So my dad took me to the airport at 4:30am.  What an early start to the day.  I slept on the plane for about 2 hours.

Okay, I actually worked in Oakland during my stay here, and that is the ONLY time that I hung out in Oakland. I didn't care for it that much, but my opinion doesn't really count on Oakland, I never really gave it a chance. Hello, Alameda and San Francisco were at the my finger tips, I didn't really have time for Oakland. If you've been in that area, you know what I mean.

There is nothing better then revisiting, or shall I say rediscovering activities and attractions of your youth. I went to the Oakland Zoo on Saturday and had the opportunity to see some of those magical creatures that you only read about in books or see on the Discovery Channel. A very own Giraffe, Chimpanzee and Camel were practically in my backyard! It's amazing with the hussle and bussle of 'grown-up' life how easily we forget about such 'neato' places in the area where we can escape to see interesting wildlife or *sigh* just take in a piece of the world that we wouldn't do on any other day. It was adventurous, exciting and I have to admit, I felt 9 all over again looking at the snakes, tucans and African wildlife at the zoo...

Today I joined my friend Joel and a big group of his friends for a MAN HIKE in celebration of his friend Tony's birthday.  We traversed the hillsides outside of Oakland, California, in the area of Mount Diablo. Afterwards we met up with the lady counterparts of the men for a barbeque. A great group of people!

There was a lot of things making this trip a hardship. The day before Anthony was in an accident. Nina had to finish up her laywer stuff but damnit we said we would go and we did.
I got up bright and early saturday morning. Picked up Nina and then picked up Anthony. The brother had generiously allowed me to use his car, A Honda Accord so save on gas, I have a Silverado. We were on schedule all morning. We had drinks and were on our way by 9:30. Nina and Anthony had never met before so this ride was giving them a chance to met and talk and get to know one another. Now we are telling stories and laughing and having a blast in the car.  Which is why i think I never saw the freeway split. Now we had stopped off in Gorman to get some gas and a potty break. We hop out and its snowing. We are amazed. Snow!! We quickly get back on the road because we don't want his cute white fluffy snow to be a problem. We keep going going going and finally we pull over for another potty break (we have the bladders of two year olds). I pull back onto the freeway when I see the sign for the 99. Where the hell is the 5? I'm supposed to be on the 5 freeway. Its a great grand awesome  freeway that travels the length of California. Alas, I had missed the split in all the chatter and we were now in Fresno. sigh! We keep driving and I seen all kinds of grape orchards and I look at them pointing saying, "Wine Trees" We then proclaimed grapes to be wine nuggets. This was the first idiocracy of the day.
I called Chris for directions and then promptly ignored them when I seen a sign for Gilroy. One thing I know about Gilroy besides the Garlic Capital of the world is that its near the 5 and Monterey and Salinas and all kinds of other cities I know. We take this lone highway and head towards Gilroy. We finally see some sort of civilization and we have reached the city of Los Banos, which has, to our happiness, a Chillis. YAY. Our plan had included stopping for Margaritas on the way up. We go in and we get margaritas and we grub. We are so hungry. Anthony and I finish Nina's Margarita and I'm the freaking driver. I get back on the road fuller and happier and we find the 5!! yay!!
We're now on our way again. We are hours behind and everyone keeps calling to find out where we are. But we're happy and singing along to the Ipod and just having blast. We finally arrive in Oakland at about 4:30.
We meet up with Chris. Find the house we will stay at that night and then head over to SF. Chris has this lovely FastTrax so we don't have to stop to pay the tolls. We go over to Fisherman's Wharf and walk around. We buy some Clam Chowder and crab and squid and then feed each other on the steps.
Anthony is a first timer to SF so we do a Golden Gate run. We head over and its perfect timing. We stop at the vista point and take pictures toegther. Right at sunset. I sent a picture text to my brother to show him how awesome it is and he hates me and is jealous.
Savoring the beauty we head over to the Palace of Fine Arts. Another beautiful thing to show a visitor. Unfortunately they are making it beautiful again, it had all kinds of scaffolding and construction work being done on it. So he missed out on that one.
Chris decides to show us the Capitol of the City, aka City Hall. Idiocracy2 #. Where in Anthony proceeds to ask if thats where the Mayor lives Idiocracy #3.
To try and still the idiots we head up to Twin Peaks for a view. Its night time now and butt ass cold and the wind is freezing. But the view is cleear and incredible. We stay for as long as we can hang holding onto one another and finally getting into the warmth of the car.
It wasn't warm for too  long. We pulled over to get glammed up to go to this club. The girls are getting hoochied out while Anthony does his hair and tries not to look as we're throwing shirts on and off.
Chris takes us to this really ghetto area on 6th street. The club is dead but they still make you wait outside to make it look happening. Theres two levels and the downstairs is closed. I kind of freaked out here. There was no Bud Light. My staple beer was not at this club. I ended up with the worst cranberry vodka ever. I switched to Malibu and Pineapple juice just to survive. I had 5. Anthony started with Miller Light and then found plain Budweiser then we bought him a drink and asked what he wanted. He said to surprise him. He was surprised when we came back with this fat ass bottle of Red Stripe.
The club was hip hop and reggae. This night Sister Nancy was performing downstairs which finally opened and became one big hot box area. Going down there could get you light headed quickly. Anthony and Nina and I were like 3 very sore thumbs sticking out like crazy. The hip hop room above wasn't much better. We were so out of place. Sister Nancy finally came on at 1:15 and Chris came to get us not long afterwards.  We headed back to the car and she bought pizza and fed it to me the ride home. That was the best pizza ever, until I remembered how much of a contact high I had and realized why it was so good.
We were exhausted after the long hard day. Anthony and I shared a room and as soon as our heads hit the pillows we were awake and gigglying and talking. We finally crashed and fell asleep.
It was the most interesting day!

