Mystical Trip

Mid-afternoon and total disarray, baggage everywhere, hastiness all around me,

shoving, pushing and yelling. I stop for a minute to pull myself together and I am

suddenly rushed outside only to find a million different color schemed cars. The sight of

this makes me feel as if I am in a futuristic movie. I soon find out that they are actually

the Californian version of what in Miami are bright mustard yellow taxis. Me and my

friends are suddenly shoved into one of the colored taxis and taken into the city.

Everything looks rather normal and ordinary at first but as I keep traveling down the

road I start seeing high mountains with trees and higher mountains with houses on top

of them. I see trolleys, cars, and taxis flying by us. Our taxi driver himself is somewhat

of a speed racer. I am in shock of the amount of action that is occurring all at once but

still fascinated by my surroundings. As we continue to travel we find ourselves deep into

the city, I see skyscrapers, mom-and- pop shops, cable cars and people walking all

around. It is a site similar to New York City but without as many lights and more of the

fascinating architecture. Starting with the Transamerica Pyramid and the Golden Gate

Bridge. All the sudden, the taxi comes to a complete stop and we get off. I look ahead

and see what up close seems to be one of the largest and differential buildings I have

ever seen, its our hotel. I walk through the revolving doors and have the feeling as Alice

had when she fell down the rabbit hole. I find myself in a large room with an enormous

sparking chandelier, historic frames, sinking sofas, and bright white lights. I leave my

bags with the bellhop and go off into the mouth of the city. I walk around and see

titanium buildings with fire escape stairs on the side. There are department stores and

so many different types of people smoking marijuana. I am thrilled to see the different

varieties of people and the spectacular ambiance. As we stroll down the sidewalk a lady

suddenly pees right in front of me while smoking a joint. This makes me laugh, feel

disturbed, and wonder so many things. Me and my friends are soon taken by our tour

guides (our teachers) to a Chinese restaurant. My initial feedback upon entering is that

something smells as if it died. I am completely starved and me and my best friends

place an order that seems as if it were for about 10 people. The food arrives and it is

truly disgusting but we smother it in duck sauce and discover a little more of what the

restaurant is truly about. They have small rooms with ruby red curtains in which “private

meetings” are held. On my way out I see that they grow tulips from onions which

explains the smell. I then walk into China town and enter one of the shops. I enter and

see many different Chinese toys, clothes, and objects I’ve never seen before. I see

stones, jewelry and flasks with different insects inside. I find an alien like stick with 7 thin

flimsy metal tubes and start to wonder what its use is. When I ask, I find out that it is

actually a head massager. When I place it on my head and slide it up and down my

cranium it gives me a chill all over my body that feels quite sensational.

I check in and go up 1 of the 8 elevators the hotel has in just one of their 11 buildings.

My room is gigantic and has an amazing view of the city. Looking out the window just

makes me want to explore more of what San Francisco has to offer. We are then called

into a meeting with our teachers in which we are given the spiel about everything that

we shouldn’t say and more of what we shouldn’t do. Soon after, me and my friends

return to our room and this is when we come up with a devious plan. We decide to

explore the city through our own eyes, right then and there we dress up undercover with

coats and sun glasses and go down to the lobby. We walk quickly so no one recognizes

us and gait to find ice cream, we walk for 5 blocks and find no ice cream place open.

Walking down the 6th block I smell something rather exotic and soon my perception

matches olfaction. Our search for ice cream shifts suddenly to a quest for Mary Juana. I

see a man at the bus stop which I suspect can guide us to a dispensary. Me and my

friends huddle and confab over who will ask him. I then am pushed to do it. I walk

towards the man nervously and ask him precisely if he knows where I can go. He points

down the street and tells me to be careful. I stand there looking at him rather confused

and respond “where exactly?” He then reaches into his bag and pulls out a Ziploc

completely stuffed with Marijuana he hands me a handful of it. I astounded, ask him

how much he wants for it and he responds “just have fun” I gleefully thank him and walk

back to my friends and soon end up smoking the best weed I have ever had. I thank him

and San Francisco for that.

The day after, I did a group tour of San Francisco and went on one of their famous

trolley buses around the city. There were enormous grassy mountains as well as trees

of all fine colors and bright emerald surrounding plants. There was even an albino tree

which was something I had never seen before. The Painted Ladies were certainly a

change in housing compared to many other major cities and definitely special since Full

House made them a big attraction. From the top of the bus, San Francisco’s many

aspects were reflected marvelously. There was a certain crisp in the air and comfort in

the breeze. Soon it started getting breezier and chills ran down my spine. There was fog

clouding my eyes as well as my judgment, we had finally reached the Golden Gate

Bridge! I felt an extreme satisfaction in the intricate architecture of this astonishing form

of transport. Once the bus dropped us off at the end of the bridge we took some very

elegant shots and later began to walk back. It was not the view of the bridge which

enjoyed so much but rather the lively experience of walking down it that made me

worship it so much. I admired deeply the work and sweat that went into building it, the

dedication it took to keep it running, and the many lives that were taken in part of it. San

Francisco truly leaves an imprint on those who visit it for all its architecture, nature, and

historic foundation. San Francisco gave me a whole new meaning to what a site truly is

and how it can change one’s entire outlook on a situation and life.