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Apr. 21st, 2006 01:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spokeSome pictures in here, resized so hopefully they won't give anyone a problem? I'm going to upload some larger versions later on. ^_^ Mouse-overs for the pictures!
You can climb into this. It's like standing next to a waterfall, all you hear is the noise. So cool.
The first day, I was more wandering around aimlessly. I left my guidebook at the hotel (accidentally!) and just walked. It felt like I covered a lot of distance, but I think it was only a small area of downtown? Between the Pier and eventually Chinatown, after getting off the BART at Montgomery.
BART is the best thing ever. Except for bullet trains. Why does America not have bullet trains yet?! We suck. I demand bullet trains that take me to all the places I'd like to go on vacation! Especially all National Parks and major museums! :P
You've heard the saying 'I left my heart in San Francisco' ?
So cool to suddenly realize that yes, it is spring - and the cherry trees are in bloom where there are cherries to be blooming! :D
End of day one.
The first day ended with my wallet being lost, I thought stolen, and my being incredibly upset. So I end up wasting time having to walk around to find a Western Union the next day, and get the money Dad wired to me, and nearly ended up doing nothing for a day. But I did get my wallet back, and the guy who had found it at the Starbucks was so nice! He'd recently had his wallet stolen, and had to go through all the crap that comes with such, so he was pleased to be able to help someone out of that. And when I say pleased, I mean beaming! ^_^
And I made myself go looking for something to do, and ended up going across the Golden Gate Bridge. That is a serious walk. I like walking, I thought it wouldn't be that much work? But between the Gate and the random climbing walking uphill all over the place, San Francisco showed me I need to get in better shape. Ouch.
The next day, with the car, was worse. I'm not even going to think about that.Or at least I try not to. Except I'd like to thank the lady at the Denny's (to which I walked after the &^%$# San Francisco police dropped me in the middle of nowhere - and I heard enough horror stories about them afterward to think that maybe they really do have a problem wrapping their minds around the 'public servants' aspect of their jobs, the bastards) ...well. I ranted myself right offtrack didn't I? God bless Diane at the Denny's, who let me sort of camp out at a booth back there and took me to a BART station after her shift ended, even. And let me use her cellphone to call people since mine was running out of power and minutes, and just in general deserves as many good vibes as can possibly be sent her way. ^___^
After finally getting back to San Francisco. I wandered around and around trying to see various little things, and ended up in the Hard Rock Cafe. So cool! Warm and loud and friendly and good music and interesting stuff on the walls! This, coming off the crash, is exactly what I needed. ...I wanna go back!! But Florida options seem to be way downstate. ...maybe if I decide to go see the Everglades? *ponders a driving trip, being that insane*
But before that, I had to hunt down some more money Dad had sent me. I have since paid him back, and calculate that I took down my savings by about 1/4? Going to take forever to get that built back up. Except. With the second round of money, I hunted down the tour-booking place I'd read about, and got myself booked to go to Yosemite the very next day - which was good as I was leaving the day after that. And the ticket lady was so nice, they'd stopped selling them maybe a few minutes beforehand but she got me on there! Then I wandered around a little more, and ended the day at the Hard Rock.
(I have had so many blessings/cashings-in of good karma on this trip I'm kind of shocked. I kept telling myself I shouldn't be, because I have tried to help others/be decent to people and that being how this is supposed to work... but still. *shock*)
Yosemite - Woke up on time, but got out the door so late I ended up running to the BART station. And have I mentioned? I need to be in better shape! I was like, running for a count of twenty and then walking a few minutes to catch my breath and then running, totally panicked that I was going to miss the tour and telling myself: 'You can rest on the BART! You can rest on the tourbus! Move!'
But I made it. Cutting it close, really really close. But I made it!
Even without the redwood trees, Yosemite is so beautiful I wanted to cry.
Really, I didn't get to do half of what I'd have liked, even without the redwoods - I tried to walk one of the park trails and went exploring a little and then started to worry I wasn't going to make it back. x.x;; But I stopped some campers and asked them for directions, and managed to make it back in time to pick up a couple of things in a shop - a necklace with a stone in some abstract gold wires, and a pair of Wild Bryde earrings - I never knew the guy who makes those is a San Francisco native. :D These are woodpeckers, very very cool.
