beautiful city

Early to bed and apparently early to rise.

8am came and I woke up to Walter petting my head. Rise and Shine.  everyone was going for a short walk around downtown San Fran and I figured I could come along for a stroll and picture opportunities.  a 30 min walk turned into an almost two hour trek across the Golden Gate Brdige and the Hedlands.  Susie went to take a walk, Jeanne and Mel to take a jog, and that left me, Walter, and Leslie to look around.  Walt and Les started going ahead of me as I took pictures left and right off the bridge.  I must have taken over a hundred, but I couldn't get past the idea of how beautiful it was.  A lone jogger in a green hoody noticed my feeble attempts to take a self potrait. And failing miserably

"would you like me to take a pic of you? I notice a lot of people come out here all the time and aren't able to get in any pictures themselves"

"oh wow thanks, if you wouldn't mind..."

" no no, my pleasure" she smiled. Such a pretty warming smile.

and off started our hour long conversation about the city, the economy, relationships, and love. Meet Patricia. She is in her mid- fourties working for some of the wealthiest people here in San Fran.  She knows she will not lose her job any time soon because she is higher up than most, but wants to do whatever she can to "make deals" so that others don't lose theirs.  Very interesting woman and very full of life. She lives with her boyfriend now as she is growing more fond of this city. she was very intriguing and not what i expected of a native San Fran-nian (i don't even know if that's the proper name to say for these folk)  I barely noticed walter and les walking back and forth by me, making sure I was okay. such great sweet friends. we parted ways but i was left with such a calming feeling after talking with her. I love this city already.

I made the trek back to where we parked by myself and just felt such a sense of peace that no one could interrupt.  Yes, I still took pictures but I think as I was taking them, i was attempting to capture the serenity of the moment, walking briskly by the bay as the ocean swept back and forth and seagulls meandered along with joggers and their puppies.  

we got to a place called the Warming Hut for a nice thing of Cappicino and a scone. I proceeded to order both in a British accent, and Mel could barely contain her laughter. such a sweet girl. I'm going to miss her terribly too.  behind her stood two small children, one in bright tights, the other with the cutest hat. we proceeded to play hide and seek in line and their laughter lifted my soul once again.  Children can definitely do that you know?  

our conversation went back to MJW's adventure to the grand canyon. I've never wanted to visit that place.  maybe it's just me but i don't enjoy erosion, i prefer sedemintary. Eh, to each their own:)

from there we made the hike up to THE Golden Gate Bridge. The one i have only seen on episodes of Full House and from a distance from our quaint apartment.  It's majesty towered over each of us and was amazing.  picture taking of course ensued.  Alongside of us were hundreds of bicyclists, one of which ran into Walter. Walter, in his usual boisterious self (said entirely in a GOOD way) proceeded to apologize yet the gentleman took her apology as insult. Such a different side of San-Franians.  There were painters on the bridge too, preparing to suspend themselves from the wires, almost like spiderman. How cool would it be to climb along side of them?

the view was amazing and we hiked further, reminiscing of Broadway Musicals and looking out into the sunrise.  Susie, the lady we are staying with, met us at the top and proceeded to drive us by Saulsolito and then to the Hedlands. Up we went past windy roads and tons of gorgeous landscape.  As we looked out over the beauty of San Fran, once again i was taken aback of how peaceful it was.  it was as if we were in a movie looking out above this city. i was finally filled with an ounce of the peace that i am so desparately searching for.

we took the long narrow and snake like road that wrapped around the side of the mountain back to the heart of the city, our city, my city, my world. after a nice hot shower we bundled up to head to Fisherman's wharf. its a lot colder than what i expected it to be. i guess when i think of Cali, i think beaches, warmth, and sunshine.  i must still be in the Florida mind frame. i packed almost 50lbs of summer clothes to wear on the beach and only three sweaters.  i should have thought this through more, that or at least checked out the weather channel.

Susie dropped us off at a corner to check out Boudin bread factory and their infamous Bread Bowls with clam chowder. it indeed was everything it was cracked up to be, though Jeanne and I tasted the chili (went quite perfectly with the cold day) . There were baskets of bread on a conveyor belt above us swinging back and forth as Justin Timberlake's Senorita played in the background. life was good.  

we ventured out in search of the sea lions.  it is said that sea lions dock themselves on a pier out near Fisherman's Wharf.  Big sea lions. Hundreds of them.  We searched back and forth between piers (apparently there are more than one)  a cute old school arcade caught my eye and in it i found some of the old arcade like games where you put a quarter in and it tells you the future or a grandmother's prediction. fascinating.

