For those that care to read, let me catch you up with something. My two best friends are moving half way around the world to Australia. But before they go, they decided to have a mini-adventure trip to Cali, and I decided to go along the way. So you are caught up, for now.
4am came way too early this morning. I unfortunately made the mistake of packing, once again at last minute and packing way too much. I am not the one moving to Australia, but my suitcase told different lies.
There was a nice woman on the plane taking me to LA (which would then connect me to San Fran). Meet Susie. She lives in Santa Barbara and works for non-proft. She travels frequently from the West coast down south. She told me she never saw the beach while she was there, yet she was staying in a hotel directly on one. She said next time she will make a personal day of it. I highly recommended it. She took me from one end of the terminal to the other, helping me find my flight and finding out most about where I worked. "It's great you are so young and you make a difference in little kid's lives". indeed. we parted ways eventually. It's nice making friends with those you sit next to for 5 hours. I wondered if the next flight would be the same.
it wasn't. a young gentleman sat beside me with a furrowed brow. he stared at his newspaper the entire trip. I tried making eye contact to give him a smile but he would have none of that. strange how different of personalities people can have.
san fran greeted me with crisp, cool and fall-like weather. Mel's friend Susie greeted me in lovely white chariot (camry) and a coy smile. " you're Tiffany right? " this was the first time she was meeting me, yet she was hosting myself and four other friends for the next few days. We drove to her apartment chatting about the coolness in the air and taking pictures of all the grandiouse buildings. San Fran has some amazing architecture. One of the churches is absolutely breathtaking.
her apartment is adorable. I can't describe it but it's probably one of the cleanest and well-kept places i've ever been in. leather sofas, cute kitchen, but lots of stairs. I didn't realize how steep this city was. neither did my suitcase. it took a good few minutes just to walk up the side walk to her apartment. a group of movers noticed my feeble attempts. "can we help? " i hate looking like a damsel in distress. "no i think i got it" "hey no it's our job" as one grabbed my just under 50lbs suitcase and hauled it up the steps. And then, to my surprise, more steps. "here i'll just take it up. Chivalry is NOT dead." wow i wish more of those men lived near me.
jeanne burst through the door with a big smile on her face. ah how i have missed her. And apparently Mel heard me through the shower. she is lovely. the girls are re-united once again. and in walks Walter. apparently i woke him up. they said they only got a few hours of sleep. oh how i know the feeling. sleep is never over-rated.
off we were whisked away (with some yummy sausage soup and amazing coffee) to board the boat to Alcatraz. The boat was more like a huge yacht. And apparently floated in shark-invested waters. no wonder they could never escape. We set on the deck, sun-beaming down, no time limit. that moment was grand, i wish I could freeze-frame it.
As we docked at Alcatraz, it's amazing how huge the island was. We saw some of the random buildings and then proceeded into the actual Alcatraz jail, accompanied by an audio tour. And the moments that followed hit my heart.
Apparently many families dis-owned their loved ones when they were incarcerated here. "you are dead to me now" would be a famous saying. the narrator during one of the tours mentioned that if you got visitors, you were lucky. one guy recognized the voice of a young woman and was surprised to see his grown up sister visiting him. I can't imagine how a tearful gathering that must have been.
the convicts were confined to their cells and looked towards anything from oil-painting to musical instruments to pass the time. New Years eve would be spent playing any kind of instrument they could grab a hold of. Even if they could only play three notes, they would play those three notes with such an effortless hope. It was during this time, if the wind was just right, the laughter and giggles from New years parties held on the shore would drift into the cell blocks. can you imagine being that close to civilization but being able to experience it? how sad it must have been.
Mel and I had the opportunity to be locked up in an isolation chamber. it was pitch black. the light barely outlined the door. weird. and the security officer was quite creepy too as he slammed the door on us. talk about clausterphobia. talk about loneliness.
security officers also housed their families on the island. ON the island little kids roamed and played like it was playground. How crazy is that, to think about your kids possibly playing along side convicts.
the boat ride back was a bit overwhelming. I think for all of us. a lot to take in during a short time frame. most of the ride was spent in silence. a pensive silence.
we walked around the tourist part of san fran and I experienced the goodness of an In and Out Burger. ::sigh:: so good but so unhealthy. We strolled along the beach and its bay and finally found Ghiradelli's. in all its glory. hot cocoa and a giant chocolate chip cookie accompanied by LOST theories. good times. Walter was stopped by a guy who pretended to be a tree and told him that since he scared him, he owed him money. "scare me later" walter said. "that's what my wife said" he retorted back. wow got to love these san fransicans.
it's now 1 am Orlando time but it's 10 San Fran time. I'm beat. i have a lot of thoughts flowing through my head right now, but i'll leave you with this; today was a good day, but i'm determined to make tomorrow even better. Gotta make every last day count.
And you said you couldn't write. You are a liar.
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