Also I grabbed a chai tea and some fresh strawberries because I was starving. Starving!! omg, fresh ripe strawberries with that neat green tang when you eat too close to the leaves. :)~~~
And we finally rolled back into town, and the bus dropped people off at their hotels and a few of us off at a BART station. Sleepy, yes, very very sleepy.
Last day! I went to the Asian Art museum, and did some souvienir shopping and that was it. All the museum pictures turned out fuzzy because they wouldn't let visitors use flash. :P
...can I just say the huge bookstore in Japantown made me wanna cry? Because I was running low on money and trying to make sure I'd have enough for a cab ride home? But there was a source book of Everything You'd Ever Want To Know About Breath of Fire - only in Japanese. And Yu-Gi-Oh R. Also Japanese. And dammit why didn't I go there first argh!!!
But! Souvenirs for both the Lacey and the Shusu secured, I headed back to the hotel.
Here's the bit I'll never ever admit to my family: I missed my flight. By a whole day. And had to be rebooked, with the ensuing panic that was not as bad as it would have been at the beginning of the flight. Then I had to be rebooked again in Houston, along with everyone else, due to this wonderful can't-see-out-of-window, might-as-well-be-standing-in-clouds fog. Which of course caused flights to be delayed and canceled all over the place. x.x
I ended up making the Houston to Jacksonville trip in a first class seat, though. First class is cool! ^^ They fed us little snacky-trays and gave us TV and little hot towels, which was really nice considering I'd planned to take a shower at the hotel before leaving? And had tosweet-talk? convince the girl at the desk to let me in just long enough to pack. >.>
I had no idea what I was doing, either. The nice doctor (!) next to me showed me how to open the seat tray and things. XD
So. Wrapping up pictures!
Two of those were purchased in Houston - The Little Prince and Define Normal. I was looking for something completely different from what I normally read? I really enjoyed Define Normal, though. (The Little Prince was a given - but I hadn't seen it anywhere I normally go in Jacksonville! Except old, expensive copies in the used bookstore.) Talk to the Hand and Resurrection Man I brought with me - loved Resurrection Man. Despite the spiders. >.> Must get ahold of the rest of Sean Stewart's books, oh yes. *.* And I'm still reading The Stone of Heaven, which I bought in the Asian Art Museum gift shop, among other things. :D
You can climb into this. It's like standing next to a waterfall, all you hear is the noise. So cool.
The first day, I was more wandering around aimlessly. I left my guidebook at the hotel (accidentally!) and just walked. It felt like I covered a lot of distance, but I think it was only a small area of downtown? Between the Pier and eventually Chinatown, after getting off the BART at Montgomery.
BART is the best thing ever. Except for bullet trains. Why does America not have bullet trains yet?! We suck. I demand bullet trains that take me to all the places I'd like to go on vacation! Especially all National Parks and major museums! :P
You've heard the saying 'I left my heart in San Francisco' ?
So cool to suddenly realize that yes, it is spring - and the cherry trees are in bloom where there are cherries to be blooming! :D
End of day one.
The first day ended with my wallet being lost, I thought stolen, and my being incredibly upset. So I end up wasting time having to walk around to find a Western Union the next day, and get the money Dad wired to me, and nearly ended up doing nothing for a day. But I did get my wallet back, and the guy who had found it at the Starbucks was so nice! He'd recently had his wallet stolen, and had to go through all the crap that comes with such, so he was pleased to be able to help someone out of that. And when I say pleased, I mean beaming! ^_^
And I made myself go looking for something to do, and ended up going across the Golden Gate Bridge. That is a serious walk. I like walking, I thought it wouldn't be that much work? But between the Gate and the random climbing walking uphill all over the place, San Francisco showed me I need to get in better shape. Ouch.
The next day, with the car, was worse. I'm not even going to think about that.
