I got up early again on day 5. While I was working out, I missed a call from my mom wishing me a happy birthday. After I got done, I texted her back and wished her a happy birthing day. After all, she is the one that did all the hard work 43 years ago!
I drank some coffee and finished up the previous days report while Pam and Little D enjoyed sleeping in. After a while, they both joined me so we could load up on fuel. It was the first day Little D came down for breakfast, and she was pleased to find she could get a homemade waffle.
With Little D amped up on sugar it was time to go the attraction I had anticipated since I stepped foot in San Fran. We were going to "The Rock". I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday. Being a history buff, I have always been fascinated with Alcatraz and the story behind the prison. I had no idea it was a military fort, military jail, a federal prison, reclaimed Indian Land and now a National Historic Park! We took the ferry out to the island in anticipation of our tour.
What I didn't know is how Pam planned the super secret scary tour for me and Little D to be locked up. Little D and I looked into our new dwellings and settled in to serve our sentence.
After several hours of work duty, Little D and I were granted time in the rec yard where we played some baseball with other notorious criminals. Little D had a plan to distract the guards from thinking we were model inmates like "Machine Gun" Kelly.
Little D and I partook in a friendly game of baseball out of the rec yard with the "Birdman" and Al Capone. Capone was pitching, and he didn't like the way Little D was crowding the plate. He gave her some chin music by pitching one high-and-tight to Little D's head. Little D reciprocated by reminding Capone that she was a true Texan and if he was going to "mess with the bull, he was going to get the horns!" Capone realized he messed with the wrong inmate and backed away sheepishly!
When the guards weren't looking, we hit the wall to escape from what they claimed to be inescapable!
Local lore has it that the hippie counterculture got its start on the corner of Haight-and-Ashbury. This is where legends like Janice Joplin and Jefferson Airplane launched their musical careers. Many come each day to homage to the hippie culture in some fascinating ways. It is safe to say that the hippie community is still alive and well in the Upper Haight area.
It was getting late, and our feet were once again tired while our stomachs were growling from a busy day. Pam declared it time to hop on the bus and find a birthday dinner fit for a king. She searched out a location, and we soon found ourselves at the entrance of a Pizza Hut! Pam ordered dinner so we could take it back to the hotel and relax. It could have been the long, exhausting day of escaping from Alcatraz, or maybe it had something to do with walking through Upper Haight--but whatever the reason for our immense hunger, we mowed through the pizza, wings and cinnamon sticks like Tony aka Holmes taking on a tall stack of flapjacks after a long night finds him at a Denny'
With the food devoured and our feet tired from clocking in 13.4 miles with the Fitbit we called it a night so we could get up early for our flight home.
Day 6:
Day six found us up at 3:30 am to catch the red-eye back to Texas. We were ready and waiting as Uber picked us up and hit the airport in no time. The lines were fast, and Pam was soon on the lookout for Little D to have some breakfast. Little D settled for a turkey sandwich and Pam went for the coffee.
The flight went off without a hitch with Little D napping off her turkey sandwich while Pam and I caught up on some reading.
We arrived in Dallas grabbed our luggage and picked up our car for the five-hour drive back home in the oppressive 110-degree heat of Texas. The ride was long as it was hot and we were ready to be home. Pam and I love to eat spicy food, and the idea of spice doesn't really exist in San Fran. We stopped off at Taco Casa and grabbed a couple of chiladas and some tacos for the trip. We soon found our way back to Midland to the delight to all four of the dogs. They were pleased we came back home. Maddox, the Mad Dog, quickly realized his Pea was not with us. Maddox went into depression when he found out AK would not be returning until early Sunday morning.
We have been able to keep in touch with AK most of the time. We are really proud of all she has accomplished and the people she has been able to help and guide. AK really is a fantastic kid, and we were thrilled with her desire to share her love of God with others. As proud as I am of her courage to go to a third world country, I am even more excited for her to return so I can hear all about her adventure. I would like to give Mickey and Bonnie Eckles and the entire 3:23 Ministries volleyball club a special shout out for making this mission trip possible. I know Avery Kate will cherish the memory for a lifetime.
After 672 miles driven and ten hours in the car, seven hours of total flight time, two quality bowls of clam chowder devoured, seeing sea lions several times, walking the Golden Gate bridge, getting lost in the Golden Gate Park, conducting experiments at the Exploritorium, hanging with hippies, checking off seeing the Giants play off the bucket list, getting locked up in the hoosegow known as Alcatraz, hoping every day the report left Kelly satisfied as she drank her morning coffee, countless slices of pizza and churros to keep even a Rigo filled, 70.26 miles walked according to the Fitbit and not being able to accurately calculate how much we missed out Pea...Pam declared the Little D, Peters and Me Without our Pea vacation to San Fran complete.
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