Home Again!

We made it back to Trinity safely! After waking up early the last morning we were there and going to Hyde Street Pier to see some historic ships in the pouring rain, we also snuck off to the Ghiradelli factory/store one last time and then went to the hostel to get packed up.

We ended up at the San Francisco Airport after the scariest shuttle ride I have ever taken to find out that our flight had a 3 hour weather delay: freezing rain, fog, and a tornado watch made the whole place shut down. Though we thought we were going to spend the night in an airport in Phoenix, AZ, there was a delay on the second flight and they held the plane for us. Meaning we got back to San Antonio by midnight! Hooray! I had a blast on this trip and would go back in a heartbeat, but that will have to wait until I graduate in May....

The "bests" about this trip:

• the beautiful scenery, both rural and urban sprawls so close to one another
• how everyone recycled or composted as much as possible all over the city
• making cards for the homeless youth at "At the Crossroads," showed me how even the smallest kindnesses can make a big difference in someone's life
  
• the vast variety of people that live so close together in a (mostly) harmonious way
  
• how close the members of our little group got with one another
• waking up in the morning and having tea overlooking the stormy bay
  

Angel Island

For our last full day in San Francisco, we decided to take a day trip to Angel Island, a California National Park and the second island in the Bay alongside Alcatraz. We woke up early and walked to Pier 39 to get tickets, then hopped on the ferry for a 20 minute scenic view of the bay area to the island. However, upon our arrival we were told that the tour we were planning on taking (of the Immigration Station area) was overbooked because there was an entire elementary school's worth of 5th graders also on the tour. So instead, we took a bus tour of the entire island, learning more about the history of the site. As well as being used as a first embarkation site for Asian immigrants, the island was also home to many native Californians’, naval stations, and avid environmentalists all trying to make the island fit with their purpose.

After the trip to Angel Island, the group split up with half of us going to see the Mechanical Museum on the Beach front (video below) and the other half stayed around Pier 39 for shopping and food. We ate a final dinner together at Wipeout! and then had free time. Dr. Medina and I went to Union Street and walked around a bit, getting to see the Coit Tower, River City Bookstore, and a bunch of enthusiastic St. Patrick's Day Nightlife: Irish step dancers and bagpipers performed outside at a block party. Then it was back to the hostel before it got too crazy out.

Tomorrow we have plans to wake up early and see the historic Hyde Street Pier before we leave for the airport - Wish us luck!

A Bit of a Plan Change

So instead of going on a walking tour, as Caitlin mentioned in her last post, we ended up doing something entirely different when the hostel canceled the tour today and moved it to tomorrow. With free time on our hands and unable to shift to plan b (going to Angel Island a day early), we went for plan c, which involved walking to the Golden Gate Bridge. Since it was a beautiful, clear day - a great happenstance considering it rained all yesterday-we decided walking all the way from our hostel to the bridge was a good idea. After a "two-mile" walk that took us about 2.5 hours (with all the picture taking we had been doing), we finally got there!!!!!!
After spending a good amount of the time there, it was past time for lunch. Then we were off to the LGBT history museum, recently opened in the Castro District. It was tiny, but jam packed with information about the history of Queer life in San Fransisco. My favorite part was the section with articles used by Harvey Milk during his lifetime, such as his megaphone and supervisor shirt.
From there, we decided to explore the Marina district a bit more; going to Pier 39 to go see "the sea lions!" and eat some "miniature cinnamon sugar donuts." I will let Caitlin talk more about this because she was super excited for both and was the nexus for our visit. Then it was time for another group dinner at the hostel (homemade spaghetti and meat sauce with lettuce and bread - it was yummy!). What will tomorrow bring? Hopefully clear skies and an Angel Island visit, which is perfect for Saint Patrick's day because the grass is SO green here.

Day Two!

We began our second day with a walking tour of the Castro neighborhood. The guide spoke about it's history and development as the city's most famous gay enclave. After the tour, we stopped for lunch in a small Mediterranean cafe.

From the cafe, we spent some time in the Asian Art Museum. The museum houses a pretty extensive collection of religious and ornamental sculpture from across the Asian continent.

We finished up our day volunteering with At The Crossroads, a local non-profit that helps homeless youth by providing them with food and other necessities, along with counseling. We spent a couple hours making birthday and thank-you cards for the young adults the organization works with.

Today, we'll be walking the seven hills of San Francisco. Wish us luck!

Well, We've Arrived

We left San Antonio yesterday morning (@ 7 am) and got in to San Francisco around 1 pm. After bustling around, we got in the shuttle and made our way to the Fisherman's Wharf Hostel. We dropped our bags and set out immediately for Chinatown, taking our first cable car all the way up and down the hills! Seeing everything was a blast, but all that walking tired us out and we still had to go back and cook dinner - Thuy Anh and Haoyi taught us how to make fried rice and dumplings - and then to bed.

Today started early as well and we just had breakfast in Cafe Franco (at the Hostel). Now we are set and ready for the adventures that the day will hold!

About Caitlin

Caitlin Gallagher is a sophomore urban studies major from San Antonio. She is looking forward to exploring another part of the country while learning about San Francisco's Asian and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ communities.

About Kate

Kate Goldsberry is an English major with minors in sociology and Women & Gender Studies from Norman, Okla. She is a senior who loves baking and poetry, but wanted to spend her last spring break learning more about the LGBT and Asian Pacific Islander communities as well as getting to explore San Francisco, Calif.