Sunday, Sep. 23, 2007
Arrival in San Francisco
Half Moon Bay
State Beach → San
Francisco
Distance: 90.5 km, Time: 6:26:10 hrs, Total Distance: 1327.88km
When I woke up I immediately realized that
it would be a special day for me. After I left Los Angeles 13 days ago (Sep.
10) I would today, not only two weeks later, arrive San Francisco.
At that time with
all these impressions and kind people I could not quite comprehend that
time would fly so fast. All these thought about the past and the
expectations of the day were running through my mind even before I
crawled out of my very small tent.
My new English friend Mark woke up at
roughly the same time and together we packed our things. As I left for the
morning toilet he promised me to take care of my stuff, I did the same for
him.
After I finished I waited for him and the
first and last time I had a riding buddy cycling beside of me. Together we cycled through the gate of the Sate Park until to the main
road. There we stopped, shook our hands and wished the best. He turned right to
the south and I turned left to the north. A strange feeling of sadness overtook
me at the moment of separation but life continues...
A few hundred
meters later I turned right into an industrial area and discovered an American
fast food restaurant in which I enjoyed a nice breakfast with a cup of coffee.
While indulging myself I browsed through a free local newspaper. Inside the
pages I’ve discovered an article about the growing population and the problems
of the homeless in Half Moon Bay. There were some arguments everyone would or
could agree on but I could not believe my eyes when the author truly suggested
that the “simplest solution of these problems was to put them (the homeless) on a bus
and send them to San Francisco!"
In my own opinion this solution is a total wrong approach
to the problem. First someone should research why a problem actually exists.
The truth is that a few Americans become richer while the poorer stay poor.
This is because the education system is not equal for everyone, only ‘rich’ can
afford a good education. The second is the tax system which benefits the
companies while there is no break for families or individuals. At that time
President Bush was very ‘famous’ for the politics benefitting the wealthy and
companies, with Trump it got even worse. The third problem is that the solution
of the homeless problem is solved with money. The best way is to educate “teach
a person how to fish and not give him or her free fish to eat”.
Working with homeless for two years I found out that
homeless need first of all respect, self esteem and chances to change. The
former are for free but it seems America’s social values are mainly based on
three things: money, money and money. I do not quite understand that illegal
immigrants find jobs why local Americans cannot find work. But as I read the article I did not quite understand that it
actually prepared me for my time in 'Frisco'.
The husband of the lovely couple in the State Beach drew me
a simple map which helped me a lot (thank you!). The road was straight and
surprisingly well maintained and clean. I took it very easy and reflected on my
trip the last two weeks, especially thought about the helpful people and the
great weather! God was kind to me, thank you so much!
In Pacifica, a city beside the Pacific Ocean halfway
between Half Moon Bay and San Francisco, I discovered a restaurant with a live
band playing Jazz on this Sunday morning. With the beats in my ears I climbed a
high hill and got somehow lost. Back near the ocean I asked a policeman filling
up his private car at a gas station for the right direction. He was so friendly
and gave me the right directions. After another steep climb, which gave me
nearly the rest, I came to a rather flat road. It looked like a Highway, the
cars were driving fast and passed me scarcely close. I was not quite sure if I
could ride on this road, but everyone seemed to be busy for themselves.
Finally I arrived at the doors of my travel destination: San Francisco! In
this moment a life long dream came true. When I was small I was too young for
the Flower Power, that's why I did not put the "flowers in my hair!"
as the song suggests (by the way, I am bold anyway)...
In the 1970s I was very fond of the TV series "The
Streets of San Francisco" with Karl Malden (1912-2009) and the than-young
young Michael Douglas as detectives Mike Stone and Steve Keller solving
homicides. Especially the car chasing scenes were for a young boy very
fascinating.
It might sound strange but after nearly two weeks on lonely
roads I had to get used to the dense traffic. Especially the speed and the
aggressive style of the big city was very surprising for me in the
beginning.
(to be continued)
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