we ventured further down the dock along side pier 19 and saw tons of boats docked. inside were two young burly men. I smiled. they looked like they were having the time of their lives just relaxing with no worries in the world. and then they saw me smile and smiled back and made some comment to join them. awkward.  but i took that opportunity as a chance to ask where the sea lions were. pier 49. done.

on our walk we passed by more trolleys and street figures and horse drawn carriages. there were tons of street performers from an old squeaky violinest, to a man painted entirely in silver. this city has so much to offer.  there was even a double decker carousel. amazing. and then we saw Salty the Sea Lion. Apparently that was our golden ticket to find the hundred others whom were waiting. We rounded a bin and heard the sound of dogs barking, no wait, sea lions.  tons of them sunning themselves. I tried to do an imitation of them, didn't work out as well as i had thought. but mission accomplished.

mission two: ride a trolley.  we strolled back along the streets and my eye caught a bunch of amazing souvenir shops. three key chains and a t-shirt later I emerged out of the store only to be swallowed up by another full of sunglasses.  I resisted my urge, walter did not. He made a good choice though. He looks like a movie star. He already has that confidence and demeanor but now he has the glasses to prove it. and they also act as a mirror. I'm clever now when looking at him. heh.

we ventured up the long streets. I've never walked this much in my life.  we finally found a trolley station. $5 one way. Done.  the trolleys are actually called cable cars and rightly so because there is a cable in the ground that runs continuosly underground and the driver has to "let go" for the car to stop. we stood in line and huddled close. the wind is so fierce here. as we rounded the corner our ears perked to hear the lively sounds of a banjo. and much to our delight, walter decided to dance, the "Preacher Dance".  it's on video somewhere. that will become an instant classic. in the far center a man was also being tied to a light pole. crazy.

the cable car ride was like a rollar coaster ride and of course we hung out the side like typical tourists. up. down. up. up. down. down. screeching stop. quite fun.  walter and i sang the theme song to not only Full House but Family Matters. Gosh i'm gonna miss that boy, I feel like he's a big brother to me. And he probably knows how to be one since he has three sisters. Oh walley.

the cable car let us off in the heart of Union Square where we dipped into an H 'n M. great store. next. Urban. four floors of it. Lastly. Forever 21. complete with giant Chandeliers.  this city impresses me.  we hit up a Starbucks and the warmth of my white chocolate mocha brings back such memories.  interesting how a drink can do that.  we stare out the window and two things catch our eyes.  First, quite humorous.  a white rat, on top of a cat, on top of a dog.  Not even kidding.  all of us chuckled but as the heartiness of the moment died down, another image caught my eye. There was a man bundled up, sitting next to the light post, with his head crouched in his arms and holding out an empty cup.  my heart ached for him, and for his story.  i've seen so many homeless people in my brief days here, one of which stared the bejesus out of Walter behind a fake bush and another who held an honest sign that said " why lie, i need money for a beer ".  so many people. so many stories.  as i stared at this man i wondered how long he had been crouched in that position. if he had any kids. if he had ever known love or Love.  i looked back at my warm coffee and thought how fortuante i truly was. I glanced back up and he was gone.

we made another trek to China Town.  such a fun little place. I love Asian culture and all it has to offer. even the kids are cute. Walter almost got hit by a car taking a picture of us. Oh walt. pay attention. heh.  the faint strumming sounds caught my ear but this time it wasn't a banjo but a sitar looking thing as an elderly Chinese man strummed along.  his face was sunken in and he had a blank expression as he stared at the passer-bys.  what was his story?

we passed by gift shops, restaurants, marketplaces all while Britney Spears' Circus played in the background.  interesting song choice.  we made our way down to a corner side pub called Rouge.  as we sat along the table my eyes darted back and forth to the young crowd that was seated all around us. College students, graduates, young professionals, some eagerly awaiting that evening's trivia night. they were so anxious that they offered to make a deal if we shared tables.  we didn't stay. But they did and much to their delight more friends were able to join.

i'm learning more and more about myself in these few days.  I love visiting big cities but i don't know how well i would do living in them. Yet I live in Orlando. Which is massively huge.  I have no idea how much longer i am to stay in the great sunshine state.  This adventure has opened up my eyes to other possibilities.  But i don't want to leave my job. Not now at least.  Who knows when God will call me further.  I have no idea what this next year holds. My two best friends are leaving for the other side of the world. I am happy for them yes, but i am sad and lonely right now.  I have so much "community" but i feel so alone.  Odd parallel to have eh? I'm going to enjoy these next last days as much as I can.  It's a scary feeling knowing that this time next week i won't be able to sit down and talk with them.  I don't know if I'm ready for that.