"Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there are no guarantees."
- Katie Couric
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
-- Helen Keller
First an update, and then some comments on my plans for tonight.
Yesterday was a long day of travel, and I have the blisters on my feet to show for it (from hoofing it through DFW and SFO airports with a heavy bag on my shoulder). OOF!
The payoff was when I got here and, once again, saw this great and beautiful city of San Francisco. Perfect blue skies and man, oh man, is the weather here awesome right now. :)
I was operating on 3 hours of sleep (with the blisters), so of course I walked halfway down Market Street to the Ferry Building and back, because when you're beat and your feet hurt, you really should torture yourself some more. :)
It was a great walk nevertheless, and the calories I burned paved the way for my fab-o meal at Alioto's. Mmmmmm... polished off with espresso and tiramisu... Mmmmm.
This a.m. I was up bright and early (not my usual, but this thing is still on Central Daylight Time folks). After an awesome breakfast in my room, I went out into the day and made a stop at a certain Federal building here in the area. I had a nice visit with a U.S. Deputy Marshal. He gave me some great info for the Big New Crime Novel I'm writing. No, I'm not going to tell you which Marshal or anything about it, because that would give things away too soon. It's going to be good, though. His info helped me tremendously.
That's the update.
Tonight I am going to see more of this great San Francisco Bay because I am going to be out ON IT! I'm taking the night cruise to Alcatraz. Woo-hoo!
Now, here's the hiccup. I am terrified of deep water - TERRIFIED. I'm not talking about a fear, people. I'm talking about a phobia - an epic one imprinted in my brain when I almost drowned as a kid - TWICE!
How do you get over something like this? You face it. I am lately in a mode to face a lot of things. This builds character and I don't believe there are any of us who can't use more of that - no matter how much of it we already have.
So, tonight I get on a boat and I go out into the Bay and I get to tour Alcatraz. They tell me it is more comprehensive than the day tour, and that an actual National Park Ranger will conduct said tour. I will also get some breathtaking shots of the Bay, San Francisco and the sun setting behind the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm focusing on all the positives. I'm not thinking about all the water - well, I'm trying not to think about all the water. I'll have my iPod and I'll hum to myself a lot and do some breathing until we get to the island. Once there, I'll be good. Of course, then I have to get back on the boat to get back to San Fran, but I'll have my iPod - have I mentioned the humming?
The humming/singing is a thought-switching technique someone taught me. It's preferable to hyperventilating, panicking and screaming. I'm sure the ferry captain would rather I hum/sing. :)
Tomorrow I have another insanely busy day, but I will try to upload some photos then - or maybe tonight after I get back. We'll see. Meanwhile, I continue to push my personal limits, because a big part of the adventure is the journey we take inside ourselves. Tonight's journey should be interesting.
Polla Filia,
J.F.
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