I was still in a daze when I woke up this morning. I really couldn't believe how fortunate I was to be able to have contacted and stay with my cousin on such short notice. He and his wife had a spare room for me to sleep in and it was so great to have a shower and all of the luxuries that I had taken for granted before I left on my trip. I had no idea what was going to be involved for the day ahead, but it seemed like everything was already planned out. Everyone woke up, after sleeping in, and we had a great breakfast. With eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. I couldn't have imagined the day unfolding as it did for it was amazing. No one had to work since it was the weekend and it made for a day full of exploration. We headed down the road to start the day by taking a look at San Francisco from a distance. We went to a place called Twin Peaks which was just up the hill from where his house was located. From the west part of San Francisco, where the ocean and the famous Golden Gate were located, all the way to the east, where the Oakland bridge was located, it was an incredible view of the city. We took awhile to take it all in at the top because it was an absolutely spectacular site. From the top we started to venture down the mountain and into the downtown area. We headed into the famous Castro district, the Height district, Ashbury Rd., and I was even able to ride a street car at one point downtown. We were driving along the road and in the center of the road was what looked like a little bus that was on rails in the center. There were two conductors, one in front and one in back, and it was just cruising right along. My cousin had a ticket for the street car and told me that if I've never done it I should jump on. So I hopped out of his car, jumped on the street car, and they met me about 10 blocks up the road where I was able to jump off. It was a very cool way to travel and it looked like they had two of these street cars that went both east and west and north and south. From the street car adventure we were able to get a spectacular view of what was supposed to be a very famous view of the city, The Painted Ladies. With 6 brightly colored Victorian houses in the front, with a spectacular view of the city in the background. The Painted Ladies were in the Alamo park and there were a lot of people enjoying the view. We went from there towards China Town. There was a large parade and fair in China Town for the Fall Moon Festival. It was a cool time to be in China Town, and it was packed. Every square inch was covered with multiple people and it was a fight to move forward in the crowd. We charged our way through all of the vendors and all of the crowds until we made ourselves to Little Italy. It was still busy on the roads and sidewalks, but it wasn't nearly as crowded as China Town. It was an incredible city to be able to travel through and was full of so many things. There were a lot of little coffee shops and little restaurants on each block and all of the places consisted of apartments on the top. Every square inch of the city was put towards making sure the most revenue was coming out of the area. We stopped and had some coffee and tea at one of the little cafes. Since it was starting to get fairly late we headed up the road and grabbed a great dinner at a Peruvian and Bolivian restaurant. The menu consisted of a few great entrees and it seemed impossible to pick something you wouldn't like. We had a platter of many different things to start the meal and then had our entrees served after the platter. It was a great dinner and was a nice little restaurant. Apparently the restaurant was owned by a local band and the band would play Friday and Saturday nights at 8. We had eaten around 6:30 so we finished before the band was going to play, but it seemed like a very nice set up. We were all stuffed when we left the restaurant and luckily didn't have to walk to far to get to where the car had been parked. We hiked back through China Town and to the car. It was an eventful day and wasn't quite over. We went back to Twin Peaks, where we had started the day. From the view of the city at Twin Peaks we were able to see San Francisco with all of the lights filled throughout the city. Although it was the same view as before it was completely new because of the hour that we were witnessing it. From the bridge's lights in the west all the way through the city it was absolutely spectacular. The temperature wasn't too cold for it being so late and it made for a good time to see some new things. From the top of the mountain we went back to the house and spent the remainder of the evening watching some football on T.V. It was the most I had seen of San Francisco and I feel that I was given the best tour of the city than anyone who could have a day to enjoy it. A great tour from a tour guide would have never compared to the day that I had embarked on. I was incredibly thankful for all of the great things I had run into on my travels and was told that tomorrow would be just as good if not better. I couldn't believe it, but every day is full of new surprises. So we'll see what happens.
Daily mileage: 0.0 miles
Total mileage: 3,129.6 miles
Daily mileage: 0.0 miles
Total mileage: 3,129.6 miles
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