Day one started out at 4:00 am Texas time from our cozy Hilton in Dallas. We drove up early the day before after dropping off AK for her mission trip to Costa Rica. It was hard saying goodbye and sending our 14-year-old Sweet Pea halfway across the world, but as Elwood Blue's has pointed out, she was in good hands because she was "on a Mission for God!"
We arrived at Dallas Love early and immediately began the quest for nourishment. Pam knew we had a three and a half hour flight ahead of us and she wanted to make sure Little D was well fed. We walked around the airport and saw every option possibly available before Little D decided a Dickey's breakfast taco would hit the spot. Pam and I happily agreed since we enjoyed them on our last trip to Boston. Pam gave her breakfast tacos a quality 4.2 tortillas, I put it in the range of a 4.4 while Little D had the pulled pork and inhaled every last morsel. Little D is a harsh food critic and came in with a 3.4 store-bought tortillas. She said if they had been authentic homemade tortillas it would have gotten a higher rating.
With breakfast complete, we loaded on our flight headed to lovely San Fran. Pam slept little the night before as she eagerly awaited news from AK that she had safely arrived in Costa Rica. With the text from AK saying all was good Pam found herself in a deep slumber 10 minutes into the flight. Little D being full of wit and good humor decided this would be an opportune time to fully decorate her mom with goldfish crackers. Little D did an excellent job and made the flight more enjoyable as it was easy to get a quick snack when we found ourselves hungry!
With the goldfish merrily devoured we found ourselves gently landed into San Fran while Pam was confused as to why she had cracker crumbs on her shirt and neck.
We headed straight to the hotel and checked our bags so we could head out and take in the sights. Pam decided the day would take us to the Golden Gate Park and to the Golden Gate Bridge. Being the rookie tourists we are, we thought they would be right next to each other. We soon found out that was false, and the free map from the Hampton Inn is not entirely to scale as many miles on our weary feet would be walked.
The Golden Gate Park is a stunning park that covers an area of five square miles. The trees are huge and make the lovely mesquite trees in Midland pale in comparison. Little D was pleased as she is an avid tree climber and immediately had visions of putting her tree climbing skills to good use.
While we discovered new terrain to explore and hike we heard from AK. She was having the time of her life and was getting ready to play her first volleyball game in Costa Rica. The volleyball game would be followed by a church service with prayer and fellowship. We asked her to send us some pictures of herself and Costa Rica. With a busy schedule of being off in the vast big world, she was able to send off a picture with her newly acquired money from Costa Rica.
We were pleased she was doing well but a new fear of AK contracting Conjunctivitis in a third-world country settled into the back of our minds.
After many miles of exploration, it was time to hop on a bus and head to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was excited as this was a bucket list item for me. The bridge is enormous and spectacular to be on. Little D and Pam loved spotting the sea lions swimming in the bay, and the views were glorious as it was a sunny day. The wind was mighty and cold, but we didn't let that hamper our journey as we walked the bridge.
To say the bridge was an fantastic structural feat would not do it justice. The trip was already well worth the investment having visited this national treasure. Pam and Little D enjoyed it just as much as I did. After a long walk and being windblown. Pam decided it was time to catch the bus back to the Golden Gate Park where we heard rumors of seeing real-life buffalo. Since Pam is an animal lover of all kinds, we were off on another adventure. What we didn't account for was the inaccuracy of the free Hampton Inn map not being to scale and the lack of any tourists with a clue of where the bison would be located in a park that spans five square miles. With Pam taking the title of lead explorer she pointed us to an observation tower that we could go up and look out across the park. Being the intelligent person, Pam is, her theory was we would be able to see the buffalo from high in the sky and figure out the direction we needed to head.
Although the views were gorgeous from our high post, finding the buffalo was futile as the park is densely populated with lofty trees. We came down from the tower and headed in the direction we felt was right using our free Hampton Inn map and Little D's trust in her "senses". After many more miles of wrong turns, two bus rides and many other tourists asked we happened upon the great American Buffalo. The sight of the few that were there was...underwhelming!
With our feet exhausted and our fuel levels low, Pam declared it was time to head back on the bus to the hotel to officially check in and reload with a snack as the evening would bring on more adventures and fun on our fatigued walkers.
The Hampton Inn is lovely, but the rooms are tiny ensuring our family will be extra close during our visit. Little D was also thrilled to see the magnificent view the place offered.
After a quick snack and bumping into one another trying to get settled in our new habitat we headed to the cable cars to take us to Fisherman's Wharf. The cable cars are an exciting way to travel, and we enjoyed the sights as we passed through the city. Little D decided she wanted the adventure of standing and hanging out the side of the car.
We walked around Ghirardelli Square and ate at a local place called Lori's Diner. Little D went for the popcorn chicken while Pam and I split the fish-n-chips and a cup of clam chowder. The food was excellent and I gave the chowder a solid 4.3 rating. Pam came in with a 4 with the fish-n-chips. Little D liked her chicken but compared to Chick-Fil-A nuggets, which gets top billing in her court of opinion, she only rated Lori's chicken at a 3.
We continued down to the beach where Little D was missing on her big sister and wrote her name in the sand in hopes the message would reach her Sweet Pea many miles away.
We headed back to the hotel and get some rest. After all, we had logged a total of 15.5 miles according to my newly acquired Fitbit. We crashed hard, and everyone fell to sleep with the excitement of hearing what our Pea was up to half a world away and what Day Two in San Fran would bring us!
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