The Tenderloin to Wine Country

Have you ever met somebody that you feel utterly blessed to know? They are truly amazing from the outside to deep down in their soul? Multiply that times 27 and imagine how full my heart feels. After months of anticipation, we have finally started our running journey across the country! I am unbelievably lucky to have these new people in my life, hopefully forever.

I have to go back a couple days to update you all. It's been a wild couple of days, and I feel like I'm losing my mind when I remember we've only just finished our second day of running. To start off, I want to gush about San Francisco, because it's truly stolen my heart. I'm sure it wont be the last time I say that about a city. But for now, San Francisco is the proud owner.

Once Mary and I landed in San Francisco, we met up in the airport with 4 other of our teammates, Danielle, Leah, Hannah and Julie. After wandering around SFO for what seemed like MILES (am I allowed to complain about that even though I'm running across the country..?), we found the plane train that took us to BART and we were able to make our way to where we were staying. In order to save as much money as we could, we opted to stay at the Hostel International in what turned out to be the Tenderloin. If you're unfamiliar with the Tenderloin, it's a neighborhood in San Francisco that is full of... character. I honestly loved it.

Mary, Julie, Hannah, Leah, Danielle and I after meeting in SFO

While the other four girls shared a room, Mary and I were paired with two random people in the hostel. Though a little frightening at first, since we didn't know what to expect, we had AMAZING roommates for a couple days. The first one that we met was with her husband and his students. Her husband is a literature teacher and as a class trip, he takes his students to locations that are relevant to the novels or pieces that they are reading. The second roommate that we met is named Elly (HI ELLY!!!). And she.was.awesome. She is originally from Iran and was in San Francisco after biking from Vancouver! The group she was with was primarily 60 and over, though they had one 26 year old with them. The leader of the trip was in his mid-70s! Elly now lives in Ottawa, Canada and she welcomed Mary and me with open arms, strongly encouraging us to come visit her. I do believe I will take her up on that offer!

After getting settled into our rooms at the hostel, we went on the search for food. The surrounding area was primarily Asian cuisine so when in the Tenderloin, do as the Tenderloin people do! We went to a place called Turtle Tower where we had some traditional Vietnamese cuisine in bowls larger than I've ever seen!

Chicken Noodle at Turtle Tower

Fast forward to our first full day in San Francisco -- We started off the morning with a breakfast at the hostel and then got ready to go exploring. Our first stop was to go to Fisherman's Wharf and Buena Vista Cafe, as suggested by my former swim coach. We all piled around a tiny table at Buena Vista Cafe, enjoyed the famous Irish Coffees and laughter while making a plan for the rest of the day. After finishing our drinks and food, we meandered around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, stumbling across little shops, street performers, and many more interesting characters. We were also sure to make the painful climb to the top of Lombard Street and the view was 100000% worth it.

Danielle, Leah, Lia, Hannah, Hannah and I in Fisherman's Wharf

Street Performer in Fisherman's Wharf

Danielle, Brandon, Kevin, Hannah, Lindsay, Julie, Lia, Leah, Mary and I at the top of Lombard Street

View from Lombard

Mary, Brandon and I

After spending a couple days and walking miiiiiiles around San Francisco, we cleaned up for our Send Off Dinner. Here, we got to meet Team New York, more of our teammates and some of our teammates' family members. At the dinner, the organization directors presented the top fundraiser awards and introduced everyone on the team. 

Team Baltimore - Send of Dinner

Saturday was full of training including van safety, CPR/AED, and procedures. I'll skip most of this since it's more boring than it sounds.

FINALLY Sunday arrived and we were officially underway for the 2015 4k For Cancer Run. Bright and early on June 14, Team Baltimore and Team New York met at Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge. We all assembled for the traditional foot dip in the Pacific Ocean and had our first official dedication circle. Each morning of the trip, the team gathers for a dedication circle. During this time, we hold hands with our left hand facing up and our right hand facing down to represent us always giving and receiving support. We then go around the circle and say who we are running for that day. After doing the dedication circle, we do a 4K cheer to get us pumped for the day! We then lined up and began our journey running across the Golden Gate Bridge!

I ran my first day in honor of my friend Jess and Jamie Roberts, a 4K rider who was killed a year ago on her bike trip

Team Baltimore!

Running across the Golden Gate Bridge

Mary Clare and I were running partners for the day and we ran through beautiful wine country in Southern California. We finished our run in Vacaville Sunday evening and were welcomed to our the city by Church of the Epiphany. Thanks to Father Mack and the ladies of the church, we were fed an amazing meal and were provided a safe, comfortable place to sleep. It was an amazing way to start the trip!

The trip has been wild so far and I know I'm incredibly behind on blogging, but I promise I'll catch up soon!