faces and was laid on the floor to
span the length and breadth of an entire hall! As I walked around, I even found
our very own Nelson Mandela’s face so far away from home. you were lead through
the exhibit to fist view it from the ground where you could get up close to
everything and truly see the detail put into each work, and as you left, you
were lead through an upper part of the building where you could look down on
the art work through barred windows: an incredible symbol to be left with.
I didn’t want to leave, but sadly the
time came as the sun set over the ocean, and I hopped onto the last ferry back
to the city.
By the time the next day came
around, I was in desperate need of doing some laundry and of course my hostel did
not house such facilities so off I went, walking up the roads and hills with my
laundry bag on my back (looking a little too similar to an exhausted Santa Clause
than I will ever admit) I went to the closest Laundromat I could find!
When I arrived, I was not disappointed
and realized that it was all worth it, not only did this place wash your
clothes, but it offered free uncapped WiFi and boasted an entire café and ice cream
bar! It was safe to say that I was a happy camper.
Now, as much fun as I was having,
real life was starting to creep into this picture, and fast. My bank had
decided to freeze my account all the way back in Buffalo and I still hadn’t managed
to fully figure it all out. They were very insistent on me “visiting my closest
branch at my closest convenience,” hmmmm…..
Regardless, I needed to make a plan fast,
and with the next place on my agenda being Alaska, my plan needed to be a good
one. I was flat out of ideas and the next leg of my trip was slipping further
and further out of my grip, so I did what any self respecting almost-adult
would have done: I called my parents.
I kicked up my heels, grabbed an ice
cream and milked that WiFi for all it was worth, talking through potential
plans with my parents while my washing tumbled and turned one room over.
I fondly recall my mother laughing
loudly at me when she heard that I was doing my own laundry, and absolutely howling
when she hard that I was struggling with it. “Welcome to the real world, Poppet”
– thanks mom.
My mother, father, and I were
googling up a storm, trying to find either a way to get me to Alaska or,
failing that, another place to stay. Eventually, in a moment of clarity, we remembered
that my father had a cousin who lived in Houston who would be happy to have me,
more like happy to save me, or so it felt!
Sorted!
Dad was going to get hold of cousin
Connie and I had to figure out how to get to her, piece of cake. It just goes
to show, no mater where you are or how much trouble you think you are in, good
old mom and dad will have your back.
* Soppy moment to say thank you to my
incredible parents for being so great! *
I hung up, grabbed my clothes, and headed
back to the hostel with a new plan and a new attitude. Sleep came easy that
night.
I jumped out of bed and decided to
make the most of my last full day in this amazing place before heading onto the
next one. I walked down to the cable car station and decided to take it to the
end of the line to Pier 39 - Fisherman’s Warf!
I don’t quite know how to describe Fisherman’s
Warf other than a hub of shops, food, people, and entertainment, where you just
cannot help but be happy. It is fun and vibrant, where every kind of person
meets to do every kind of thing.
I walked up and down every pier and
saw everything there was to see from huge candy stores to interactive zombie
slaying experiences, football memorabilia stores to real military ship displays
from World War 2, there was never a dull moment!
I was exhausted from the morning but I
somehow got it into my head that I was going to try to walk to the Golden Gate
Bridge, which I later found out was about 4 miles (6.5km) in the hilliest place
I have ever been.
Needless to say, I didn’t make it,
but I had fun trying! I phoned my best friend Caroline to keep me company on my
walk, and she laughed at me as I could hardly speak I was so out of breath!
Eventually, the sun was beating me
home, so I decided to turn around and make my way back to my hostel to take a
long shower and pack my bags. I was off to Texas tomorrow!!
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