Heute sehr früh morgens haben wir den 47sten nördlichen Breitengrad überschritten - Graz liegt auf derselben Breite. Während des Frühstücks hat es sogar ein wenig geschneit. Vancouver Island, sowie ein paar Wale (Killerwale laut Kapitän), waren bereits am Horizont zu erkennen - auch dort liegt noch ein wenig Schnee. Bevor es nach Vancouver geht, machen wir noch einen kleinen Umweg über Seattle.

Nach dem Mittagessen hat es erneut kurz zu schneien begonnen, was bei den beiden australischen Passagieren für große Begeisterung gesorgt hat - beide haben in ihrem mehr als 70 Jahre langen Leben erst ein einziges (!) Mal Schnee aus der Nähe gesehen. Liegen geblieben ist er natürlich nicht. Seattle liegt am Ende eines Fjords, die Fahrt durch denselben hat einige Zeit gedauert. Um halb drei nachmittags haben wir in einem kleinen Hafen namens Port Angeles einen Lotsen aufgenommen, gegen sechs Uhr abends haben wir direkt vor Seattles Skyline geankert und zwei Stunden darauf gewartet, daß der Liegeplatz im Hafen frei wird. Gegen neun Uhr abends war das Schiff endlich vertäut. Die Abfahrt ist erst für morgen Abend vorgesehen, das heißt, wir haben den ganzen morgigen Tag Zeit, um Seattle unsicher zu machen.

Heute sind wir der nordamerikanischen Westküste Richtung Norden gefolgt - in einigem Abstand, sodaß vom Festland nichts zu sehen war. Seit dem Äquator nehmen die Temperaturen ständig ab, schon in Mexiko wurde die Klimaanlage abgestellt, mittlerweile wäre es Zeit, die Heizung anzuwerfen. Als ich meine Kabine bezogen habe, habe ich eine zweite Decke bekommen - bis heute abend habe ich sie nicht gebraucht, heute abend war es aber in der Kabine schon ziemlich kühl, von draußen ganz zu schweigen.

