Day 2: Lost in San Francisco Adventure

At 7:25 pm we exited the return ferry from Alcatraz. Remember, we had eaten a small yet expensive lunch at 1:00. That was our 2nd meal in two days. We were starving...again. We attempted to catch the F-line to then catch a cable car to get back to our hotel. Well, it was freezing outside and the one F-line that came by was completely full. After waiting about 15 minutes Daddy decided we need to start walking at 7:40 pm in the dark in an unfamiliar city. I politely protested but he was certain we would be fine. The entire time we are walking down these deserted streets I am replaying in my mind the part of the guidebook that said "DO NOT WALK ANYWHERE YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR AT NIGHT". I am telling him this but there was a point of no return and we had crossed it about four blocks ago.

I had many thoughts during this time, especially with one strange scary man trailing behind us. We are not safe! This is not good! We are not safe! I kept whispering this over and over. What do I have in my purse that I could defend us with? Lipgloss, my wallet and my camera. MY CAMERA? What if someone steals my camera? I come all the way across the country and I won't even get to make a scrapbook out of my pictures? Well, I just can't have THAT, now can I? You can have my purse scary thieves but YOU CAN NOT HAVE MY DIGITAL IMAGES. I won't allow it. So, what does a scrapbooker do in desperate times? She takes her camera out of her purse, tucks it her coat pocket, discreetly removes the digital card and places it in her pants pocket. If the scary man behind us decides to go postal on the Wombles at least our kids will know we were having a good time before we croaked.

Eventually, we ran upon another bus station. We waited another 10 minutes for a bus and asked the driver if he was going to our street. Oh yes, hop on. Woohoo!! Thank you Lord! We get off at the street he told us and head toward what we thought was the right way. Oh, silly Wombles. Didn't you read how strange, complicated and confusing San Francisco streets are?

We walked and we walked and we walked and WE WALKED. We passed a group of homeless people playing checkers on the street. We passed burning barrels with people gathered around them to stay warm. We passed people asking for handouts. We passed clubs with barely dressed women on the sign. We passed guys heavily clad in gold just hanging out on the street corner. Wonder what they were doing? OK, so by this point, I was scared. Really scared. You could see the stares of people who clearly knew we were lost. We just kept moving. Finally, I committed the cardinal sin and whipped out the map. You know, the map they tell you not to whip out in a scary place or people will know you are a tourist. Well, at this point I knew that everyone knew we did not belong in this neighborhood. I convinced Daddy we were VERY VERY LOST. We turned around and began to retrace our steps. Then, in one divine moment, we see this...It was in this moment I think I heard the faint whisper of angels singing...Ha-le-lu-juah! I think I even said it aloud. My husband pulled me across the street and hailed a cab just like he had done it all his life. I have never been so happy to get into a cab in my life. On second thought, I have never been in a cab so I guess it was the first time I've ever been happy to get into any cab. I was so relieved to finally sit down in a safe place after walking nearly an hour and fifteen minutes in fear. I had another brief moment of panic when taxi man gunned it and took us in the opposite direction of our hotel. It turned out OK as obviously the taxi driver had better navigation skills than the Wombles. A few blocks, one crazy taxi ride and $10.00 later we were in front of our hotel...THANK YOU LORD!

After our marathon day we were exhausted, discouraged and hungry. We crossed the street to Scala's Bistro to grab a bite to eat. I had the best salmon I have ever eaten in my life. It makes me want to run back to San Francisco just thinking about it. We finished our meal, headed back to the hotel and collapsed into bed after one very eventful day. We were definitely out of our element today but it still ranks as one of the best days of my entire life...well, minus the time between 7:25-8:40 pm.