The idea of a trip north had always been thrown around. It's only a short drive away from us yet it didn't happen any sooner.
San Francisco was supposed to be the city where I spent my four years of college. I'd never even visited the city before but I envisioned myself living there and going to school. That obviously didn't work out so SF had been one,huge
WHAT IF for me for the past two years. Occasionally, I'd think about how different my life would've been if I'd actually gone to school there. Would I have liked it? Hated it? Who knows but there was only one way to find out.
That one-way was to actually physically visit San Fran, in case that didn't click.
Our freshman year of college we met our friend Allison, who is originally from the Bay Area, and she offered us a place to stay if we were ever in the area. Last semester while suffering through the last weeks of school I wanted something to look forward to so I took up her offer and bought bus tickets to San Fransisco. It was the perfect destination. This trip wouldn't have been as easy or fun without her. We got to do and see so much of SF in just one day because of her.
I purposely planned this as a 3-day trip, I know what you're thinking– it seems short but that was the only way to make it a productive trip and also stay within our budget. This was basically an LA day trip.... but up north. Sure, it was exhausting but it was one of the best trips I've ever taken. It was full of firsts and also, hills. so. many. hills. I couldn't stop comparing the city to a movie set. It was just so clean and perfect looking. I actually think SF is just like LA only cleaner and less pretentious (if ya get what I mean). I also have never seen so much green in my life. I'm talking about grass. Like, nature types of green areas. That lead me to comparing any green area to Jurassic Park. Let's just say Allison was done with me.
I can't wait to go back. Even if it means suffering while trekking up the hills again.
p.s: In case you were wondering, I think things worked out for the best. I'm a SoCal girl until I die.
Diana
We stayed in Benicia which is a small town about an hour away from San Fransisco. To put in perspective, the population in Benicia is smaller than the university we attend. It's small but that doesn't mean it hasn't had it's fair share of eventful things occur in it. For starters, it was the state capital for 13 months in the 1800's. Cool, right? Also, the Zodiac Killer – no, not Ted Cruz – is said to have been responsible for the deaths of two lovers by Lake Herman. So crazy, right? I obviously had to go see Lake Herman to satisfy my slight obsession with serial killers. We didn't find the exact spot but it was still great. In all seriousness, Benicia was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of a Pretty Little Liars set because it looked so pretty and scenic. I think it's every landscape photographers dream. The fields were dry, yet the town was still more green than anything we've ever seen in LA.
On our second day in NorCal we spent it entirely in San Fransisco. We got on a ferry from Benicia and made it to the other side. We had a list of the things that we
really wanted to see/do because realistically we couldn't go to it all. I think that's the fun of a small trip, you don't have a lot of time so you don't waste any time. This was not a relaxing trip. This was an action packed adventure trip. So, here are some highlights.
1. China Town
We visited CHINA TOWN in the morning, right after breakfast, which I regret. The place was buzzing with people buying food and making food. I wanted to try all the food because it smelled
so good. The streets were crowded with people starting their day. I forgot that not everyone is on vacation like us. We all agreed it reminded us of the markets in Mexico because of all the smells (both good and bad). Also, as a Latina living in LA I'd never felt so out of place than here. We were the only non-asians walking on the street. It was honestly an incredible feeling.
2. de Young Museum
We love art so we obvs had to visit a museum! The de Young is a fine arts museum that includes art from as late as the 17th century to the 20th. My personal favorites were the paintings from the 1800's of America. I liked seeing the progress we've made since...at least technology wise. Also, seeing a George Washington painting in person left quite an impression on me for some reason. My favorite is pictured above, by
Rembrandt Peale. I also loved Penelope by Franklin Simmons (1895). I don't think I'd ever seen a sculpture that up close so I was able to examine all its intricate details. It was beautiful. As for the rest, as interesting as it all was, I just kept comparing everything to Jurassic Park. (See vlog for more details). The de Young also has an observation deck at the very top where you can see all of Golden Gate Park and the city. It's free so it's worth the trip over there!
3. Lombard Street
This tourist attraction wasn't originally on our list but I'm glad we visited it. The ridiculous hill that we had to trek to get to the zig-zag part is something I'm never, ever going to forget. We had to take multiple breaks and there was a lot of complaining and sweating while going up but once we got up their we realized the pretty view was worth it. I wasn't aware that the zig-zag part is actually home to people. The cars and people pass by their drive-ways. There was a lot of tourists there so I have no idea how the residents can deal with that on a daily basis.
4. Golden Gate Bridge
I'm never going to forget the moment that I saw the bridge because it was windy with temperatures below 65 degrees and I couldn't feel my fingers. We walked over to Crissy Field to see the bridge and the weather was absolutely terrible. The bridge itself was almost completely covered in fog. If we took a little longer we wouldn't have been able to see it at all. Crissy Field was a great angle for us because I don't think it would have worked out if we were higher up. I bet Crissy Field is beautiful when the sun is out, I guess I'll have to visit again to find out if that's true or not. After taking some selfies we were done freezing our butts out there so we called an Uber and called it a day.
Driving north for the first time, this trip was full of firsts...like our first time setting foot in the bay area, riding a ferry and encountering a hill. There seemed to be a lot of those. San Francisco is an old city and you can see the history everywhere you looked – everywhere you looked was like a movie set. I personally have the impression of San Fran as being the place where radicals go, people who are looking for change and a city that embraces it. I've read many books that hold San Francisco as a backdrop to their stories and I've always dreamed of going there and seeing the same old buildings they saw. Although, our trip was short it's left me longing to go back so this is definitely not my last – I look forward to SF and the day that I get to write my own story there.
Thanks for reading!
Stephanie
