Travel | Get Busy Living

Just spent four nights in San Francisco. I came here when I was back in high school but it’s as foggy of a memory as the actual fog that comes into San Francisco (more on that later).

I was surprised to arrive in the international terminal. I love being at the international terminal in any airport. The thought of traveling to foreign counties is something I wish to do more. So flying from Long Beach is considered international or just that JetBlue is based in the international terminal. I’m okay with that cause the international terminal is by far batter than the domestic terminal.

Getting into San Francisco is easy with BART. I love cities that have great public transit into the city. I stayed at the Mosser hotel, which I read about through another AYCJer mentioned it on Facebook. After researching it, it seemed like a nice budget place. The location was right by Union Square, which is the shopping district of San Francisco. Turned out to be a great hotel.

I thought Seattle had a lot of hills. San Francisco is the king of hills. I found that out on my first full day when I walked from Fisherman’s Wharf to Lombard street. Looking a the map it was only five blocks or so. I can handle that. As I was walking, I realized it was all uphill!! I was huffing and puffing on the way up. Then I get to the bottom of crooked Lombard street and walked up the street to the top since I walked all the way there.

San Francisco is a very walkable town if you can handle the hills. One of the other ways to get around is the famous cable cars. I bought a 3 day all you can ride pass for the public transit, which included cable cars. It costs $20. A bus ride is only $2. So that’s a lot of bus rides. I wanted to get my money’s worth so I rode the cable car as much as I could. I rode it twice one day, and six times the second day. I rode all three cable cars lines. Sometimes I’d ride the car one way, see the other car coming, jump off at the stop and run and catch the other one going back the other way. When you consider it’s $5 per ride, one way, I know I got my money’s worth.

Riding it while holding on the rails felt like how I think a dog would feel riding in the car with the windows open and head sticking out. They love the wind blowing in their face. No matter how many times I rode it hanging off the side and especially in the front, I loved it.

I got to see a fortune cookie factory. It was more like a small room with four old Chinese people making fortune cookies. I was told they make 20,000 cookies a day in this tiny place! It’s so small that there’s just one line that goes in and it’s tight. There is another old man there to sell you cookies if you want. Or (my favorite thing about it) if you wanted to take a picture, you had to pay 50 cents. No joke. There was a sign for it. I gladly paid to get a picture as did many others in line. Plus the old man gave me a free cookie sample. Fresh made fortune cookies were amazing!

I did a tour of Alcatraz, which was one of my favorite things here. I did the first tour in the morning, which was recommended. Tours come all throughout the day and you can stay as long as you want on the island. So it can get crowded. Being in the early tour and being the first ones to get the audio tour headset, allowed me to be ahead of the group and see different part of the jails before other people. Got some great pictures that way. The audio tour is one of the best. It’s narrated by former guards and inmates. You get a true sense of what it was like there walking around and having them tell you about it.

I love a great view of the city so I did visit Coit Tower and paid the price of walking up another steep hill to get there. The view was worth it. I also tried to go to the Twin Peaks, which are suppose to give an even better view of the city. It was clear down in the city so I thought it would too up there. Nope. When I got up there, it was cloudy and so windy. I felt like I was in a different city. Five minutes ago on the bus it was sunny and clear. Now I felt like I was walking through a blizzard minus the snow. So now view up there.

I did get a great view from the Golden Gate Bridge. One option is to bike over the bridge to Sausalito and ride the ferry back. Very popular. I just walked halfway and walked back. Got great views that day and got a great view looking down at the water. Definitely not for the faint of heart. It’s really high from up there.

I enjoyed my time here. They had great food. Too many places for me to try on this short trip. Especially Chinese food, which I love. If I had more time I would have loved to have gone to Muir Woods and see the redwood trees. I would definitely love to come back and visit again.

I started my AYCJ journey in Seattle, where I had never been to.

One thing I really liked was the public transit. I could ride the link rail to from the airport to downtown and then the bus to the place I was staying. It was very easy since I have had experience riding a system just like this in Taipei. It was clean and safe.

I didn’t realize how hilly downtown Seattle was! Serious hills too. I would later learn during the Underground Tour that it used to be more hilly than this.

Pike Place Market is amazing. Great local food, fresh fruit, and festive area. If I lived here, I think I would be fat from eating there often. I did a food tour on the second day I was here with Savor Seattle, which I highly recommend. Our tour guide, Nick, was hilarious and really made sure we were having a good time. Just being able to sample so many types of food was worth it. A few places give samples to anyone but most do not. So instead of having to buy a full meal to try something, we got samples. I certainly went back after the tour to get seconds from some places.

