For my 21st birthday, my two closest friends and I traveled to San Francisco, California! This is the third post in my three-day series, so if you haven’t read Day 1 or Day 2, be sure to go check them out!
Day 3 began with a little bit of a slow start (probably since we had been out until 3am the previous day?). We meant to go to the Muir Woods National Monument to see the giant sequoias and take some amazing pictures, but sadly we did not have enough time. Instead, we went to the San Francisco City Hall.
The Opera House is a short walk away from the City Hall and since we were traveling with a professional ballerina, her one request for the trip was to visit the Opera House. Naturally, we ended up having a little mini photoshoot when we arrived.
After City Hall and the Opera House, we bought tickets to go to a sunset cruise on the bay from the “Red and White Fleet” ($70 for the ticket) at Fisherman’s Warf and decided to go to the Golden Gate Bridge. Back at Fisherman’s War, I bought a hilarious touristy “San Francisco” hat for the cruise since I knew that it would be windy and I wanted something to cover my ears (I hate when my ears are cold. It makes my head hurt.). We also bought some delicious funnel cake fries as a snack because I thought that they looked too good not to buy — and they were so delicious!
We Uber’d from Fisherman’s Warf to the Golden Gate Bridge since it is quite a long walk. It was a little bit chillier this day and it was very windy, so I was glad that I bought my hat.
We stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center and took some pictures before getting onto the bridge. It was, sadly, an overcast and slightly foggy day; it was quite chilly on the bluff and very windy. Regardless of the weather, we got some pretty amazing pictures of the bridge.
Eventually we wandered onto the path to walk on the bridge and began walking across. We were on a bit of a time crunch so we were only able to make it 1/3rd of the way across (to the first big post), but it was enough to see some amazing views. It is crazy because you can feel the bridge moving and bouncing as cars and trucks drive across — and it’s such a popular bridge that it’s always filled with automobiles. On the bridge, they have attached a metal fence behind the standard safety rails and I couldn’t help but think of the hundreds of jumpers. I imagined what it would be like to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge — an idea that both terrified and excited me (I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie so jumping off a bridge would be a thrill more than an attempt on my life). Jumping off doesn’t always kill you, but it does hurt. Anyways. Sorry for the drastic turn of events. Back to the bridge! I loved capturing pictures of bridge close up and playing with perspective. At one point, we saw the reflection of the bridge on the water and it looked really cool. Seeing this giant red bridge in person is inspiring. It’s a feat of human accomplishment and a testament to what happens when great minds combine to work towards a common goal.
When we got off the bridge, we Uber’d again back to the warf for dinner and our sunset cruise. My travel-mates bought fresh seafood from the vendors on the warf and I bought a tomato soup in a sourdough bread bowl, which was delicious and warmed me up nicely after the brisk wind on the bridge.
As I mentioned before, I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie and being on boats is one of my favorite things ever. I love being on the water, feeling completely separate from the rest of society and swaying with the swells of the ocean. It gives me a sense of calm. For my companions on the other hand, boats can cause a bit of seasickness. While I was bouncing around the boat snapping pictures of Alcatraz and the harbors, they sat calmly and steadily. Luckily, everybody was fine throughout our cruise.
This sunset cruise was lovely because they had a live performer/singer throughout the cruise and the company provided snacks and drinks. We all got wine, but I ended up not drinking much of mine (partly because I split it in my excitement and partly because I’m not a big drinker).
My favorite part of the cruise was watching the sunset on the Golden Gate Bridge. They perfectly timed the cruise so that we were right underneath and around the bridge at sunset. I was on the upper deck the entire time, snapping (literally) a couple hundred pictures. By the time the cruise was over, I was completely frozen and the sun had fully set.
That night we didn’t do anything exciting besides pack and sleep, and we woke up early the next morning to catch our flights home. We had breakfast at this delicious crepe cafe near the hotel called “Honey Honey Cafe and Crepery.” I got an “SBK Crepe,” a crepe filled with strawberry, banana, and kiwi — yum! Flying out, my original flight was cancelled and the new flight was delayed an hour and a half because the fog was causing complications on the runway. Eventually, I made it home to D.C. at around 1am the next day.
Being in San Francisco with my gorgeous girls was so amazing and I am so thankful that they came with me! It is definitely an adventure that I will never forget.
This concludes my three-day series about my adventures in San Francisco with my closest girlfriends! Thank you so much for reading!
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Thank you for reading! Have you ever traveled to San Francisco, California? What did you do to celebrate your 21st birthday? Let me know in the comments below and like this post if you want more like it!
Xoxo’s
Emmalee
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Emmalee Mauldin 
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