Die Ankunft in Oakland war für etwa sechs Uhr morgens vorgesehen. Es ist dann zwar doch ein wenig später geworden, aber ich bin schon sehr früh aufgestanden, um die Golden Gate Bridge zu sehen. Dieselbe war, trotz morgentlicher Dunkelheit, schon von Ferne zu erkennen. Wir sind unter der Brücke durch, vorbei an Alcatraz, in den Hafen von Oakland gefahren. Die ganzen Schauergeschichten über die US-amerikanischen Zollbeamten sind uns gottseidank erspart geblieben - die beiden waren sehr nett.

Gegen halb zehn konnten wir (drei Passagiere) das Schiff verlassen. Ein Bus hat uns zum Gate gebracht, von dort wollten wir mit dem Taxi ins Stadtzentrum von San Francisco. Das Taxi ist nach gut 20 Minuten aufgetaucht, der indische Fahrer konnte kaum Englisch und hat sich ganz offensichtlich überhaupt nicht ausgekannt. Wir haben ihn gebeten, uns bei einem Informationsbüro im Stadtzentrum abzusetzen. Er hat gemeint, dafür bräuchte er die Adresse (die wir natürlich nicht wußten). Abgesetzt hat er uns schließlich ganz woanders, nämlich am Nordende der Golden Gate Bridge, wo es seiner Auskunft nach alles geben sollte, Info, Souvenirshop, Busse etc. Außer einer Informationstafel und großzügigen Mengen sanitärer Anlagen war aber dort genau gar nichts.

Wir haben uns zu Fuß auf den Rückweg gemacht - über die Golden Gate Bridge, die schon ziemlich beeindruckend groß und recht lang ist - und so hoch, daß die Spitzen der Brückenpfeiler in den Wolken verschwunden sind. Vom anderen Ende wollten wir dann den Bus ins Stadtzentrum nehmen. Nach ziemlich langer Wartezeit ist der auch aufgetaucht, aber wir mußten umsteigen und der Anschlußbus ist natürlich nicht gekommen. Ich wollte in einer Bank Geld wechseln - US in kanadische Dollars. Amerikanische Banken wechseln offenbar nur Geld, wenn man dort auch ein Konto hat. Ich wurde an eine Wechselstube verwiesen. Dafür war aber leider keine Zeit mehr, wir haben noch ein Mittagessen besorgt und sind ein wenig durch die Stadt spaziert - dann war es aber schon wieder Zeit, zum Hafen nach Oakland zurückzukehren. Dorthin haben wir uns wieder von einem Taxi bringen lassen - der Fahrer war aber diesmal deutlich ortskundiger als der erste.

Zehn Minuten vor drei Uhr waren wir wieder beim Schiff (Drei Uhr war Deadline), pünktlich um 16:30h sind wir wieder abgefahren. Der Hafen und die Bucht von San Francisco sind sehr groß und es sind nur sehr langsame Geschwindigkeiten erlaubt. Als wir Alcatraz und die Golden Gate Bridge in abendlichem Sonnenschein passiert haben, war es bereits sieben Uhr abends, mein Abendessen habe ich deswegen heute ein wenig verschoben. Nachdem die beiden Lotsen das Schiff verlassen haben, ging es weiter Richtung Norden - nächstes Ziel: Seattle.

6:15 pm

Thoughts:
As long as I know right from wrong, I’ll be OK, I’ll sing my song. I am so excited to start a new life! I feel as if I am going to my other home, full of long time friends and happy memories. Just waiting in the bar at the airport, I have already made 4 friends: Lynn, Marilyn and John, and Stephani. They all live on the island and I have exchanged contact information with them. Marilyn even offered to hook me up with her daughter who will need a sublet at the same time I am done volunteering Kalani Honua!

Being:
Right now, I am sitting in a plane seat, glancing out the window on my right. I see hazy clouds and deep blue ocean. There is a movie playing and I’m writing to you, in this here journal. The beginning of many journal entries about my adventure of life. Thanks for joining me.

