First Weekend in California!

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My first weekend in California was amazing! Saturday I spent the day at Dolores Park in San Francisco with a couple of friends from where I'm living. After picnicking in the park we went to a local Mexican restaurant and got amazing tacos and the walked across town to get fantastic ice cream with crazy flavors like strawberry balsamic, which was amazing. It was my first adventure on the subway which featured a performance from some very impressive dancers.

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend though. Alina and I traveled to San Francisco and spent the day traveling the Golden Gate park. At San Francisco the was a celebratory parade which was really cool to see.
            

We started the day on a bus which would take us to Point Bonita Lighthouse. On the way we got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge!

When we arrived at the lighthouse everything was so beautiful. Everywhere we walked there were amazing 360 degree views. We took a pathway through the side of the hill to get the lighthouse and then still had to cross a rickety to walk through the lighthouse. There was an occupancy limit on the small island the lighthouse was on so we had to wait in a short line, giving us plenty of time to take pictures! (I couldn't possibly portray how beautiful it was through pictures, but here's a few to give a taste)









   
                    


 After the lighthouse we walked along some trails on the hill to see some more amazing views. Then we took a trail to a small beach. It was almost completely empty aside from us. I waded knee-deep in the water and got my pants ended up a bit wet, but it was totally worth it to feel the waves and stand in the Pacific ocean. We ate a quick snack and enjoyed the sound of the ocean until we had to leave to get back to the bus. On the way to the bus we were blocked by the encroaching tide and some rock so we had to do some rock scaling to make it to the bus stop.

        



We took the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge and then got off to walk it. I thought I was excited when the bus drove over the bridge, but walking over it was so much better.
                     
 

                     
 



                     
 


After the bridge we were all tiring out and after a quick bus ride we stopped to eat. We had Afghan food, my first time trying it, and it was amazing!  After eating we walked about half an hour to get to the nearest subway station. It was a very successful, full, and amazing day. My best in California so far!














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