Day 12: San Francisco
The Sleepy’s are back again in San Francisco! This morning
we woke up at 6:30 and were in a hurry to get to the bus so we could explore
the great city before us. We had to pack
everything up before we left, however, because of the school that is being held
in the church.
Our first adventure of the day was to the world famous Cliff
House. Here, Executive Chef Kevin Weber greeted us with plates full of delicious
pastries called “Popovers.” We ate our food and listened to the history about
the famous Cliff House and were astounded by the cost to rent the rooms beneath
it.
After leaving the Cliff House, we made our way to
Fisherman’s Warf. When we arrived, McKinley, Jake, Josh, Emily and Dakota
presented their information on the various tourist attractions throughout the
city. After a group photo on the pier,
we were let loose to explore the city. These activities included tasting the
San Francisco specialty: clam chowder in a homemade sourdough bread bowl, eating
seafood from stands along the road, enjoying burgers from In-N-Out, riding
trolleys throughout the city, taking interesting cab rides and exploring the
different sights from the TV show “Full House."
Many people took cabs to Haight Street to shop for vintage
clothing in the thrift shops lining the road. A couple of groups took the
wrong bus back to Chinatown and had to walk about 8 blocks to get to our dinner
at the Far East Café. All of us met at the café for dinner and had wonderful
Chinese food provided by the great waiters and staff. Grant graciously paid for
dinner, which helped our declining amounts of cash.
We were given an hour more of free time after dinner, and we
all used it in different ways. For instance, some people traveled to the Apple
store to call family and friends, some got dessert and others ventured back to
the main street to buy more souvenirs that they had thought about all day.
After the buses and vans were loaded back up, we headed to the Golden Gate
Bridge. When we were let off of the vehicles, we were in awe by the size of the
bridge. We took many group pictures and formed cuddle puddles to stay warm.
After a quick bathroom break, we began our walk to the entrance of the bridge.
The bridge spans about 1.5 miles, and we walked the entire thing, through the
cold air and strong winds. Even with the weather fiascos, the view was
completely worth it. We reached the other end of the bridge with great smiles
for what we had done and the pictures that we were able to take.
After the walk, we loaded the vehicles up for a final time
and headed back to the church. When we reached the church we formed an assembly
line to give everyone his or her bags, once again. We also brought in the
laundry that we dropped off the previous morning to be washed and folded. While
some groups laundry cost up to $72, there were also some that were about $30. As of
now, we are winding down and unpacking our newly cleaned clothes that smell a
little bit better. Goodnight and peace out from the Sleepys.