The Parkway is not a typical movie theater. It has couches, armchairs and tables, and best of all they serve pizza, beer and wine there. It makes for a relaxed and comfortable environment. They have a decent selection of beverages and pizza was surprisingly good. Someone near me ordered nachos which looked good. They had salsa, beans and real cheese... none of that mystery cheese you usually find a regular movie theaters. The theater is old and the one downside is that if you are short and sitting in the back, it is all one level which can make it hard to see subtitles if you are sitting behind a tall person! I went to the Parkway for the "Sunday Salon" which is on the first Sunday of every month from 2-4pm. Local organizations can present a documentary about a certain issue and follow it up with a discussion about the subject of the film. Admission is free for the Sunday Salon. They were showing Favela Rising (http://favelarising.com) for February's event- a movie about guys in a slum in Rio who used music and education to fight violence in a slum in Rio. So of course this was right up my alley. Driving up I saw a group of kids congregating in from of the theater with drums. I was not expecting this so it was exciting. Just before the movie started, they started playing in the lobby, made their way down the aisle and on to the stage of the theater. They were a fairly young group of kids and I was impressed. They are called Loco Bloco (http://locobloco.org/). They have a limited selection of movies, some are recent and some are old. They show Rocky Horror picture show almost every Saturday. It is 21+ because of the alcohol but on Sundays and Saturday matinees it is all ages. Wednesday nights are two for one. They have a bunch of other events that you can check out on their website. Parking is decent in the area. On a Sunday afternoon it was easy because I didn't have to worry about the meter. Check it out, it's an interesting place!

Sit haettiin Yael (12 v. Ranskasta) Oaklandista. Hirveet ruuhkat ja kuumuus. Maggy oli koko aika mua lähellä, piti kiinni joko kädestä tai lanteilta.

Sit kotona vielä kävelylle betonilaivaa katsomaan.

Se ranskalainen tyttö vaikuttaa todella mukavalta (kielikurssilla). Se on lukenut enkkua vain 3 vuotta eikä kauheesti osaa, joten se puhuu aika paljon ranskaa Mollylle. En juurikaan ymmärrä. Maggyä jännitti hirveesti sen tulo: ”Nyt mun lyhyet hiukset ei sovi farkkuihin” (Molly leikkasi sen hiukset) tai ”Nyt hiukset näyttää typerältä pitkien sukkien kanssa”, ”Mitähän se Yaelkin ajattelee”. Hassuja aatoksia senkin päässä pyörii, naurattavia suorastaan. Mut on se oikein suloinen silti.

Molly pisti mun hiuksiin sellasen palmikon nauhoista.

Täällä syödään hienosti ja elämä loistaa. Viinirypäleitä eilen pisteltiin poskiimme.

On niin vaikea uskoa, että lähden jo maanantaina. En tahdo! Tai kyllä toisaalta, mutta ajatus jo nyt melkein rupee itkettämään. Entäpä sitten lähdön hetkellä?Aarg!

Oakland

 Ja haettiinhan me Pål (26 v. ruotsalainen) Oaklandin lentoasemalta. Se on hirmu mukava. Pelattiin muutamaa peliä koko porukka ja hauskaa oli. Joe, Mollyn kaveri tuli myös. Ne lähtee huomenna Joen äidin häihin.

Jeanne sanoi, et on niin ikävää, kun mun pitää lähtee jo maanantaina. Melkein tuli kyyneleet silmiin. Molly taas siihen, et ei kannata ajatella sitä nyt, vaan pitää pitää kivaa tää loppuaika. Maggykin on vaan  halaillut ja antanut pusuja poskelle. Sillä on jo valmiix ikävä mua. En tahdo lähtee. On niin ikävää, kun just tuli lisää porukkaakin taloon ja just sillon mun pitää lähtee. On paljon kivompi, kun on hälinää ja porukkaa talossa. Paljon hauskempaa. Yael on vaan nukkunut melkein koko päivän. Mahdan mäkin olla väsynyt, kun kotiin pääsen. Pidin siis Los Angelesia kivompana kuin San Franciscoa. Viimeinen on paljon eurooppalaisempi kuin ensimmäinen. Haikea olo. Onnex voin aina edes kirjoittaa näille ihanille ihmisille.

