Day 18: To San Francisco, CA

After an eventful evening of fireworks the crew slowly made their way to the bus as the sun rose. We stopped for breakfast at a local McDonald's before heading south into California.  We quickly found ourselves in the midst of the various redwood forest state and national parks.  The redwood trees are native to California with some as old as 1,200-1,800 years old. They are some of the tallest trees on earth growing to height of 379 feet with diameters possible up to 29.2 feet. Clarence drove us through the Avenue of the Giants which is a scenic highway running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We were able to stop a few times to allow the kids  to run and play among the giant redwood trees. It was like a scene from Twilight. 

The majority of the day was taken up by the drive through California to San Francisco. As we popped out of the mountains and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge we watched the temperature drop from 77 to about 56 degrees. The kids were astonished at the temperature and the foggy atmosphere of San Francisco along the bay. 

Dinner was as a group at the In-and-out Burger on Fisherman's Wharf. The crew hungrily lined up outside the building eager to eat. As fast as they prepared 57 meals for us it seemed like a lifetime in the chilly San Francisco Bay temperatures. For some this was their first taste of the West Coast burger joint. We had two thumbs up from many of the group members. As the group was finishing up with dinner they were allowed to go explore Fisherman's Wharf in groups of 6 or more. The Wharf acts as a larger version of Broadway at the Beach which many students are familiar with from Myrtle Beach vacations. There are restaurants, shops, dessert/candy stores, an arcade, and the Ghirardelli chocolate factory within easy walking distance. At the right time of day sea lions can be seen laying on the docks near the Wharf basking in the sun.