acilando

San Fran....What a b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l city! It has a great vibe, is open and expansive, and the fact that it's surrounded by the bay, makes it even more striking. One of the reasons to head there was to celebrate my birthday, meet old friends, and additionally, to check out the city and consider whether it's a place where I would want to live.

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For the very first time, Kayhan and I made it to the airport well in advance and were so exhilarated that we sat at the other end of our boarding gate to grab a bite. As always, we did have to end up running helter skelter, to arrive a minute before the gates shut. In fact, the last boarding call announcement was being made, as we walked in. Can never do without the drama ;) In retrospect, however, we would have never ended up missing the flight, because it was delayed and finally three hours later, we took off towards our destination. Another three hours, and I would've been in India!! 

 

Landed in San Fran at 1:00 AM and headed to our friend's place. It's awesome seeing familiar peepz after a while :) He was living on King's Road, close to Embarcadero. It's a terrific place to live and biking across the piers is a great way to enjoy the scenic view. The next morning began at 6:00 AM, yes, you read that correct, for something called Daybreaker. It's a monthly event organized early morning to get the day kick started with a bang. This month it was on a cruise, which began with a yoga event and then turned into mad sober yogurt-infused dancing. With exuberant dancing, incredible views, fruits, conversation, costumes, clearing fog and revealed skyline, it was a perfect way to mark our arrival into San Fran.

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SF is a walking city, and we spent time strolling around, discovering different corners of the city. A place called Delancey Restaurant is a fantastic brunch place, with the appetizing crab benedict being a must-try. Dolores Park, is a DA haven and one can spend hours reading, playing games, soaking in the sun and the aura of the park. In the old part of town, the Victorian Architecture particularly stood out and the houses and the buildings are delightful.

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We guys decided to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. However, we ended up taking the ferry to Sausalito and biked back. I would recommend biking to Sausalito and returning on the ferry, to evade the extreme uphill stretches that seem never-ending in the moment. Nevertheless, Sausalito is a quaint town, full of little restaurants. We ended up eating at a super cute place called Taco Shop. I enjoyed sitting in their outside area, which they'd done up with quirky stuff. Tried their Carnita Tacos, which were amazing, but tiny. Also, went for Huevos Rancheros and their ceviche, both piquant. As we got ready for the bike ride back, we clearly had no idea what was in store for us. In fact, on asking a person for directions, he sniggered while gesturing the way ahead. After a long ride uphill, LOL, finally made it to the top, which was every bit worth it. What a breathtaking view! With us enveloped in the grey and misty clouds, blue sapphire water all around us, it was simply magnificent. On our way back, we stopped at a food festival called Off the Grid and tried a Filipino dish called Lechon, which was mouthwatering. Finally, we biked past Fisherman's Wharf, a very tourist-y spot, which was immensely crowded. Everyone had recommended steering clear from it, seemed to be the Times Square of San Fran. 

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Skydiving was a part of the San Franciscan experience for us. There are quite a few places from where one can dive, but the ones with the ocean views are the best. Despite all the planning, we all got delayed for our skydiving slot. I had signed up for a 11:00 AM slot and there were six of us meant to dive. The morning had begun with 'Bye Bye Miss American Pie, this will be the day that I dieeee', all of us were terrified, we were discussing wearing a diaper and I wore a T-shirt that said Sheer Madness, because that's what it felt like :P We finally made it to Watsonville by 12:30 PM, one and a half hours later than scheduled. Despite our coy requests, the staff couldn't incorporate all of us. They only had one spot available, and I being the birthday girl was the 'lucky' one who got the opportunity to jump. My instructor, Robbie, who I was tandem jumping with, was an over-confident cocky fellow, which in different circumstances would have annoyed me, but at that moment, I took comfort in his abounding confidence. Doing this all on my own, added a whole different dynamic between me and myself. This skydive meant so many different things to me. It was my way of facing my fears, letting go, literally of anything that I was holding onto and mastering my mind, in the face of the unknown. I had thought I would be petrified, but I clearly surprised myself, as I often do. As we gradually went up, with the distance between the ground and us increasing, the view of the entire landscape was awe-inspiring. I had never seen the deep blue ocean, it's infinite expanse and the mountainous terrain as I did in that moment. As the door opened and I knew it was time to take the plunge, I thought I would have had more butterflies in my tummy than I did. I focused on what I had to do, leaned back into him, crossed my arms and before I knew it, I was back flipping outside against gravity! Within seconds, we were facing down towards Earth, with me just falling in mid-air. It was INTOXICATING, loved each and every second of it. Soon enough, the parachute was out and it was a different sensation all together! I navigated us for a while, but I enjoyed gliding more than directing us. The twists and the turns while navigating towards the landing ground gave me butterflies, which I hadn't felt till then! Somehow, for me, it was scarier as we got closer to ground than it had been high up. All my friends were waiting on the landing ground, and to mess with all of us, Robbie swooped me really low, almost making it seem like we were going to collide! The landing was smooth, with my legs up in the air. I was slightly shaky and overwhelmed. WOW. 

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The next destination was Yosemite National Park. To break our journey, we stayed overnight at Merced, which is 1.5 hours away from Yosemite. Reservations commence months in advance, and the only way to grab a camping spot last minute is to avail the first-come first-serve options by reaching as early in the morning as possible. The weather was amazing through the morning but it became unbearably hot through the day, so hikes should be planned accordingly. The park itself is magnanimous, especially with the granite infused rocks. Half-dome and El Capitan are the distinctive features of the park. There are numerous hikes, and we decided to begin with the Venal Falls. The best part was finding secluded spots and dipping our feet into the freezing water. It was tranquil just sitting in the midst of these prodigious rocks, mountains and trees. One can easily spend a week in the park, exploring different hike trails and bar-be-que-ing it out. 

 

As it was time to head back, the only thing that resounded in my mind was, as Kipling rightly said, "San Francisco has only one drawback—‘tis hard to leave." Maybe I'll be back, hold your breath SF, I hope it won't be too much for you to handle. 

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- Kamiya Kumar