No pictures.. just my stressful story of tonight =/

I went to San Lorenzo to pick up Mel so that we can go visit our nephew in the hospital.  I had the directions all printed out but little did I know those directions would make me drive in circles.  We went from San Lorenzo to circling around Berkeley, then swinging around Emeryville (which is where we exited to get back onto 880 which we thought was going to bring us to the right exit).  

We were then on 80 for just a quick minute or two, to the right of us we could be in San Francisco in about 15 to 20 mins depending on traffic at the toll bridge, but we veered left to enter 880S.  We followed the directions coming from 880N, but that still didn't help us.  I was getting so stressed actually by the time we were in the Emeryville, I was starting to lose my mind because we were on a timelimit so that we could get there before visiting hours were over.  But I kept my cool if cousin wasn't with me I think I would've lost my mind and turned around to go home, without being able to to see my cutie little nephew. 

So still on route.. once we exited where the directions told us where to go.. we kept going and going and since the two of us were so blind-ish (I had my glasses on and she had her contacts on and we still couldn't read the street signs no matter how hard we tried.. wish we had a 20/20 vision guide with us, but no such luck) by the time we kind of knew where we were going, sorta kinda, we were in the wrong lane, and that wrong lane was going towards the Alameda Posey Tube.  So of course we had no choice but to go through the Posey Tube.  And then I said "Great.. we're going to Alameda.. I hate Alameda" i don't exactly hate it, but I truly dislike driving there.  Ever since I had my own little adventure years ago trying to find the yacht where my friend's wedding was (that day was such a crazy day.. can't get into that story.. but in the end I did find the dock before the yacht left, so they did not leave me.. so that was the good part), since then I try my very best to avoid driving in Alameda.  I made my calls to try and find help to get to my destination and sister and brother tried their best to help me with Mapquest or whatever but geez I got myself lost and even more lost.

We circled around the the other side of the Tube and made our way back to Oakland.. but we didn't really end up in the same area we were before.. so yeah.. L-O-S-T again!!  I did a couple circles around downtown Oakland but then we finally somehow, with no understanding of our own, but help from sister via cell phone instructions and I guess internet help we found it... Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.  When we turned the corner and made our way up towards the parking garage we both kinda thought something.. WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE.. creepy.. nope.. pretty crazy and silly of us.  We've both been here before about 3 years ago almost 4 years ago, when my friend gave birth to her 2nd child. 

I couldn't believe it, and I thought was it that hard finding the place 3 years ago??  Probably not,  I seriously don't know what was wrong tonight.  I know who I can partly blame our little mishap tonight on.. the hospital directions I printed out.  Next time I will look the website just for the address and mapquest from there.  Or maybe I'll purchase a book of maps of the bay area.. since I have a tendency to get lost ((mostly in Alameda)).. or maybe I can spring and go all out for some type of GPS system.

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I was super excited to be arriving at the airport. Being that this was going to be my first time in San Francisco, I was anticipating to have the best time of my life. I had been invitied to celebrate one of my friends b-day this weekend. The birthday girl is the kind of person that likes to have everything planned. When I say planned, I mean it. Put it this way, everything always seems to been planned on an hour by hour basis. We arrived (myself and my cousins wife) at the airport at about 9:30pm. We knew that we were going to go out that night. We were under the assumption that we were going to have the chance to get dressed at my friends house before we left for the club...well, how about changing at the airport bathroom...yeah, I was not a happy camper. To top it off we were being rushed...we changed, got picked up, and headed down to Harlot in SF....story to be continued