The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

I have been looking forward to this trip for more than a month now. When Rebeca told me she was going to be taking a trip to San Francisco in July and that she wanted to know if I’d like to go with her, I leapt at the chance. We spent days talking about what it’d be like; what we’d do. I contacted my cousins who live there and asked if we could stay with them for a few days. They answered a very excited yes and now we’re finally here. I must say that it’s been a trip so far.

We spent most of today running around, trying to find time to tie up loose ends as well as pack. Yes, we haven’t packed yet! This seems just about right though. It can’t really be all that tricky to stick a bunch of clothes in a couple of suitcases. Rebeca had a “last minute bike ride/fundraiser to do”. I stopped by to help out a little as well. After a trip to Target to stock up it was 5:00. With a short good-bye session with Carlos-Mario, we were on our way to JW’s for a lift to the airport.

Much thanks to JW for the ride to the Madison Metro Airport. And, as promised, I will check my mileage on the Benz, man! 30 quick minutes and we were there. 30 quick minutes and the terror set in. God!, I hate flying. I really, really hate it. Anyway, check in went pretty smooth and we just had about a one-hour wait for our flight.

Our flight showed up on time and sooner than I had hoped we were in the air. We flew Northwest. The plane out of Madison was a small one. I could feel every bump and jiggle that the craft made. I felt like I was on some wicked amusement park ride, being bounced around. My palms were sweaty and I felt like I was on pins. After a short while I did come accoustmed to it. The flight was short and we were on the ground in Minneapolis again.

The airport in Minneapolis was fairly large. There were a lot of travelers but we only had a one-hour layover. By the time we freshened up a little and checked in, it was time to go again. Boarding this time took a lot longer. There were a lot more people. A lot more stupid people, too. Idiots trying to carry on bags as large as a refrigerator. This of course prolonged the boarding process but eventually everyone got on and again, we were off. This time around, I didn’t mind the take-off process. I actually enjoyed it. The sun set from above the clouds was truly amazing; my first seeing one. No film could capture such a thing. I really and truly saw something great today.

This flight was a little rough this time around. The seat was made for a short 8-year old. The man next to me kept having leg craps. He would get up and dance around, rubbing his legs. Rebeca seemed to just nod off as soon as the plane was up in the air. Three and a half hours later we were making our decent. The view of San Francisco from above at nighttime was just beautiful. The Bay Area lit up looked just amazing. We landed safely and after a short look around, we grabbed a ride to the Travelodge hotel from Martín. I think he was Mexican. He was friendly and helped us with our bags. Anyway, it’s late; we’re tired and excited for our first full day in San Francisco tomorrow.