After finally getting back to San Francisco. I wandered around and around trying to see various little things, and ended up in the Hard Rock Cafe. So cool! Warm and loud and friendly and good music and interesting stuff on the walls! This, coming off the crash, is exactly what I needed. ...I wanna go back!! But Florida options seem to be way downstate. ...maybe if I decide to go see the Everglades? *ponders a driving trip, being that insane*
But before that, I had to hunt down some more money Dad had sent me. I have since paid him back, and calculate that I took down my savings by about 1/4? Going to take forever to get that built back up. Except. With the second round of money, I hunted down the tour-booking place I'd read about, and got myself booked to go to Yosemite the very next day - which was good as I was leaving the day after that. And the ticket lady was so nice, they'd stopped selling them maybe a few minutes beforehand but she got me on there! Then I wandered around a little more, and ended the day at the Hard Rock.
(I have had so many blessings/cashings-in of good karma on this trip I'm kind of shocked. I kept telling myself I shouldn't be, because I have tried to help others/be decent to people and that being how this is supposed to work... but still. *shock*)
Yosemite - Woke up on time, but got out the door so late I ended up running to the BART station. And have I mentioned? I need to be in better shape! I was like, running for a count of twenty and then walking a few minutes to catch my breath and then running, totally panicked that I was going to miss the tour and telling myself: 'You can rest on the BART! You can rest on the tourbus! Move!'
But I made it. Cutting it close, really really close. But I made it!
Even without the redwood trees, Yosemite is so beautiful I wanted to cry.
Really, I didn't get to do half of what I'd have liked, even without the redwoods - I tried to walk one of the park trails and went exploring a little and then started to worry I wasn't going to make it back. x.x;; But I stopped some campers and asked them for directions, and managed to make it back in time to pick up a couple of things in a shop - a necklace with a stone in some abstract gold wires, and a pair of Wild Bryde earrings - I never knew the guy who makes those is a San Francisco native. :D These are woodpeckers, very very cool.
Also I grabbed a chai tea and some fresh strawberries because I was starving. Starving!! omg, fresh ripe strawberries with that neat green tang when you eat too close to the leaves. :)~~~
And we finally rolled back into town, and the bus dropped people off at their hotels and a few of us off at a BART station. Sleepy, yes, very very sleepy.
Last day! I went to the Asian Art museum, and did some souvienir shopping and that was it. All the museum pictures turned out fuzzy because they wouldn't let visitors use flash. :P
...can I just say the huge bookstore in Japantown made me wanna cry? Because I was running low on money and trying to make sure I'd have enough for a cab ride home? But there was a source book of Everything You'd Ever Want To Know About Breath of Fire - only in Japanese. And Yu-Gi-Oh R. Also Japanese. And dammit why didn't I go there first argh!!!
But! Souvenirs for both the Lacey and the Shusu secured, I headed back to the hotel.
Here's the bit I'll never ever admit to my family: I missed my flight. By a whole day. And had to be rebooked, with the ensuing panic that was not as bad as it would have been at the beginning of the flight. Then I had to be rebooked again in Houston, along with everyone else, due to this wonderful can't-see-out-of-window, might-as-well-be-standing-in-clouds fog. Which of course caused flights to be delayed and canceled all over the place. x.x
I ended up making the Houston to Jacksonville trip in a first class seat, though. First class is cool! ^^ They fed us little snacky-trays and gave us TV and little hot towels, which was really nice considering I'd planned to take a shower at the hotel before leaving? And had to
I had no idea what I was doing, either. The nice doctor (!) next to me showed me how to open the seat tray and things. XD
So. Wrapping up pictures!
Two of those were purchased in Houston - The Little Prince and Define Normal. I was looking for something completely different from what I normally read? I really enjoyed Define Normal, though. (The Little Prince was a given - but I hadn't seen it anywhere I normally go in Jacksonville! Except old, expensive copies in the used bookstore.) Talk to the Hand and Resurrection Man I brought with me - loved Resurrection Man. Despite the spiders. >.> Must get ahold of the rest of Sean Stewart's books, oh yes. *.* And I'm still reading The Stone of Heaven, which I bought in the Asian Art Museum gift shop, among other things. :D
