Happy Sweet 16 Josie Crooks
Our sleepr of the day goes to our very own.......Carson Little who decided halfway through the Cliffhouse tour, it was time to get into the fetal position and pass out.
This morning was an early one as we woke up in Lakeside Presbyterian Church and loaded into the vans and buses to go to the Cliff House. On the way to this ocean side, five-star restaurant, we ate chocolate and powdered sugar donuts, blueberries and kool aid pouches. Once we made it to the Cliff House we were served deliciously warm popovers. For those that do not know, popovers are incredible, hollow pastries that can be filled with jelly. We heard the head chef speak about the restaurant’s notable history and took pictures outside while shivering our butts off in the freezing San Francisco weather.
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| Carly Brown, Tristan Benson, Brad Olson, and Riley Kiefer |
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| Kaylee Miller, Ashley Lowry Katie Shepherd, Lauren Whitaker, and Analee Decker |
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| Olivia Comer, Hundley Rhyne, Sara Kate Rankin, and Bailey Patterson |
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| Best breakfast yet! |
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| Nat Warner, Anna Ramsey and Scotlyn McDowell enjoying the Cliffhouse |
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| Yummy in our tummies |
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| Are you guys old enough to be at the bar? |
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| Allie Binkley, Sloan Edemann, Olivia Andrews, and Avery Lowrance |
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| Emily and Meghan Maxey. |
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| It is ridiculous how amazing these air filled poppers are |
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| Slow down Ethan Manning, you actually have time to enjoy this! |
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| Listening to the head chef, Chef Weber all about the historic Cliffhouse |
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| Fine dining at its best |
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| Freezing San Francisco summers....55 degrees |
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| Nolan Beaty, Kayla Capps, Sofy Saiz, Jordan Thompson, and Landon Wright |
After the amazing breakfast, we headed to Fisherman’s wharf to take group pictures by the sign. Then we walked to the end of pier 39 to see Alcatraz and the seals while we listened to the assigned research for the day.
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| We here for the CHOWDER! |
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| Alcatraz....Grant has been missing and we are starting to wonder............ |
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| Pretty sure those are Ty's cousins |
Kayla Capps (Kings Mountain, NC) told about Fisherman’s Wharf and how it was used to provide cheap food for the San Francisco miners.
Grayson Jackson (Cheraw, NC) presented Chinatown that has more visitors than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Landon Wright (Kings Mountain , NC) told us that the Golden Gate Bridge was painted international orange color so boats could see it.
Alex Cormier (Laurinburg, NC) told us about the Cliff House that has been rebuilt 5 times since its reopening.
After the research we were set free to enjoy the rest of this amazing city. For lunch, most people went to either the Boudin Sourdough Bread Restaurant to try clam chowder or In-N-Out to get a long awaited juicy burger. Others enjoyed local restaurants to get a taste of San Francisco. We shopped around at places such as Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, and Chinatown. We were able to find many good deals and had a fun time shopping. We were able to witness the diversity of the city and experienced it's ridiculously hilly landscape. We bargained with locals, took cabs to new places, made our way to the "Full House" house, and just admired the sights and sounds of one of America's prettiest cities.
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| Oh Dallas |
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| Some of the sights of Fisherman's Wharf |
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| Our awesome counselors and driver Mr G! |
We met at 4:00 for a delicious Chinese family style meal where we enjoyed egg rolls, fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, and lo mein noodles. After finishing our meal we headed back out onto the streets of Chinatown and had more time to shop.
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| Dinner was so good |
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| We love these egg roles |
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| Sarah Beth Parker pretending to be a walrus |
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| Brad Olson isn't sure how to use chopsticks properly |
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| Enjoying one of the rare sit down meals |
At 6 we met back at the bus and vans to head over to the Golden Gate Bridge. We parked near the bridge and gathered at the vista point to take some group pictures. Before the last picture counselor Ty Brown screamed, “Take it off!” The brave souls of the group participated in the polar bear challenge and chose to walk/run across the bridge shirtless. Some of the guys had even decided to be daring enough to walk some of it in their underwear. On the other side we met again, shivering, to take one last group picture. As the wind whipped through us, we huddled together to stay warm and started singing all of the great songs we've been learning in our sing-alongs. Back on the bus we all put our clothes back on and were glad to be back in the warmth, heading to our sleeping bags.
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| The Golden Gate Bridge covered by the fog off the bay. The locals here call the fog "Karl" |
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| Ready for the Polar Bear Bridge challenge |
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| GOOOOOOO! |
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| First one done |
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| Our winner is Drew Hughlett. He is crazy, he is cold, but he is done first |
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| Shelby Auvil was the fist done for the ladies |
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| Luke Edwards pretty much summing up our feelings about all we have seen and accomplished so far. |
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| Ethan Manning giving his best Rocky impression |
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| Someone should teach Grant Swicegood how to flex |
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| Hello from my other siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide |
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Stoic
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| And now the moment is ruined |
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| Our first Polar Bear group to finish |
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| Kaylee Miller and Claire Fry are feeling on top of the world |
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| Add caption |
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| Hurry up Ryan Phillips |
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| So glad to be done! |
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| We did it |
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| Hey mom look....No shirt! |
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| WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
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| Anna Ramsey and Sctolyn McDowell hung back in the freezing weather to help Katey Taylor out who has a torn ACL. We truly are becoming a family |
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| When it is near 50 degrees with 25 mph wind, you gotta huddle together and sing patriotic songs to stay warm |
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| Maddie Lawson and Maddi Draper |
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| Gone and done did it! |
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| Seriously though, can we get on the bus now? |
We headed back to spend our second night at the wonderful Lakeside Presbyterian Church. We showered and got ready for another day of cold weather tomorrow as we head to Yosemite. After a brief family meeting we are headed to bed to catch up on sleep before we see more of God’s beautiful creation tomorrow.
