Hotel California
It is Monday 6:03 p.m. pacific time and I am in the business center of the SF Airport Hyatt. Things certainly could be worse. I could have NOT sat in my seat on the Nashville tarmac for 3 hours only seconds before takeoff due to weather in ATL and made my original flight out of Atlanta. ("Look kids, Big Ben. Parliament.") I COULD have caught my 12:05 a.m. flight to Taipei out of S.F. but instead I missed it by 3 hours. I could have made it all the way to Bangkok with my bags checked through instead of having to pick up my luggage (all 3-bags and 110 lbs. of it) in SF at 3:30 am, drag it through a deserted airport, up a flight to the departure lounge, across a rainy roadway to the shuttle median, and wait for the Hyatt shuttle which allowed me to fall asleep at 5:30 a.m. pacific time. I could have NOT gone through the hassle of all that and made all my flights with clear weather only to now be somewhere in the middle of the Indonesian earthquake.
So instead of making all my flights and being in SL right now, I missed one flight, an 8.7 Indonesian earthquake, and spent a perfect day walking up and down the hills of San Francisco with trolley bells in my ears and SF Bay waves at my feet. Happy accident or just an accident? I think attitude decides. This lesson never gets old to me and I hope to always recognize it; By not predefining your path you allow the path to define you.
I had pulled an all-nighter on the plane from ATL to SF since I was determined to bust through the inevitable jetlag a day early. Knowing that I would pick up my Taipei flight the following midnight, I knew I was still on schedule sleep-wise. That was until my room phone rang at about 10:30 a.m. and my dad told me no problem with my flights being rescheduled (thanks again dad and Sandra!) but I may want to turn on the news as there was another large earthquake in the same area as Dec. 26th! Of course, who knows what would have been, but arriving a few days late in SL and touring SF instead has to be better than being somewhere in Asia between flights when that earthquake hit.
There is a flight from Bangkok to Colombo only every other day, so when I missed my flight out of SF we decided for me to wait here 2 days instead of just one. This allows me to avoid an overnight stay in Bangkok with 110 lbs of luggage in tow. Again.
I have just returned from riding the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) which is SF's rail system into downtown SF and the bay area. I got off BART at the Powell Street Station and the place was hopping with energy. Blue skies and 65 degrees and alone in SF! Where do I go first? I paid $3 for a one-way trolley ride up and over the hills all the way to it's end-of-line just short of Fishermans Wharf. A 10 minute walk found me in the heart of the seafood district and all the shrimp and crab sandwiches a person could want.
I had a nice lunch with an older couple from NY. I didn't catch their names and they didn't get mine but they both were stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack, have lived in Saudi Arabia, and had a sense of humor to match. Good stuff.
From there I walked along the bay park and just enjoyed the street vendors, sights and sounds. The people here are as diverse as the landscape. I think a few have been here way too long. :) After about 5-10 miles and 4 hours of walking up and down, up and down, and back up again, I made my way back to the BART and hotel where I now sit. Walking the hills of SF on five hours of sleep after an all-nighter in wild airplane rides takes it's toll. I may do some more touring tomorrow before finally making my way west/far-east at midnight but I may need more rest.
I found a place to burn a few pics onto a CD and have loaded them in the album. Some are posted sideways so I'll have to figure that out later. Take a look and I'll see you in Taipei. (maybe)
-Chris
So instead of making all my flights and being in SL right now, I missed one flight, an 8.7 Indonesian earthquake, and spent a perfect day walking up and down the hills of San Francisco with trolley bells in my ears and SF Bay waves at my feet. Happy accident or just an accident? I think attitude decides. This lesson never gets old to me and I hope to always recognize it; By not predefining your path you allow the path to define you.
I had pulled an all-nighter on the plane from ATL to SF since I was determined to bust through the inevitable jetlag a day early. Knowing that I would pick up my Taipei flight the following midnight, I knew I was still on schedule sleep-wise. That was until my room phone rang at about 10:30 a.m. and my dad told me no problem with my flights being rescheduled (thanks again dad and Sandra!) but I may want to turn on the news as there was another large earthquake in the same area as Dec. 26th! Of course, who knows what would have been, but arriving a few days late in SL and touring SF instead has to be better than being somewhere in Asia between flights when that earthquake hit.
There is a flight from Bangkok to Colombo only every other day, so when I missed my flight out of SF we decided for me to wait here 2 days instead of just one. This allows me to avoid an overnight stay in Bangkok with 110 lbs of luggage in tow. Again.
I have just returned from riding the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) which is SF's rail system into downtown SF and the bay area. I got off BART at the Powell Street Station and the place was hopping with energy. Blue skies and 65 degrees and alone in SF! Where do I go first? I paid $3 for a one-way trolley ride up and over the hills all the way to it's end-of-line just short of Fishermans Wharf. A 10 minute walk found me in the heart of the seafood district and all the shrimp and crab sandwiches a person could want.
I had a nice lunch with an older couple from NY. I didn't catch their names and they didn't get mine but they both were stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack, have lived in Saudi Arabia, and had a sense of humor to match. Good stuff.
From there I walked along the bay park and just enjoyed the street vendors, sights and sounds. The people here are as diverse as the landscape. I think a few have been here way too long. :) After about 5-10 miles and 4 hours of walking up and down, up and down, and back up again, I made my way back to the BART and hotel where I now sit. Walking the hills of SF on five hours of sleep after an all-nighter in wild airplane rides takes it's toll. I may do some more touring tomorrow before finally making my way west/far-east at midnight but I may need more rest.
I found a place to burn a few pics onto a CD and have loaded them in the album. Some are posted sideways so I'll have to figure that out later. Take a look and I'll see you in Taipei. (maybe)
-Chris
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