San Francisco and my many Adventures!

Post #250! I'm very excited about that. So San Francisco was ridiculously fantastic, and thanks to super long bus rides, here are some notes from my adventures... (sorry about the crappy cell phone pictures....my camera died. sad stuff.)

April 17, 2008 Thursday

Wow, I am so tired! We drove all through the night to get here in a day, and I'm still trying to adjust for that lack of sleep. The bus seats were really uncomfortable and awkward to sleep in--and somehow Morgan and I didn't realize they could recline until the stop right before we got here! As we were driving past the Great Salt Lake, the sun was setting, and I was listening to Sun Kil Moon. It was just one of those amazing moments where everything feels absolutely and perfectly right. What a fantastic way to start the trip!

At around 9:30 we stopped at a rest stop and realized we were right next to the Salt Flats. I was so excited because I've never been there, and also because it's just so impressive.

Lots of gas and bathroom stops later, we got to Sparks, NV at 2:00 a.m. where we got a new bus driver, a non-sleepy one.

Finally at around 6:30 a.m. I woke up to Mr. Reynolds talking about Hooters and his wife (?!), and saw palm trees and a sunrise. California! Warmth! Everyone stopped at Starbucks or Walmart to get breakfast (and brush our teeth in the bathroom haha), then on we went. Again.

The best surprise was how beautiful and lush and green California is! I was expecting smoggy cities, but for a good 2 or 3 hours, we drove through hills and orchards. I absolutely fell in love with it, with California. :)

We stopped at this Methodist church (gorgeous!) where we had a clinic with the publisher of a concert choir song. She was really good--technical and precise.

Lunch today at In-n-Out burger, which was kind of epic in itself. And pretty good food too.

After lunch, another clinic at a college with Robin Williams! No, not really, but this conductor was so exuberant, he definitely resembled him. His style was much different--really intuitive and emotional instead of technical. A nice change, I thought.

We checked into our hotel, then had a couple hours of free time. M and I walked around outside, where the "ocean" (=mud) comes up to the hotel. Chad and Enano had tried to walk out to the water, but sank knee-deep into the mud.

We found a sign that said, "Warning! When flooded, water may contain sewage." It was hilarious, but maybe not for C&E. Ha.

A cozy cupboard at the hotel :)

Tonight we went to this Baritone performance in San Francisco. It's such an amazing city! We were in the University of California-Berkeley district, where there are a million things going on at once. Street performers, food shops, music, everywhere. It was nearly unbearable to sit in a theater full of old people in stuffy clothes while there was so much outside just screaming my name.

We got these crepes from a tiny shop for dinner, and they were fantastic. On the bus ride back to the hotel, I told Mr. Reynolds what happened to Chad, and he couldn't control the laughter. It was a good moment. Chad said he lost all his dignity, but I'm sure he found it at least a little bit funny.

Long day, but amazing. I love it here.


April 18, 2008 Friday

Today was really nice because I didn't have anything to do besides have fun. We went to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf, which is kind of like Navy Pier in Chicago, but way better. It's right on the bay, and just to be next to the ocean was fantastic! I love the water. And the smell. And all of it.

Mr. Reynolds in his little kids' "Cars" sunglasses. What a great guy.

We took this cruise around the bay first. At the end of the dock there were tons and tons of seals just lying there, being happy. It was so cool!

We first sailed over to the Golden Gate Bridge, which is really impressive and huge up close. It was so foggy you couldn't even see the top, and kind of cold, but fantastic anyway.


After the bridge we went around Alcatraz. I loved this part so much! It's such a beautiful, creepy place. It looks so abandoned and grown over, I hated that we couldn't actually stop and tour it.



After the cruise, we had like two hours to go on our own and explore the shops on the wharf, get lunch, and go to the aquarium, etc. Hannah, Morgan, Kami, and I went around together and had a really good time in the photo booth! Four people definitely don't fit in a photo booth, but somehow we did.

We met up with the rest of the group to catch the bus to the exploratorium. Except every bus just drove by because there were way too many of us. A hobo lady yelled at us for laughing too loud. Eventually Mr. Reynolds just made us start walking, up all of these huge steep hills. Definitely San Francisco style. I was absolutely in love with the houses there. I could see myself living in this city. Finally a bus picked us up and took us to the Exploratorium. It was a lot of fun--so many cool sciency things there.

Drinking fountain at the Exploratorium....really hard to use!

Chamber Choir and Advanced Ladies were singing at Milpitas High School tonight. The girl announcing everything was the most annoying girl on earth! And kind of incompetent... She kind of sounded like a seductive recording and repeated her speech like four times because she kept getting it wrong.

Eventually I had to go to the bathroom so I tried to follow the signs but just ended up wandering around on the lawn. The awkward kids at the doors noticed and then escorted me to the bathroom, which was kind of (really) awkward. So that was the adventure of the day. Ha.


April 19, 2008 Saturday

Today was so much fun! We went to Great America, which is a theme park kind of like Lagoon. I forgot how much I love rollercoasters! We were there for like eight hours, and spent the entire time on rides.

I got a henna tattoo of a tiny tree! It's so fantastic, probably my favorite souvenir. Haha. Come to think of it, my only souvenirs are this tattoo, a t-shirt that has nothing to do with san francisco, and some chocolate cigarettes. haha.

My henna tree...kind of light, but it got darker. Hooray!

After we left we drove for a few hours to Reno, where we'll spend the night until we leave in the morning for home.

I am absolutely and completely in love with San Francisco. Seriously. I hate to leave.



April 20, 2008 Sunday

Really long busride. Lots and lots of movies. We did start a fund called "Beards for Bells," where the choir is going to donate $100 to the bell fund if Mr. Reynolds doesn't shave his beard for two weeks. He will probably look like a mountain man. A very young mountain man.

I'm excited to get home, and have a real bed to sleep in. :D




And there you have it. My new favorite city, San Francisco.

Love, Jennifer