I went to San Francisco at the beginning of the month and realized I never talked much about my trip. I was there on behalf of work, but I stayed for an extra day. When I was in San Francisco in September, I never made it TO the Golden Gate Bridge.
So, that was pretty much the only thing on my to-do list. I worked Wednesday-Friday and then Friday night, I went to Macy’s where YouTuber Manny MUA was having a meet and greet! I waited in line and got to meet him and take a picture — he was so nice!
Then, I walked a bit to finally get a boba tea from Boba Guys (something I wanted to do in September as well, but didn’t get to) and then checked in to my hotel (I stayed in a different one than the one I was in for work) and ordered a “California” pizza that had pesto, mushrooms, olives… it was delish.
The next day, I got up and basically just started walking toward the Bridge. It was about four miles away, but I figured I would walk until I found a place to eat and then take it from there.
About a mile and a half in, I stumbled across this little cafe and got a salmon bagel and a mimosa. I took my time, charged my phone and started watching the LSU v. Alabama game. When I was ready, I continued my walk and actually just ended up walking the whole way there.
Once you get to where you can actually SEE the bridge, it is a freaking hike to get there. There’s a big park to walk around, several hills, a trail, and then a road, before the actual bridge — which I didn’t expect. Thankfully, I was in comfy clothes and tennis shoes.
And then, I walked across. Confession: I only walked half way. To be honest, once I felt like I’d seen the views I was going to see, I didn’t see the point in walking another two miles to get to the other side and back. Call me lazy, I was already feeling tired.
The view from the bridge is no doubt pretty spectacular. You get to see the bay, loads of sailboats and the San Francisco skyline. There’s a bit of eeriness to it all, though, given the amount of people that jump from the bridge. It was not a place I wanted to stay long.
When I was back off the bridge, there was an information center and a gift shop, so I wondered around there for a bit. Then I went to a little cafe where they were selling a “Fog Cutter Mocha” so I had one of those and got a window seat to look out at the bridge and the bay.
By the time I was finished, the sun was starting to set so I walked back down to the trail and took some pictures. And then I realized I was going to have to walk all the way back through the trail and the park in the dark. Alone.
The night before, when I was walking from Boba Guys to my hotel, I found myself in a two-block section of town that was not safe for me to be. There were homeless people on both sides of the sidewalk, some in cars parked along the streets with the windows busted out and no businesses open.
I tried to get a Lyft the rest of the way, but I was too close to get a ride. It was, by far, the most frightening moment I’ve ever experienced while traveling alone. No one bothered me, but there was nothing I could’ve done if they did.
So, I proceeded to speed walk to my hotel and nearly screamed “I MADE IT” when I got to the front desk. And then overtipped the pizza delivery man for making it possible that I could eat without ever going outside. Ever. Again.
Luckily, on the trail back from the bridge there were other people in similar situations, so it wasn’t bad. I walked to Fisherman’s Wharf until I just couldn’t walk anymore and then I went to the airport.
It was there I declared I was DONE with San Francisco and DONE with traveling for the year… and then like three days later I got invited to go back in December, so… never say never.
In other news, my Blogging for Beginners Informal Course at the University of Texas starts tomorrow at 6pm, so if you’ve been wanting to learn how to blog before the year is over — this is the perfect way to do it!
The Bitter Lemon 