We turned a corner and ran into a bunch of roosters! If you all could have seen the kids chasing the roosters across the lawn you would have cracked up!
We then got in the bus and drove straight to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch! After a quick lunch, we went to the tenderloin district to Glide which is a non-profit focused on the homeless in S.F. The director of the facility met with us for aboout 30 minutes and really laid it out for the kids in straight, blunt language. We all put on HAIR NETS, plastic gloves and aprons...that was a hoot. We looked like a bad flashback to a Lucy show! We worked a 3 hour shift doing everything from serving food, to busing tables, to running supplies. Bill cleaned and stacked all the trays for the shift! We served 633 meals. What was amazing to all of us was the number of folks who looked just like us...there by the grace of God go all of us. We met lots of nice folks, lots of scary folks, and all of them in need of love and grace.
We are staying in a hostel which is located on the bay near the Golden Gate bridge with beautiful view. It was built in the Civil War (1863) to house troops. It has not been updated since!
For dinner, we all opted to go back down to the Wharf. The kids had a terrific time and loved all the "wonderful" stores. I am sure that you will see and maybe receive a few of these treasures!
We got back to the hostel and chilled a little bit...they were pretty wound up about their new sleeping arrangements!
THURSDAY
The bus picked us up at 9 am to go to Alcatraz. It is a beautiful day - we had a clear view of everything! Bill led a quick expedition to Pier 39 to see Sea Lions who were showing off for the crowd. Ben Jernigan won the sounds most like a sea lion contest!
Alcatraz impressed the kids. Our tour guide got an Alcatraz employee to lock us in one of the 3 maximum security solitary confinement "holes"...let me just say DARK. However, we had plenty of folks with us at least!
We hustled off the island grabbed lunch and started our National Lampoon tour of San Fran...we went to Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, and walked down it! Then we went past the Castro, Postcard Row, Twin Peaks (gorgeous), Grace Cathedral and the Haight. We had the best time looking for tattoos for everyone to get a matching one! ...just kidding.
Grace Cathedral is the most fabulous Episcopal church I have ever seen. It reminds me of Notre Dame, except it is cleaner, brighter, and more beautiful.
The kids were all very into this church...without us telling them to many of the kids enjoyed the labyrynth, many of the kids found pews and quiet time for prayer, while others lit candles. I think what most thrilled me was that we hadn't said a word other than - we are going to see Grace Cathedral. Their actions were their own.We went to Chinatown for dinner and to wander through the streets. Fun, adventurous, and exciting for the kids. This was Jordan's favorite stop - she loves Chinatown!
We rode a cable car down from Market & Powell to Hyde & Ghirardelli Square. GHIRARDELLI SQUARE = CHOCOLATE. Yes - we finished our evening off with ice cream! I have never seen so many ice cream sundaes in my entire life!
We then hiked back up a mountain (notice at this time of night it is no longer a hill?) to the hostel.
The kids had a great time hanging out a few minutes in the common area. It sounded like the UN and I brought the average age up by about 20 years! Lots of cute kids from all over the world.
Tomorrow we have our last day of pilgrimage. And yes - there is as much packed into it as there was today.
As always the cool thing is - the kids are already talking about what they want to do together next...and when are we doing it!!!!!
Community, Constancy and Peace - Karen, Bill and Chad
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