My most memorable thing was being able to catch a flying fish a the market! I imagined many places doing that at the market but didn’t realize there was just one fish stand at the main entrance. I heard that they only throw the fish when someone buys one. However on the tour, Nick asked if anyone wanted to catch it. After asking a few people who declined, I gladly volunteered. I was escorted behind the counter above the floor. It was intimidating. All these tourists had their cameras ready to see the fish fly. The first time the fish came towards me and…..I dropped it. I was embarrassed. I didn’t expect it to be that heavy. Luckily I got another chance. I was told to just grab it hard with my hands. This time I caught the fist and raised it over my head like a trophy! I had a smile on my face the rest of the day because of being able to experience something so unique at such a famous place.

Pike Place Market reminds me of the famous night markets in Taiwan, where there are so many individual food stands selling amazing food. Eat a little here. Eat a little there. It’s something everyone has to visit when they go to Taiwan.

I passed on staying at a hotel or hostel and stayed at a room being rented out from Airbnb.com. I learned about it while preparing my itinerary. Basically homeowners rent out a room, shared room, or private studio. I found a private room 20 minutes by bus from downtown for $42 per night. The hotel I was going to stay at was going to be $71 per night plus the crazy tax. The room I stayed in was better than I expected! Nice bed. Clean shower. The owner left out bottles of water and snacks for me. It had a TV that had basic cable. Free wireless internet. A bus stop literally right outside the door. I’m staying a few more places that I found via Airbnb. I’m hoping they all go as well as this place.

Highlights

Pike Place Market Going aboard a retired Air Force One and Concord at the Museum of Flight Views of from the Space Needle and Smith Tower Safeco Field tour minus our tour guide who could make insomniacs fall asleep

Met a lady while waiting for the bus who is a best selling author of books on ghosts and is now writing a book on real life encounter with angels.

Enjoyed my time in Seattle and is a place I would come back to in the future. Next stop is Portland, Oregon.

The night before the journey begins. I know I’m not getting much sleep. Even if I slept right now I would only get 5 hours of sleep. Most likely I’ll be getting 4 hours of sleep if I’m lucky. That’s what sleeping on the plane is for.

I believe I have everything packed into one carry on and a small day pack. Traveling for two weeks (coming home for two days), this is the least I’ve ever packed. Clothes that don’t need to be washed like shirts and jeans can be worn over and over. Other items will be washed on a nightly basis.

Will be updating my trip as much as I can when I can.

In a few days, we will all be starting our monthly long journey taking so many flights. It’s going to be a mini-hotel room for a lot of us some nights. Others will be flying more times than they have ever the last few years combined!

Here are some tips that will help you stay comfortable on the plane so you can focus on relaxing.

1) Drink lots of water

The pressurized cabin is a dry environment. Humidity levels can be less than 20%. Your skin will be dry. Your body will be as well and then more prone to catching viruses. Everything I’ve ever learned about making traveling better is to drink lots of water. Avoid alcohol or soda with caffeine cause it acts as a diuretic and dehydrate you more. Once in awhile is okay but make sure you drink water in addition to it.

2) Keep your hands clean

I don’t want to know how dirty things are in an airplane. People touching it all day everyday and who knows how dirty those people are. Keep hands away from your eyes and mouth. Wash your hands regularly. Use a towel to open the bathroom door. I’m keeping a small bottle of hand sanitizer for the whole month. It will be my good friend.

3) Take a Walk and Stretch

With all the flying we are doing, we will be spending hours at a time on an airplane. If you’re flying 3-6 hours, it’s a good idea to get up and walk up and down the aisle once an hour. Stretch. Sometimes in the back of the plane by the galley there is room to just stand if you are tired of sitting. You want your legs to get good circulation.

4) Eat light

It’s tempting to eat a big meal on the ground and then get on the plane and just let it digest for the new few hours. Because such foods can cause fluctuations in blood sugar and leave you feeling bloated and achy, be wary of them. Don’t go overboard on the free snacks JetBlue provides. It will be tempting to I know.

5) Remove your shoes

Make sure your socks and shoes smell good first! When you’re in the air, your feet will swell up from the pressure. Taking them off will feel much more comfortable. Easy slip on shoes would be helpful.

6) Wear loose clothes

It’s going to be a long flight and you want to be comfortable. Tight pants and tight shirts should be kept at home way in the back of the closet. Dress comfortable and you’ll appreciate it.

7) Get sleep when you can.

Traveling between different time zones is really going to mess up our internal clocks. Getting as much rest as possible is going to help when you arrive in a city and hit the ground running. Get some ear plugs, or listen to some music to help you sleep.

These travel tips are a good foundation to making every flight a comfortable one. Please add more in the comments before if you have a great tip!