Day 32: San Francisco

We woke up early today, to enjoy a Sunday morning church service and were welcomed by the congregation. After the sermon we were treated to a Father’s Day lunch at the church. We talked with several members about our journey and they gave us advice about the trip that still lies ahead of us. We have a whole new set of challenges with heading down the coast.

After lunch we chilled out at the house to watch the tube and take quick naps. How we miss naps… : )

While we stayed at the apartment Alyson and me were featured on Alyson’s dad’s (Karl) radio show, a father’s day special. We talked about our journey thus far and spoke about suicide prevention. It was our first time every doing a live radio show. We didn’t think that we would have a lot to say, especially when Karl told us we would have an hour. We were like, a whole hour! What are we going to do? But it went well, we found that we had a lot more to say then we thought. After the show Alyson and I shared a couple of hi-fives for a job well done. Here's the podcast:

After the show we took another nap…..did I mention how we miss naps? We woke up at 5pm to head out for dinner.

It is our one-month anniversary on the road!! We decided to celebrate. Thanks to my uncle, Victor Blanco, he bought us a fancy dinner to accommodate this special occasion. We dressed up and headed down to the Crustacean, a three star restaurant in the heart of San Francisco, known for their Dungeness crab. Thanks to him we were able to spoil ourselves.

While this was our final night we had to ride the trolleys. It felt like a rollercoaster; good think we weren’t riding our bikes down the hills….

Before I call it quits for the night, I would like to say to all the fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! We wouldn’t be where we are today without our dads. I am blessed to have a good relationship with my dad, even though I know a lot of people out there aren’t as lucky.

I was born a day before Father’s Day. My dad tells me the story every Father’s Day about the day I came into this world. He recalls being at a Burger King in El Paso, TX feeling both the fear and excitement at being a new dad. Asking the questions “Am I ready”, “Well I be able to do this”, but his fear dissipating when he thinks to himself “I am a Father”. I don’t know how that could feel; it scares me to think about it. Could I raise a new person in this world? But I think that is how the best things happen in life. They are mixed with both fear and adventure. I’ve learned on this trip that the hardest days, the hardest routes, are often my favorite. Whether it is having a child come into this world and feeling inadequate or biking to Alaska without any clue at what to expect or just stepping into the unknown I think it can be said that that is where the best rewards lie. So to top off our last day in San Francisco I would like to say, I love you DAD! Have a good day.

-Justin Brown