San Francisco Travel Log. :)

Right now things are doing fine for me. I am finally feeling good enough physically and mentally to make a post on my San Francisco trip with Jan and Dennis. I have had a rough week this week mentally because I was misled and somewhat betrayed by my doc up here in Idaho. My mom asked the docs what they thought about a Fentanyl transdermal patch, a patch that goes on my skin and delivers a pain killer drug through my skin. They said that I would be clear minded, I would be able to go to school, and be more active because I would have a pain medication on board at all times. Well, what they didn't tell me is that I wouldn't be able to drive. So. . .how was I supposed to get to school? How was I supposed to do whatever I wanted? All the fentanyl patch did for me was make me tired all the time, more nauseated, clouded my mind, and took away my freedom of driving. In short, yesterday, I figured, "Yeah, the patch helped my pain, but I can not live happily with out the freedom to go where I want, when I want." I now think I understand how Grandma Hale feels about getting her driving privilage taken away from her. Sigh. That is why my posts have been short this week. I have been depressed and now I have decided NO MORE FENTANYL!! Not yet anyway. . .

Now for my trip to San Francisco. We had a total blast!!! Although seeing San Francisco in less than 1 1/2 days is completely impossible! Den said that San Francisco is eye candy (meaning the sight of it makes you want to see more, have more, and is very pleasing to see). I totally agree with him. Our two day adventure was too short and left me really exhausted, but knowing it was totally worth the price.

Jan and Dennis came and picked us up at our house Thursday. We had lunch, cleaned up, packed and hit the road. We traveled five and a half hours to Winnemucca, Nevada where we stretched out legs. We were there for 45 minutes to an hour. Then we hit the road again continuing on to Reno, Nevada which took about two and a half hours. It was late when we got there and we hadn't eaten. Den got on the internet and found J.J's Pie Company that came recommended and would be open. When we got there we all decided that it looked like a bar and that we didn't want to go in. Then Dennis read that it is one of the few places in Reno that was non smoking and that sealed the deal of going there. That place had really good pizza. It was one of the many inspired choices of our trip. lol After dinner at 11:00 at night, we found our hotel and went to bed. No gambling for me because it was too late. :( Good for me though. I didn't spend any money on gambling through our whole trip. I would have in Winnemucca, but I didn't have a one dollar bill. I just had two 20s and a ten and I wasn't about to put a big bill in there because I would have used it all. lol Our totally travel time on thursday was about eight hours of Driving!!! Crazy!!!

The next morning, Friday, we left Reno around 8:30/9:00 am and traveled to San Francisco!! It was about three and a half or four hours of taveling. I slept most of the way because I didn't sleep well the night before. I would wake up periodically and I was awake as we past Lake Tahoe, went by Donner's Pass, went through my first State Boarder Patrol (the California Border Patrol, they don't want anyone to bring fruit into the state contaminating their high grade produce and will confiscate any that they find, lol), and went over my first toll bridge (the Bay Bridge that takes traffic to San Francisco). After that I was awake and excited!!!

Our first stop was San Francisco's Chinatown which was totally fun. Very few people spoke English and I wish I had known some form of Chinese to help us out. lol. Jan and Dennis wanted to take us to Dim Sum. Dim sum is a brunch where the waitresses (who only speak very little english) bring around small dishes and offer them to you. There are about 8 servings on each plate. Joie and I decided that it was best to not know what was in the stuff we were eating. lol All of it looked okay, but still a little scary. Most of the items were rolled into a ball and either steamed or fried. So we never really could see what was inside the dish. lol

After Dim sum, at noon, we walked around Chinatown and gathered up some Chinatown paraphernalia. lol We spent quite a bit of time there which is amazing because the streets were INSANE!!! There were some pretty good hikes up those streets. lol It really wore me, Mom, and Dad out. :) After Chinatown we went down Lombard Street. A street that switchbacks about 9 times in a quarter of a mile! I don't know how many feet it descends in the quarter of a mile, but everything I find says it is a 27% grade (which I could calculate, but my brain doesn't want to know how, lol)

After Lombard Street, we went across the Golden Gate Bridge and took some time to enjoy the view of San Francisco from the other side of the bay. After which we went to the hotel to freshen up for the play "Wicked", which is Aunt Cheryl's favorite play and now I know why! It was awesome and fun! It is the prequel to the "Wizard of Oz" and gives the background of the Wicked Witch of the West and East and the Good Witch Glenda. I was exhausted from our day and also hurting from the non stop action so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I wanted, but it was fun. It was the best play I have ever seen and it had great messages. After the play, we went to the hotel. I hadn't finished my classes, but I only had the final tests to do. My chemistry test was due Saturday at noon and we had plans for early in the morning so I HAD to take my test Friday night or else I wouldn't have had time to take it. Therefore I was up until three o'clock in the morning taking my test!!

