The Golden State

It was quite an experience driving to San Francisco from Yosemite. There were rolling green hills, happy cows from California, huge wind farms, and then a panoramic view of the Bay Area skyline and the Pacific Ocean. I was so excited to visit my Uncle Ted and Aunt Kate in the Bay Area. They've lived out there for years and I hadn't made it out to visit. Plus, there's a big concentration of National Parks in the area.

The first day in San Francisco, my Uncle took me out for some sightseeing. We drove into the city and first went to the Mission District for some lunch. One of the things I was looking forward to in San Francisco was a carne asada burrito I kept seeing on Food Network. So we went to La Taqueria and I got the famous carne asada super burrito. It was a little simpler than I was expecting and I wasn't wowed when I first took a bite, but then I kept eating and started to appreciate how good it was. And now, I get a craving for another one just about every day. After lunch, we drove up to Twin Peaks and got a great overlook of the city and the water. We then drove back down the hills to the Sutro Baths. This is an area on the Pacific Coast with the ruins of an old bathhouse built in the 1890's. It was once a huge, happening place with 7 pools, an amphitheater, and an ice rink. Now, it is in ruins, but it is great place to see birds and wildflowers and it is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, protected by the National Park Service. Then, to get back to my Uncle's place we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was really cool driving over such a recognizable American symbol.

The next day, after my Uncle and I ate an awesome breakfast, we headed over to Richmond, CA to the Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park. Richmond was where the Rosie the Riveter movement started during World War II. Kaiser Shipyards was a record setting shipbuilder during the war, building warships in as little as five days! Here, many women worked in manufacturing positions like the men and the Rosie the Riveter movement was born. We were very fortunate enough the get to the park right when Park Ranger Betty Reid Soskin was about to begin a talk. At 95, she is the oldest Park Ranger in the National Park System. She worked in Richmond as a clerk during the World War II shipbuilding days and she had a great talk about what it was like as a black woman during that time in Richmond. It was a very real but inspirational talk about groups coming together to overcome great challenges. She related it to the present by saying back then the challenge was the war, but now the younger generations need to come together to face the challenges of things like politics and climate change. She was amazing. After that, I went off on my own and took the train to Berkeley. I walked around the university campus for a while, reminiscing about my college days and then I found some dinner and more importantly a Ben and Jerry's.

The next morning, my grandmother took a train into town from Sacramento and I got to visit with her too. After being on my own and amongst strangers for so long, I was very happy to be with family. Together we went to In-and-Out Burger for lunch. This was my other California food experience I was looking forward to. I got the double double with fries and of course, animal style. The meal was totally greasy and totally delicious. Then we went to the Alameda antiques fair. It was this huge outdoor antique mall on the old airstrip the Mythbusters used for their many crazy tests. There was all kinds of funky stuff and it was very enjoyable to wander through the maze of junk.

My last day in San Francisco started with going to prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary that is. When I was planning my trip, Alcatraz wasn't something I was really jumping up to go see, I wasn't all that interested. But then, I heard so many of my friends and family members say how cool and interesting it was so I pre-purchased my ticket for the early bird boat. [If you're interested in going to Alcatraz, you must plan ahead. Visiting requires tickets to the ferry and they sell out very quickly and far in advance.] My first impression of the island was how big it was. I for some reason was picturing a cellhouse on an island just big enough for it and a shark swimming in circles around it. But, Alcatraz Island is actually 22 acres and the complex is made up of several buildings. The next thing I started to realize is that there was so much I didn't know about the place. For one thing, it didn't start as a prison, it was originally a Civil War fort, then became a military prison, and then a federal prison. Alcatraz also has a significant Native American history. Native Americans occupied Alcatraz for 19 months in the late 60's to protest the taking of Native American lands by the U.S. government, among other mistreatments. Because of the diverse and significant history, Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The first thing I did at Alcatraz was a ranger guided tour around part of the grounds. We went through a building where some cannons were held during the military fort period, we went by the water tower that featured some graffiti from the Native American occupation period that read, "Indians Welcome," and we went by the apartment building for the guard's families. Also, the ranger told us about before Alcatraz Island had humans, it was a bird colony. So in that short tour, so much history was covered. After that, I went to the cellhouse for the very popular cellhouse audio tour. It started in the shower room with a very long row of showers that were completely open, no privacy, which was interesting. The tour led through the rows of cells and some administration rooms and in the headphones your given, Alcatraz guards and prisoners describe what life was like in the prison. You hear first hand accounts of escape attempts including the famous successful one of the prisoners that dug holes in the walls of their cells with spoons. The tour ended in the dining hall where I saw and heard about the tear gas canisters mounted on the ceiling. The dining hall was considered the most dangerous room because the prisoners were all together, armed with knives and forks. The audio tour was a little busy and crowded but it was definitely very interesting and worth it. After that, I went back down to the dock to catch a ferry back to downtown San Francisco. There was a lot more at Alcatraz to see, I could have spent a whole day there. But, I wanted to see other parts of San Francisco with my Uncle.

So, Uncle Ted met me after I got off the boat and together we went exploring around Fisherman's Wharf. I saw sea lions for the first time, which were really interesting, but were also kinda gross, we ate fish and chips, and we boarded old ships at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. They had about six different boats but we went on a big sailing ship, an old ferry, and a steam tug. It was a lot of fun.

The last thing I did in California was visit the Redwoods in Muir Woods National Monument and Redwood National Park. Muir Woods is a small park outside of San Francisco. This park was dedicated to John Muir and protects old growth redwood trees. This was a really peaceful park with a trail that follows along Redwood Creek. Redwood National Park is towards the northern border of California and it is combined with several California state parks that all protect old growth redwood forests, which are very threatened outside of parks. All the redwoods that I saw were amazing, they are so tall! At Redwood National Park it was very rainy but I did the Tall Trees Trail, which leads to the tallest individual trees in the whole world. I looked up and couldn't even see the tops of the trees. Between the raindrops falling into my eyes, I was fascinated by how big these things were, so incredible!

California was an amazing state with such a diversity of landscapes and activities. I was really happy to see some family, I was happy to see and touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and I was happy to learn about a lot of history that I wasn't aware of before. While in California, I realized how different from the Southeast it is and it made Florida look so behind the times in terms of progress. For example, the gas pumps there have something on them that captures the polluting gas fumes and keeps gas from dripping everywhere after you pull it out. Why didn't I know this existed and more importantly, why don't all gas stations use them? Also, in San Francisco, styrofoam and plastic bags are not handed out, its illegal. Styrofoam is very nasty to manufacture and dispose of and plastic bags often end as litter or in landfills after only being used once. Banning these products and using much more sustainable and responsible alternatives is so smart. California is also so ahead with things like making solar and wind power easily accessible, organic and locally sourced restaurants, and social and cultural acceptance of everyone. So California was a great learning experience and a great adventure.

Pictures of my California trip are in the Gallery!

Please check out one of Betty Soskin's talks, she is an amazing lady.