April 6, 2008 (journaled August 3, 2013)

Back in 2008, I had the rare pleasure of taking my daughter on a daddy-daughter vacation. I had taken my son to Alaska the prior year and I wanted to be able to share some similar quality time with my daugher. We had an incredible, hard working, and at least once death defying adventure. I’ll try to write as if it were those days as that seems like an easier read. I just wish I was not so forgetful, as the details of this trip are not as clear as I would like. Maybe that was due to my constant worry about the heights! While my Alaska trip exposes me to new challenges, this trip had a lot more mountain-side hiking. While at times worrisome then, I look back and see that this was probably the best therapy for my dislike of heights. Ever since then, I have been increasingly comfortable. I guess once you almost slide off a slippery trail into a waterfall and make it through, it desensitizes you a bit. But, alas, I get ahead of myself.

Today, we traveled from Ann Arbor to San Francisco, taking a flight from Detroit to SFO. On this day, we just did some light touring as we adjusted to the west coast. We checked out the waterfront in San Francisco, admiring Alcatraz from afar. We also walked some of the piers and checked out a naval museum. We also met George Bush (43), though he did not seem to acknowledge us for some reason.