Today has been a long day so long I feel like I have lived it twice. Which is exactly what I did because I crossed the date line and time traveled. I guess you could call me Doctor Who.
Day one was spent packing a getting last minute things I needed together before boarding a 12 hour flight direct from Auckland to San Francisco. It was a night time flight so most people went to sleep but I only managed to get a measly 2 hours at best. Being in cattle class it was so hard to stretch out and get comfortable that I just gave up on trying to get to sleep. This meant I was able to watch 4 movies before we even landed.
When we finally did land we had landed more than 20 mins early so we were unable to go straight to our gate because a plane was already using it. Half an hour later we were able to disembark but only to end up in a 2 hour line through customs. I ended up with a customs officer that seemed to have a dry sense of humour. He asked me if I had a job and what is it so I explained to him that we do trust based reviews for Microsoft license and he made the joke “you do not know who you can trust just like I can’t trust you.” I laughed and he sniggered a little but I still don’t know if he was being serious or not.
Once I cleared customs I followed my instructions on where to be picked up only to find out that it was were I had come out in the first place. 20 mins later I was in my shuttle on the way to my hotel with an American who thought that the Tasmanian devil was a New Zealand animal. To his credit though he did know we had just reclaimed the America’s Cup.
On the journey to the hotel we passed a lot of homeless people some even seemed to have custom built huts put together by pieces of wood. Once I had check in I went for a walk down to Pier 1 and the ferry terminal and I passed many more homeless people. One asked me for a cigarette and another crazy lady just screamed as I walked past.
During my walk I saw all the classic stuff that told me I am in the US. Standing fire hydrants, giant man holes, classic crown vic police cars and even fire engine with its sirens blaring went past. San Francisco reminds me a little of Wellington but on a much bigger scale.
I know sit here exhausted at 7.20pm by a full day and a half rolled into one, still in slight disbelief that I am by myself, in a strange city that is living up to all the things I have heard about it. From the fog rolling in to the music and markets on the street. I look forward to exploring Alcatraz tomorrow and other parts of San Francisco.
