Wednesday in San Fran!!

Wednesday was a great day.   Well, I know the first couple of hours were not so great for Claire.  Bless her heart!  She realized when we were going to bed the night before, that when we had dropped the rental car off , her $1100 Nikon D60 was in the trunk!!  We prayed so hard that it would still be there.  She got up super early and took a taxi back to the Alamo rental car station, and sure enough, it was still in the trunk.  Thank the Lord!  That would’ve made the trip a lot less great!  So once she was back safe and sound with her camera, we went to catch the ferry to Alcatraz!  This was the one place I REALLY wanted to see.  You can see the island of Alcatraz no matter where you are in San Francisco.  It’s always visible.  It just looks like this little mystery sitting across the bay. 

The ferry ride only took about 15 minutes.  I think the most memorable part of this ride had to be the seagulls.  Claire and I sat on the upper deck so we could take pictures as we rode toward the island.   The birds hovered over our heads as close as they possible could…..and people let out shrieks when they saw the birds going to the potty!  It was like the birds were on a mission to get us messy, but the heavy winds acted against them.  I don’t think anyone actually got hit, but it was scary for sure…..and entertaining J

When we arrived we watched a video about the history of Alcatraz.  It actually was only a federal penitentiary for 30 some odd years.  It was a military prison before that.  The island is definitely a little spooky.  I think the coolest thing was hearing about the people who had lived there……the criminal “celebrities” that is.  The most noted was obviously Al Capone or “Scarface,” but there were others we were introduced to.  All crazy characters. 

We did an audio tour, where you just put the headphones on and go at your own pace.  It was really cool.  Everyone on the audio tour had either worked at Alcatraz or had actually been inmates there.  Also, people who had lived on the island, like families of the officers talked about how much they loved living there growing up.  They said they loved getting out of school and getting to ride the ferry back over to their home.  Something I had never thought about that the prisoners talked about on the tour, was that it was so much harder being on an island that “was so close, yet so far away” from the city.   They said New Year’s was the worst….they could hear the people  celebrating and music playing.  But even on a daily basis, they could see the city and see the freedom that they could no longer have.  This prison was a far cry from prisons today.  No benefits for good behavior, only punishment for bad.  There was some really beautiful vegetation and wildlife on the island.  Volunteers keep the plants taken care of.  It was a cool experienceJ

K….so next journey in the day was getting to Chinatown and finding some counterfeit purses!!  This Chinatown was not just little  shops, it was a community.  Schools, churches…EVERYTHING was Chinese.  I found out that San Francisco’s Chinatown is actually the largest Chinese population outside of China itself!!!  And this did not surprise me.  While we were there, I literally felt like we were in another country.  Unlike Chinatown’s in other cities, they don’t do much bargaining.  They will a little, but definitely not what I would call “bargains.”  But because we are gift givers, Claire and I went a little crazy.  We definitely made the owners of the little shop we purchased from very happy.  We were so tired when we got finished, we ran to grab a cable car back to the Radisson.  We waited for a while and no cable car.  Apparently, they were having some mechanical problems.  SO…..Claire and I made the 45 minute trek back to the hotel….tons of presents in hand!  LOL…..it was exhausting, but funny to look back on.  It just screamed “tourists.”  Not that our accents and apparently just the way we look in general didn’t do the same.  The guy at the Apple store, Chris, said he assumed we were “Marina” girls before we started talking.  That is, we’re from San Fran but live closer to the beach.  I think that means we look a lot girlier than a lot of the girls around the city.  He said we made him remember how much he loved Southern girls.  He was like, “You just have this purity about you that I never see in girls here.”  It was the sweetest compliment.   Made me very proud to be from Alabama, and just from a place where kindness and gentleness are things about a woman that are cherished. 

That night, we had a great dinner at a place called Cappuro’s.  I had Prawn Fettuccini  Alfredo and Claire had Seafood Risotto.  Both were absolutely delicious.  Then we headed over to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory.  YUMMY.  I got chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in a cone and it was to die for.  Again, I found myself miserable and feeling like I had a small child in my stomach, but it was so worth it. 

So thankful to God for just allowing me to experience life.  To experience the reality of what life for others is like.  No matter how rich, poor, what someone’s ethnicity is, what socioeconomic status we’re from…..we all have one thing in common….the need for a Saviour.  Being in San Francisco it was so evident to me that so many people have Christ , and a life full of His freedom, RIGHT at their fingertips.  He’s all around us, calling to us to “come home.”  And most people will spend their whole lives ignoring that still, quiet voice, and trying to fill the void with other things.  The mission field is not just in China or Peru, it is all around us. 

  

God help me to see others with your eyes.  Help me to see them with an eternal perspective, as if today could be their last day on this earth.  To live as if this is my last day to impact someone for you.