But God

But God
By Josh Watkins


My fears are great, but God takes them away.
My sorrows are deep, but God is deeper.
My pain is unbearable, but God heals all.
My struggles are many, but God is my strength.
My life isn't easy, but God carries me.
My storms rage, but God calms them.
My heart is broken, but God makes it whole.
My future is uncertain, but God is sure.

My joy is temporary, but God is eternal.
My hope is is bleak, but God is true.
My faith has cracks, but God is the glue.
My love wavers, but God's love never fails.
My life has an end, but God makes it eternal.


No matter what my state,
No matter what comes at me,
No matter what questions torment me,
No matter what the world says,
The answer always is...

BUT GOD.

Travel Itch: San Francisco Part 2

Day two got off to a slower start. The previous day's activities wore me out, so I slept in. I only had four major goals for this day. 1) Explore Golden Gate Park (and no the Golden Gate Bridge is not located here). 2) See the beach. 3) See the Golden Gate Bridge up close. 4) Watch the SF Giants at Oracle Park.

After arising from our slumber, Josh and I hailed an uber to take us to GGP. As we got closer, the sun quickly disappeared as the classic SF fog had rolled in off the ocean. Our warm temperatures took a nosedive. Josh kept saying he should've brought a sweater, I told him he'll be fine. Upon arrival, we headed towards the beach so I could see the view...which was non existent due to the heavy fog. But I still am glad I saw it regardless.

We spent the next few hours exploring GGP. We kept stopping to find some geocaches along the way, but man, you could get lost in there. Fun fact, GGP has more acres (1017) than Central Park (848). We swung by areas such as the buffalo reserve, the casting ponds, and the polo fields. The lack of fellow tourists in the area was nice as I could really enjoy what was around me.

Having our fill of GGP, the Golden Gate Bridge was next. We ubered over to the Presidio, which is the park where the Golden Gate Bridge stands, and not the park that shares it's name. Once we arrived, we weren't even at the bridge yet, but I can say with confidence that nearly anywhere you go in SF that's by the water has amazing views.

We walked along the shoreline, stopping every once in a while to capture the view forever. As we walked, I noticed the last of the fog engulfing the GGB, almost as if it was fighting the forces that were slowly extinguishing it. As we got closer, the fog kept fading, and the bridge became that more magnificent. Let me say this. When you travel, don't be the full on anti-tourist. By that I mean, don't focus on all the hidden gems and lesser known sites and smells. Of all these places I grew up seeing in books, on TV, and on the internet, nothing compares to seeing them in person. I remember the chills and patriotic pride that overwhelmed me while standing at the feet of the Statue of Liberty. I recall my breath being taken away at the views from the Space Needle and Empire State Building. I reminisce on the state of euphoria I  was in when I stood between the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. And now here I was, underneath one of the most incredible man made marvels, the Golden Gate Bridge.

Below the GGB on the SF side is an old fort dating back to the civil war days. You can go all the way up to the roof and stand where the cannons sat years ago. The GGB hovers right above and gives you an amazing perspective of just how vast it is. I imagined myself standing there over 100 years ago, clad in full uniform, staring over the Pacific, closely watching for enemy ships. It really is a sight to see.

Mid afternoon crept up on us quickly, so we headed back to Josh's apartment to take a breather and freshen up. Once the R&R was complete, it was time to check another MLB ballpark off the list. But first we needed some fuel. Mmm spicy ramen noodles for the win.

And now, Oracle Park. Home of the  San Francisco Giants. And what made it even better was that Madison Bumgarner was on the mound. I remember witnessing his amazing world series performance against the Kansas City Royals. So for me to see him pitch on his home turf, possibly for the last time in a giants uniform, was pretty surreal. Oracle Park itself is also a real gem. If anyone ever asks for the top five MLB ballparks, Oracle is definitely on that list. The history, the atmosphere, and most importantly the scenic backdrop. Take a look.

In the end, the Giants lost to a bad team, but that was the epitome of their season. The game was still incredibly fun and the full mooning aligning with the right field foul pole over the water was pretty sweet. To end the night and the trip, we headed back to Josh's place, and up onto the roof. We sat and talked into the night, with the city towering around us in its calm, evening state. And yes, the view was incredible. That's all for San Francisco for now. Where will I end up next? Only time will tell.

