James's Top 3
08 September 2011
By Jamers
Our first big stop and one of my favorites was SanFrancisco. Driving underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, we stared at soaring towers that seemed to pierce the sky. We stayed in Schoonmaker Marina in Sausalito. On our second day we took a ferry across the bay to San Francisco.
Once docked, we walked down the ferry landing into town. Wandering around the town we finally came to the sourdough bread company. Wafting through the air were wonderful aromas of baking breads and sweets. I got a lemon bar and a mini sour dough turtle. Next we walked down to the fisherman's wharf, and bought some crab to go on our bread, delicious! Finished with our snack, we split up, my mom and sister went shopping, and my dad and I went to Ripley's Believe it or Not!
Ripley's Believe it or Not was one of the most fun things I did in San Francisco. My favorite parts were the mirror maze and the shrunken head exhibit. The shrunken heads were cool and creepy at the same time, a perfect Ripley's combination. The mirror maze was a blast I ran into the glass so many times I might have given myself brain damage. After Ripley's we all met back at Ghiradelli Square, and had ice-cream cones. Next we walked to the ferry landing and went back home.
Another highlight of San Francisco was Chinatown. The assortment of shops and restaurants was baffling. My favorite part was the seafood shops and the hanging chickens and ducks. In the seafood shops, there were live frogs and fish, plus shelled turtles and dead eels. For dinner we had Chinese food of course. I had good ole chicken-on-a stick.
Our next big stop was Santa Barbara. I was ecstatic because this was the first place that had some really nice surf. The first day I hit the surf to go body surfing. The second day my dad finally bought a couple of boogie boards, so Sydney and I could really have some fun. If you ask me boogie boarding is infinitely more fun than body surfing, and way easier. Sydney and I caught wave after wave. On a boogie board, you can also ride the waves for much longer.
Santa Barbara was our favorite place yet. It was a very sad departure. What other great places await us on this epic adventure?