Last week, the girls and I spent five days in San Francisco. After speaking at GirlVentures' EMPOWER! Breakfast, Alex, Sage, and I embarked on quite a bit of sightseeing. San Francisco is a beautiful city and there was a lot to enjoy.
We visited Chinatown...
...rode the cable cars...
...bought a yummy sourdough turtle at Boudin...
...hung out with the sea lions at Pier 39...
...window shopped at Fisherman's Wharf...
...toured Alcatraz...
...and hugged some trees.
It was a wonderful five days; we'll definitely visit again.
In addition to the usual happy tourist fare, the girls and I came face to face with a heartbreaking reality. We walked through five blocks of the Tenderloin district and saw dozens of homeless men sleeping on the sidewalks, people using drugs and alcohol on the street, and one man who may or may not have been dying (I made a telephone call on his behalf). I am not a stranger to these sights; having lived many years in Chicago and New York City, I'm used to walking through all kinds of neighborhoods and seeing extreme examples of poverty. This, however, was the first time the girls had ever been confronted with such dark realities. I hadn't brought them into the area on purpose -- we were trying to find a DVD store and the neighborhood changed drastically from one block to the next. I am glad, however, that Alex and Sage witnessed what they did. I believe they came out of the experience with a new consciousness and a resolve to help others. I'll write more about our brief time in the Tenderloin on Monday.
Enjoy the (cold!) weekend, folks.
No comments:
Post a Comment