Saturday started early! Well, for me anyway. It was 9:00 am when we left the hotel. We then boogied down to the peir to catch a boat to Alcatraz! It was very educational. We took an audio tour of the prison which talked about the various sections of the prison, some of the escapes, why a person was incarcerated there, what happened when they got there, what life was like there as a prisoner, what life was like as a family living on Alcatraz, and some of the rules and regulations the prisoners were to follow. It was very interesting to see and hear the creative things people did to try to escape from Alcatraz only to fail. The prison was heavily guarded so anyone trying to escape was easily detained. Those that got past the security still had to deal with the water in the bay that is freezing and has tons of currents, some of which take you back to Alcatraz. lol

After walking around Alcatraz for about three hours and buying stuff there, we got back on a boat to head for shore. Then we ate at Hard Rock Cafe and bought more San Francisco paraphernalia at the Cafe. lol After that though it was about 3:00 pm and we were late in leaving for home so we weren't able to take a trolley ride, visit Fisherman's Wharf, or visit Ghirardelli Square. Dad really wishes we had had time to go to Ghirardelli Square so that we could get some really good Chocolate. YUMMY!! But I was pretty much toasted and ready to go and I didn't want Jan and Dennis to get to their house any later. They dropped us off and then continued to Salt Lake!! Crazy!! They wanted to be home for Cameron's homecoming (Lisa and Todd's missionary that got home last week). Anyway, we climbed back into James' Suburban and started the trek home.

We stopped in Winnemucca to eat and by the time we got done eating I was hurting pretty bad and had a low grade fever of 101.4 F. I talked Mom into not calling the Doctors here in Boise on the grounds that we were in the middle of nowhere so there were no hospitals around and that my temperature was going down. Right after we discovered my temp I took it again and got 100.7 F. Mom and I compromised that if the temperature went back up or persisted too long she was going to call the doctors. Also, since I was hurting, Dad, Joie, Dennis, and Jan made a place for me to lay down in the middle of the Suburban. They layed down the first back seat and Mom and I layed down together. Joie got in the front with Dad who was driving, and Jan and Dennis sat in the second back seat. Jan finally gave Dennis the seat and laid on the back of the seat and the luggage that came up even to the back of the seat. lol It gave me flash backs of us kids cramming into the van. lol Mom had me take some pills that helped with the pain and I layed on my tummy which was the most comfortable position for my hips. My lower back still hurt, but it didn't hurt as bad as my hips so it was fine. Mom continually checked my temperature throughout the ride home to make sure I was okay. I was so tired and exhausted and I hurt a lot until the pain meds started to kick in. I slept until we got home.

We got home at about 4:30 am Sunday morning after ELEVEN AND A HALF HOURS of driving, plus the time spent at the stop in Winnemucca along the way, which added about an hour or hour and a half. I was so sore! I learned that walking around for long periods of time and then sitting in a car for about 13 hours is not a good idea. My muscles were stuck in a partially flexed position and so it hurt to flex them and it hurt to stretch them. After Dad, Joie, Mom, Dennis, and Jan unloaded the car, Jan and Dennis left our house at about five in the morning and drove all the way to their house in Bountiful!! so for them it was a total of about 16 or 17 HOURS OF DRIVING for them!! I felt bad that they had to do that.

After they left, I went to bed and didn't wake up until about four pm. That is when I became alert and seriously started studying for my Criminal Justice test. I was so tired and the fact that I was on pain pills and Fentanol didn't help me stay awake!! After eating dinner with the fam, I came up to my room and read and studied like crazy. I had to have my criminal justice test taken by midnight Sunday night. I spent every minute from 5:30 pm until 11:30 pm studying. lol I left only 20-25 minutes to take my test, which was a risky move but paid off in the end. I ended up finishing this semester with an A in Chemistry and a B in Criminal Justice and the feeling of excitement at finishing this summer semester!!!

I don't think I will be taking classes next Fall because I need some time to relax, be school worry free, and I also don't want to miss any school when we leave for Vancouver. It is a risky move. I am always happy when I am in school, getting to know other people. I am so excited about the Vancouver trip!! Joie and I recieved our passports in the mail this week and that was exciting!!! Next on my list of things to tackle is planning the Vancouver trip. :)

Overall on this trip, I learned a lot about San Francisco. I learned a lot about accepting charity from others. And I learned that I am special and I need to realize that more often and treat myself as such. I need to believe that I am special and disregard other people that treat me other wise. I have been told that I am special often lately and I can't believe that I still have a hard time acknowledging that to myself.

I had a ton of fun on the trip and it was totally worth the price of pain and exhaustion I had in exchange. :) Personally, I think it could have been far worse. I didn't have any bloody noses or anything serious to warrant wasted time for a trip to the hospital. I think that I should have hurt worse and been more exhausted. In short, I want to thank Heavenly Father. I believe, with all my heart, that he watched over me and the family while we were in San Fran. I was truely blessed by Him and also by the acts and words of Dennis and Jan James. They are awesome people who live the laws and ordinances of the gospel. They were and are willing to do anything for me or to help me with anything I need or want. They taught me that specialness isn't from how I am treated, but from how I feel about myself, how I treat myself, and from the fact that I am a daughter of a Father in Heaven who loves me. I am thankful for Jan and Dennis. I am also thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and suffered for my sins, trials, and sorrows of my heart along with all of those of every spirit child of our Father in Heaven. That was a great trial for Him and I am glad that he weathered it so well. It is one of the great blessings given us by a Father who loves us.

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