I went away this past week... I took a little trip out to San Francisco. A little trip all by myself.
When friends around here heard that I was going off alone they looked at me like I was a little off. Like going somewhere on my own was weird. A few people were all like, Wow! That's so brave of you! Doing it all by yourself!
I think they meant that in a positive way? I am a very independent person. I don't feel like I need someone with me to be able to do things that I want to do. I'm perfectly OK with making a solo trip. Maybe that makes me weird. Of course I love to travel with my family, and I do often, but it's nice to sort of escape from real life sometimes. To take a break from every day responsibilities and just wind down.
I was thinking back to a time where I just threw a bag in my crappy car and drove til I was too tired to drive anymore. All alone. My first real solo trip. I had traveled alone to meet up with people before, but never just a time that I knew was just going to be mine. I think I made it 9 or 10 hours. And I spent a week not speaking to anyone but the clerks at the places where I grabbed a bite to eat. It was fantastic.
I regrouped. I thought about things. I read. I walked. I basked in the sun. I explored. I relaxed my tense brain.
Sometimes, for someone like me, getting away is a really good thing. It's just enough to keep, for a while.
Here is a little smattering of some of the things that I did and saw in San Francisco:
*Walked way down to the Ferry Building and saw the Bay Bridge, all lit up and beautiful in the darkness.
*Went to Muir Woods and walked though the trails, feeling so very small compared to those massive redwoods.
*Stopped at Muir beach and walked barefoot in the sand.
*Went to Sausalito and got a great sandwich (and cookie) from a cool little sandwich shop.
*Pulled over and stopped for an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge on a gorgeous clear day.
*Went down Lombard(?) Street, the crookedest street. So cool and steep and narrow.
*Rode BART.
*Went to Monterey, walking along Cannery Row and saw the Monterey Aquarium. Had a great meal there, mini portions of sea scallops and steak and risotto and a chocolatey dessert thing that just melted in my mouth. And also a crepe thing that I actually had to force myself to stop eating.
*Visited the tiny sleepy little town of Davenport, where I walked along a secret beach and had a big fat raspberry muffin and a perfect cup of coffee.
*Rode on a cable car.
*Explored a bunch of districts in the city, went to China Town and spent a bunch of time (but not much money!) in the shopping district.
*Got dinner from this amazingly cool restaurant that is outdoors and plays old foreign films on the wall. Had the best cheese I have ever tasted from there, some kind of mozzarella that I wish I remembered the name of.
*Walked around Fisherman's Wharf and had a great bowl of clam chowder and got stalked and harassed by a gross seagull. Checked out the smelly seals laying around on the docks, looked at Alcatraz and debated taking a ferry over to see up close. Went into this cool old time arcade where they had these real, old fashioned arcade games and things that you could play for a quarter.
*Walked and walked and walked.
*Ate and ate and ate.
Ah, there were so many more amazing things! I want to write it all down so I don't forget any of it!
I am so glad I went, so glad that I didn't chicken out and find some great excuse to keep me from such an awesome week.
The only bad thing was that I FORGOT MY CAMERA. Can you believe that??! All of the pictures that I am posting were from my iphone. Unfortunately they are nothing spectacular, but definitely enough to remind me of some great moments. I did some tweaking and editing of course, but overall a few not so bad shots.
I will be following this post with some in depth reviews of the things that I did - including places I ate, stayed and visited on my trip. So be sure to come back to check out my thoughts on things to do in the iconic city by the bay...
I am already thinking of the next destination for another solo trip... any ideas for me? Where would you go if you were going on a solo trip?
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