Fun Times in San Fran

Going to San Francisco was a dream. I couldn't believe I was actually going! I had gotten plane tickets from my parents to go to San Francisco for the summer.
We left on June 29th, taking a Southwest flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor to San Francisco International. Once we got close, I could see the water of the ocean and see the famous hill streets.
Once we landed, I decided that we all should go on a boat ride to see all the famous sites that San Francisco had to offer, including The Golden Gate Bridge. This was such a fun experience I had seen so many fish in the water and the boat floated very smoothly. We saw many sail boats out and about. We waved to them and they waved back. It felt so nice to be in such a happy place. Finally, after about an hour on the boat, we got to the Golden Gate Bridge. Now granted, nothing is ever as it seems, but knowing about the bridge and then physically seeing it are two different things. After getting off the boat, it was starting to get late so we ended up calling it a night and headed to our hotel room in the heart of the city.

The next day, we got up and went walking around the town. It was a very foggy day and even the Golden Gate Bridge was getting covered by all the fog. Walking around, we saw some cool architecture, got to see some local sites, and even went to China Town. One thing that never got old was the steep streets that were everywhere. Eventually, my whole family and I got tired from hiking up streets that we had to take a breath and sit down at a restaurant. After resting, we made our way to Lombard St. where we hiked down the tile road that is right there. It was beautiful, with so many different flowers and greenery. Before we finished walking for the day, we spotted Alcatraz, the infamous island prison, which was what we were going to hit the next day.

The next day came and went; soon we found ourselves on a boat headed to Alcatraz. I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect of the prison. It turned out to be really fun and we got to go into the different cells and act like we were the actual prisoners. On top of that, we got some nice history about the place and saw where the Wardens use to live. After taking the trip and checking out the gift shop, we headed back to the mainland and headed to the airport where we caught our late night flight back to Phoenix, AZ.

Upon arriving home, I was upset as I had a great yearning to return to San Francisco. Hopefully one day I can make my return.

 



As a reflection to writing this piece, I realize that it is very difficult to write about a place that you haven't been to. The details that would normally come naturally are very hard to create on your own. I was lucky enough to use photos from my parent's vacation out in San Francisco but I didn't have any context besides what the pictures told me. In an essence, the blog is the literal description of the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words". In this case, the picture is the blog post cause everything is centered around the pictures presented.
It seems to me that even in this day and age of social media, the idea of a trip somewhere is still something personal that no one can take and make their own. For instance, someone can post pictures about their trip to the United Kingdom, but unless they have actually been there, when asked about the trip, not much can be said other than, "Have you seen my pictures?" This leads to the fact that it is still hard to get a sense of authenticity unless you have physically been there. You can't take someone else's description of a place and make it your own because you won't be able to create the same image the other person did.
Travel is not overrated as it gives a sense of adventure to anyone who partakes in it. Travel itself is an exciting experience but the memories and descriptions of it that you use to tell people about your travel create that authenticity that we all strive to find.