Jan. 16th

Arriving in Oakland was a major relief this afternoon. After sleeping through a buzzing alarm, slicing my thumb open, and almost forgetting my luggage it was going to be a miracle if I got to California with no major mishaps. Sure enough it was about 12:30 in the early afternoon when I began to drag my 49lbs of luggage to our bus parked on the street nearby the Oakland Airport. We drove through the city as I gazed out the window admiring the busy streets, honking cars, fast moving people, and beautiful landscape. Wes occasionally tossed in some insightful facts about where we were but at this point we were all starving and too anxious to pay any meaningful attention. We crossed the massive and somewhat overwhelming Bay Bridge, passing into that far side right lane made me a little nervous but the view distracted me until we had passed by completely. The hotel ended up being a cookie cutter Holiday Inn Express that typically has few differences compared to the one in Carmel, Indiana, other than the fact that this one is walking distance from delicious locally grown and bought cuisines, historical neighborhoods that home the beginnings of major American movements, and gorgeous scenery well beyond cornfields and flat plains that make up my daily surroundings. I was ecstatic about being here and as tired as I was I couldn’t wait to get out and about and experience what I had been looking forward to for these past few months.
Addressing the distracting hunger we all were feeling we walked to Fisherman’s Wharf for lunch to find what I hear is delicious fresh and unforgettable seafood. On our way there were many little stores filled with cheesy souvenirs, picture perfect posters, and many people walking around with disposable cameras and fanny packs. It felt very touristy, but soon enough I was to see what all the commotion was about. Turning the corner you could smell the fresh seafood simmering. Crab sandwiches, shrimp cocktail, and clam chowder soup caused clustered sidewalks swarming of hungry people. The smell of family owned crab stands filled my nose, nervously I tried to avoid it. Sometimes being extremely allergic to shellfish sucks! I walked across the street to the sound of a guitar strumming along with a raspy voice accompanying it. A crowd of people sat devouring their lunch enjoying the live music. Before I could even find a seat Amy was dancing around with a couple of middle-aged Hispanic women, in the midst of completely embarrassing herself, she was having the time of her life! After everyone inhaled their food we left Fisherman’s Wharf to go buy Muni passes, the most common source of public transportation here in San Francisco. I might add… public transportation is quite the interesting experience! We drove to the base of the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Leading to the sidewalks bordering both opposite sides of the bridge are beautiful gardens I’m not really sure what flowers are growing there but the scent of them is unforgettable. The view was beautiful once we reached the middle point of the bridge, surfers floated in the water underneath us and busy cars raced past as we took photographs of each other. After seeing one of the most famous bridges in the world we split into our assigned groups and visited different parts of San Francisco. Ms. Grunat took my group to a neighborhood called North Beach where little quaint Italian bakeries and small coffee shops line the streets. We also visited City Lights bookstore, owned by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The shelves are full of both popular literature but also City Lights has a large section of their store dedicated to beat poetry. After perusing the selection of books we decided to look for some famous Italian gelato as a treat before dinner. The most common flavor of the group, mocha, probably for that extra kick of caffeine! I had a small cup of vanilla bean as we walked back to the hotel for dinner. After delicious pizza and the Colts big win we headed off to bed for some much needed Zzzz’s!