Sunday 9 July
4pm and we are up and getting ready to go to the airport. We are in Portland now as yesterday evening we drove from Hood River, said goodbye to Alex’s amazing aunt and drove to Portland to Alex’s other grandma to be closer to the airport. We stopped at a coffee shop to get a cup of joe. Then OFFICIAL YAEL DRAMA, Alex asks me out of courtesy how I am getting to my hostel so off I go on my phone to find out because I actually don’t know. I find out that even after going over the hostels in New York I forgot to book a place for tonight. I hurriedly go on booking.com to find a place and choose the cheapest option as I’m only going to have to stay there one night.
We then arrived at the airport and said a horrible goodbye, we didn’t have a long enough time together and off I rush with my suitcase, bag and a art tube with Alex’s art that I’m giving to the school (Herzlia) as she was the top art student last year.
I get to my Terminal and there I am an hour and a half early for my flight to San Francisco. I need the bathroom so I ask people to watch my stuff and they tell me kindly that apparently they can’t as one of the passengers is actually a flight attendant on the airline and apparently they can’t look after my stuff. So off I go to the bathroom with all my luggage.
After waiting in the airport for an hour we get told that the flight is going to be delayed an hour, so I wait another hour and then board the plane. The plane ride is only two hours and I get to San Francisco fast.
On the bus I get a message from my dad, he tells me to check all the unsafe places in San Francisco to be careful there. I go and check to places, most of them say that you can walk there in the day just be careful and try not be there at night. The only place that says stay away from this area if possible turns out to be the area I’m staying at for the night – yayyyyyy.
I get to the station I need to be off. I try get out but my card is not working to open the doors so I put my stuff down and try again. It doesn’t work so I pick up my bags and go out of the door that people with strollers/wheelchairs go through. I walk to my place, doing to angry walk I do to prevent dangerous people from talking to me at get to the hostel. There I put down my stuff and go out to explore.
I start off going to Ghirardelli Square where I look around and see a beautiful view of the sea just below the square. I then make my way to Lombard street which is an attraction as it is very windy and had a great view of the city. It was really funny as they had traffic assistants directing people cars as to when tourists could go in the middle of the street to take photos and when the cars were allowed to drive down the road. Union square was next – which was great to see. Then I made my way to Alamo Square park where I saw the painted lady’s which was beautiful housing and in fact the whole neighborhood had really cool houses.
Next stop was the Castro which is a mostly LGBTQ+ area, taking pride in expressing themselves. It was a great lively town full of good noise. Then off I went to Acme Alley where I slid down the Steward Street slides which were so much fun – you sat on cardboard as a protector and slid down a steep slide.
I went on to see the Cypress Street murals and Balmy Alley and saw beautiful artwork on the walls. I walked through the Mission District and then bussed back to the hostel which was free for 18 year olds and younger (wooooh, only time I enjoy being 18 in America).
Then OFFICIAL YAEL DRAMA I get to the hostel with a stinking suspicion that I didn’t bring Alex’s artwork with me to my room – I run to my room and don’t find it there, where did I leave it? I’m sure I brought it to the hostel and ask the guy working at the hostel, he thinks I didn’t bring it with me and we check the cameras – I didn’t bring it in. This makes matters worse – I run to the train station and ask if they have seen it – the guy working there says no but to come back tomorrow morning. I feel sick. I go back to the hostel, eat supper, set an early alarm and go to bed.
Goodnight
XOXO
Yael
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