Day 6 - Heading Home

 The alarm went off early and as I did a quick check of my phone I confirmed we were up on time (check) saw the driver was en route (check) and then an email from the airline (uh oh).  The flights been delayed 45 minutes and they don’t think we’ll make the connection in Dallas.  Shoot.  

Since the driver was already close, we decided to head to the airport anyway and work out options when we arrived.  At checkin, the lady suggested we fly standby on the 8 am flight which would give us extra time in Dallas (sounds great).  So we grabbed some food and proceeded to the gate.  When I approached the podium, the lady said that unfortunately the flight was completely full and that we were 3rd and 4th in line so it wasn’t likely.  Oh well, we went to sit down to eat our donut.  Just then someone shouted out Green, approach the podium.  My ears perked but hearing a different name relaxed.  Then someone else shouted to get our attention.  We are hurried to the podium only to find out there are 3 open seats and they are ready to go NOW.  I tell Tyler to go.  He’s got all of his things in his hands and is shuffled aboard.  Then I realize, they just put him on a completely different flight… this one was scheduled to leave at 6 but was delayed til 7:40.  The flight attendant told me that I was now next in line for the 8:00 am flight if a seat opened up.  If not, I’d be three hours behind Tyler.

I sat down with a bit of head spinning and started to draft a text to Scott…

“Tyler took an earlier flight.  I think he’s good with it, but we didn’t really have a chance to talk…” no 

“Only one seat, sent Tyler on ahead of me.  We’ll connect in Dallas…” no

“Hey honey, just wanted to let you know that I put Tyler on a separate plane…” no

To be clear, I wasn’t concerned about Tyler.  He flies often… he often sits apart from me… it was more an unsettling because we didn’t have a chance to talk, let alone make a plan for once we got there.  So I sent off my text to Scott, trying to sound all confident and would you believe it they shouted my name again.  I stood up and swung around and they said they can get me on if I hurry.  So I scooped up all the things and headed to the plane.

I never scanned my ticket, heck I didn’t even have a ticket for this flight but they shouted 8C and I headed to that seat.  Honestly, I must have looked like a walking yard sale with my donut bags, chai, water bottle, headphones and phone in my arms… a backpack on my back. 

I sat down with a huff and started to look around for Tyler.  Where was he?  Finally I saw his head sticking up from the very back row, smiling ear to ear.  Ah yes.

The lady next to me got up in a tizzy and stormed off the plane.  Not sure what happened there but when a flight attendant came over to take that seat, I asked if she would mind switching with Tyler and she willingly agreed, “you mean the tall guy that got on a few moments ago?  Ah yes, I know where he is!”

So, Tyler and I ended up on the 6 am flight (delayed to 7:45) AND got to sit together.  How crazy is that?

The best part is after all that fuss with now 5 people deboarding the plane and the four of us boarding, they make the following announcements. “Ladies and Gentlemen, because we’ve added some additional passengers here in San Francisco, we will need to complete the safety briefing once again.”  I kid you not, there was an audible sigh and I felt the eyes of SO MANY passengers burning into the back of me.

The flight to Dallas was a bit bumpy but otherwise uneventful.  We had 2.5 hours to grab lunch and rest in a MinuteSuite.  We grabbed our next flight to GR without incident and landed around 7:10 pm.

It took a while for the luggage to finally make the carousel but we were so happy that it finally caught up to us, we didn’t mind the wait.  Our driver Terry was waiting at the curb and was super fun / bubbly as he drove us home.

What an incredible trip!  Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for sure… but also a whole lotta fun and memories with my boy.  I’ll never forget it! 

Day 5 - So Much to Learn

I was awake pretty early today, so I had Starbucks delivered for breakfast while Tyler slept in a bit.

It was another rainy day today.  Apparently San Francisco doesn’t often get rain and when they do its much celebrated to water the plants and experience some green until the drought takes hold again.  However, there is currently something called an atmospheric river happening that literally creates a constant stream of precipitation funneled into the Bay Area.  So for the better part of today, we’re planning to be indoors.

We had tickets to the California Academy of Science for today.  I called an Uber for the 30 minute drive to Golden Gate Park where the museum is located.  

The museum is amazing… with a biome rainforest with plants and insects and butterflies.  Underneath that is a huge aquarium with lots of fish, reptiles, etc.  There is a T-Rex and an earthquake simulator, a planetarium, and so much more.  We had a lot of fun checking out all of the different exhibits.

 

It was early afternoon when we wrapped up at the museum so we grabbed another Uber and headed back to Pier 33.  We had hoped that the USS Jeremiah OBrien would be available for a tour today but no luck.  So instead, we grabbed some snacks and umbrellas and then did some shopping for souvenirs. 

When we were finished shopping, we decided to head over and ride one of San Francisco’s iconic cable cars.  We sat in the front on the way up and then switched cars for the return trip where we sat indoors so we could scope out the roles / responsibilities of each of the cable car workers.  It was really fascinating to learn more when a city ambassador shared with us while we waited for our second car. 

Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel for a warm shower and to get ready for dinner.  We had reservations at Epic Steak which is set just below the Bay Bridge.  A gorgeous view from the dining room and the food did not disappoint.

Then it was another car ride back to the hotel where we packed up for the morning.  We have a 6:00 am pick up to make it to the airport on time.

Day 4 - Exploring San Francisco

We were tired and decided to take it easy this morning.  We got up around 8:45 am and then headed down to breakfast in the lobby.  It was a pretty good selection so we ate well.

