Day 5, San Francisco

The only thing we had planned for the day was to explore the city of San Francisco. While we wanted to get pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, and visit Fisherman’s Wharf, we spent the better part of the day walking around the city on a whim. The first area we stopped in was the Fisherman’s Wharf. When we first stepped out of the car, the smell of the fishing pier hit us like a semi truck driving full speed ahead. It was such a horrid stench – it smelled like everyone in the city pooped their pants. Lucky, the smell went away as we walked further down the street. Here we took some pictures by the pier, a giant ship’s wheel, and a crab statue. We also watched a lot of street performers, who stood literally on every street corner.

Being in San Francisco, the city famous for its steep streets, we had to take a ride on the famous cable cars, which made us feel like eating Rice-a-Roni. Originally we planned to take a one way trip down to Union Square but once we saw how far away we were from the Wharf, where we wanted to have lunch, we knew we’d have to end up taking a cable car back too. At first the three of us had bench seats on the outdoor part of the car, which was what we were aiming for as opposed to the inside, glass-encased seats. But once an old lady got on at one of the car’s stops, I offered her my seat in exchange for being a standee on the outside step of the car. Standing on the outside step as the car zoomed up and down the steep streets of San Francisco was one of the funnest things I think I’ll ever do in my life. It was like being on a roller coaster with the freedom to ditch the seatbelt.

After the cable car rides, and still with an hour or so before lunchtime, we walked up and down the streets, meandering into some tourist shops and looking for souvenirs. Dad bought an embroidered shirt; Jessie purchased a comfy sweatshirt, and I got a small purse.

The chosen location for lunch was none other than the Boudin Sourdough Bakery. Despite being in a place known for it’s seafood, I was the only one who ordered a dish from the sea: clam chowder soup, which was absolutely delicious.

Once lunch was consumed we began walking back in the direction of our car, but stopped to see several street performers. The first group we saw was a band (New Old Cavelry) from Indiana, who played the banjos, base, and guitars to create music that reminded me of the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou. After hearing a couple of their songs and donating a few dollars, me moved on. We also watched the finally of a DARE endorsed dance/acrobatic group who pulled volunteers from the crowd and used them as obstacles to jump and flip over. They were also very comical in asking for donations.

The last performer we saw was by far the best. He was a spray paint artist who could whip up a masterpiece in less than 3 minutes before your eyes. We must have watched him paint planetary systems, mountains, tropical forests, and nautical themes over San Francisco and Golden Gate Bridge for at least an hour. It was incredible! He would spray some random colors, usually reds, oranges, and blacks over a poster, and then with one slip of paper, slide his hand over the section in rigid up and down motions and then BAM!! – A perfect range of mountains had been formed in less than 4 seconds. For the planets he would spray multiple colors on the board and then cover one section up with a Frisbee and another with a coffee can before spraying layers of black and blue. Then, after removing the circular items from the poster, a spectacular planet and moon would be revealed. All the movements this artist made were rapid and flawless. He would also use stencils to quickly sketch the city in the background of the scene. We stood in awe – along with the other 50 people surrounding the station as he sold painting after painting. Jessie and I both bought our own paintings too, which we saw the artist manifest before our eyes. Jessie’s warm-colored scenery consisted of the city of San Francisco amidst a setting sun, and a lighthouse that shown out over the harbor. My cool-colored painting was the same city and bridge on top of water and beneath a cosmic view of a planetary system and blanket of stars. It’s hard to tell which one is better (cough, MINE, cough) because they’re both incredible works of art. Before we left the station, we had our picture taken with the artist, which was a really cool experience.

The last thing we did before leaving the city of San Francisco was taking a couple stops at points were we could get a better view of the Golden Gate Bridge. We didn’t stay at either look out point for very long as the bridge had been shrouded in fog all day, and before we knew it the day was over and we on our way to our hotel in Red Bluff, California.