We had a few options for touring the city today: big open-aired bus, GoCars, or bike.  Tyler chose the electric bike option so we walked a few blocks west to find their office.  We had planned on riding over the Golden Gate Bridge and taking the ferry back… the entire trip would last only a few hours.  But the sales man highly recommended a tour guide (that happened to be leaving just then) so we decided to do that instead.  Mark was an incredible guide - very funny and knowledgeable - he’s lived here his entire life and knows fun facts about everything.  

There were 7 of us with Mark on the tour when we started but along the way, the three from France left us because of the language difficulty.  

We stopped at the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition… and marvelled at the incredible architecture.

We also visited the Lucasfilm / Letterman Digital Arts Center (think StarWars) and took some fun photos where some of our favorite movies are made.

Then it was time to head over the Golden Gate Bridge.  We stopped at the top of the bridge for some photos and then decided to leave the other two guests because they were heading back for something they left behind.  So we continued on just the two of us and Mark. 

The view from the bridge was incredible.  The Bay Area really is just gorgeous!

We stopped for lunch in Sausalito and then Mark offered for us to skip the ferry and join him on a ride back across the bridge.  We had less than an hour to get back, return our bikes, and get to the ferry dock for our next tour of Alcatraz but Mark was confident we could do it… I had some doubts but decided to go for it.  I used my watch to record the stats and distances.  From our lunch spot up to the start of the bridge is a pretty long hill.  It took us 13 minutes and we ascended almost 300 ft - the length of a football field!  We rode much faster on the return trip and it was a blast!  The staff was super excited that we made it back so quickly! 

We called an Uber and said goodbyes to Mark (I’d highly recommend his tour with Blazin’ Saddles bikes or with Dylan’s on bus if you are ever in the area)  In all, we spent 5.25 hrs with him and enjoyed every minute!  (However, I’m quite certain my back side could be sore for days)

Then we went straight to the Ferry dock for our evening tour of Alcatraz. The Uber driver dropped us exactly 1 minute before we were scheduled to arrive.  I love when God works out the details so perfectly.  We had a short rest on the 10 minute ferry ride and then began the walking tour of the Rock.

The evening tour is a special event to raise funds for the National Park.  It offers a longer boat ride around the island, the usual audio-tour through the cell house and then additional lectures on various topics associated with Alcatraz.  We stuck around to listen to the story of Bill Baker, one of the inmates and then headed outside for a lecture on an infamous escape attempt.  So cool to hear their stories!

After the sun went down, it was FREEZING.  (We were dressed for a bike ride in the sun not for standing still in the dark.)  The last talk wrapped up at 6:30 which was time for our departing ferry.  We rested again and warmed up, making a plan for dinner, on the ferry ride home.  Then it was a 15 min walk to get back to our hotel.  

We had Uber deliver Applebees for supper and tried to watch some shows.  I was so tired - as soon as I started to warm up, I fell fast asleep.  Tyler ended up tucking me in and just turning off the lights.

It was a very fun day today.  We learned a lot!

Day 3 - Final Destination

I’m so grateful the flight we found was for late morning.  We slept in, each took a glorious shower, and then packed up for the flights.  The hotel was not even 10 mins from the airport so we took the shuttle over.  Smooth check in and security check and we were at our gate with a few minutes to spare.

It was a direct flight - only about 2 hrs.  We had a bit of a wait for our luggage but in no time we are out by the curb waiting for our driver to pick us up.  

It was a fun ride to the hotel… the Bay Area is just gorgeous… there’s water literally everywhere with homes tightly covering the hills that surround.  I think this is gonna be a great place to visit and perhaps a fun place to come again.

We checked into the hotel and by some luck our room was ready early (its only about 1 pm at this point).  So we dropped off our bags and headed out.

Because we hadn’t planned to be in San Fran until after suppertime on the train, we didn’t have anything planned, so instead we just walked around Fisherman’s Wharf and explored the area.

We stopped for in-and-out burgers for lunch and then walked down to visit some historic ships in harbor.  We first wanted to tour of the USS Jeremiah OBrien.  Unfortunately they had just moved the ship to a new pier and weren’t open yet to visitors.  So, we headed back toward the submarine tour and made a few stops on the way.

First we visited the Aquarium on the Bay at Pier 39.  They had a nice sampling of local sharks in their tunnel tanks and we especially enjoyed watching the octopus and the playful sea otters.  

After that, we walked through Pier 39 and did some window shopping.  At the end of the pier, we took pics of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz island.  

Then we stopped by the hangout for the local Sea Lions, which were so fun to watch!

 

Then we headed back to pier 45 where the USS Pampanito is docked.  We listened to the entire audio tour (about 40 mins) and both found it incredibly interesting.  The tour was an interview with several men who served on the sub during WW2.  They told stories and shared about life aboard the sub while we stood in the spaces they worked and lived for all that time.  The favorite for both of us was hearing how they rescued some 75 allied soldiers who were shipwrecked in the South Pacific.  I already struggled to think of what it would be like with the 75 crew members but to double that… I cannot even imagine.

After the tour, we both decided it was time to head back to the hotel.  We were ready to kick our feet up after a very long day.

Ordered a pizza from Uber so that we could just stay in for the evening… and by 8:40 but of us were struggling to stay awake.  It was a huge day but a really, really good one!