Travel Itch: San Francisco Edition Part 1

Over the past week, I've produced photos and vlog videos about my trip to San Francisco, CA. So why write about it? Why "repeat" the same things already put forth? Well dear reader, let me tell you. It's creativity and memories. The creativity aspect of me refuses to let one form be enough. And secondly, as good as my memory may be, it isn't going to last like this forever. By putting my adventure into words, their power can paint invoking images of joyful times, share stories not told by the pictures and vlog, and give others a sense of being their through their own imagination. And here we go!

Last year around this time, I ventured to the west coast for the first time since flying to Australia in 2017, but I actually left the airport. The destination was Seattle. I always heard great things about Seattle. But I wasn't going to any city just because. I have a process. 1) I actually have to want to go see the city because plane tickets ain't cheap! 2) Check to see if someone I know is there so I can visit them and avoid hotel/air bnb (travel tip!). 3) There's an MLB team there and they are in town the days I want to go (bucket list item is to see a game in all 30 MLB stadiums). Seattle filled all three of those criteria. So I decided to stick to the same idea and go west coast again. So why San Francisco? California has a ton of cool cities right? Why not L.A.? San Diego? San Jose? Well, a friend I've known for approximately 15 years currently lives there. SF has a number of places I really wanted to see (Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Warf, Alcatraz, parks, etc). And one of the most beautiful baseball parks in the US is located there (Oracle Park, home of the Giants). My 3 criteria were met so off I went.

I arrived around 9pm PST on Thursday night. I met up with Josh (my friend) and we got some really good Indian food for dinner. Not much else happened Thursday because Josh had work the next morning and I needed shut-eye.

Friday morning I woke up around 7am PST and ventured out around 8am. My goal for the first half of the morning was to go on a geo-tour. What I mean by that is walk the streets of San Francisco, see less popular sites, and grab geocaches along the way. My first target of the morning was a cathedral called Grace Cathedral that contained a virtual geocache. This means there is no physical container here, but by visiting this place and answering a questions (or questions) about it, I can claim a find and see a cool location in the process. It's open to the public so I had no problem getting inside and getting the info I needed. Very cool place to get my first California cache.

After I left the cathedral, I went in search of someplace to buy deodorant and a pair of shades because this dummy left them 3,000 miles away. I came upon a corner Walgreen's and entered. There was hardly anyone else in there except on other customer, the cashier, and a store observer (wasn't a security guard). I found what I needed and made my way to the counter. I waited behind someone and another person came behind me. The guy behind me was a bit off his rocker. I paid for my stuff and heard the guy behind me tell the observer he didn't like the way he moved towards him. The observer politely said he was just adjusting to get comfortable. I paid for my items and left the store. As I was pulling the tag off my shades, I turned around to see the observer and the shady guy in a full blown fist fight. The cashier immediately got on the phone to call the police. The shady guy picked up a full case of bottled water, launched it at the observer, pulled down the magazine rack, and left the store in a heat. I had never seen anything like that live before in my life. It all happened so fast. Thankfully the guy didn't say anything to me on his way out.

I moved along, trying to shake off what I just witnessed and ended up at a significant sized tree at the corner of an intersection. What made it special? There was a cache 37ft up. So I did what I had to. I made the 37ft climb, got tree sap all over myself, and signed the log. No one paid me any mind.

A few trees later, I found myself at Alamo Square Park. There were a lot of tourists here. This was an interesting moment for me as this was the one thing odd that struck me about San Francisco. Out of all the other cities I've been to, this was the only one that wherever I went and whatever I saw, I never felt there were too many people. Sure the tourist locations had the most people, but my waits were never long and I never felt like I was being suffocated. Back to the park. This park offers an incredible view of the city. But what many visitors come to it for is what is stationed just across the street from it. Painted ladies. What are those? According to google: "a house from the late 19th or early 20th century with it's exterior decorated with three or more colors of paint." Now I can appreciate beautiful architecture, but these houses were more significant because they've appeared in movies and TV shows galore, including the end of the opening song for one of my favorite childhood TV shows...Full House. So surreal being there.

After walking for who knows how long, I decided to call an uber and relocate. Once my ride arrived, I headed north and ended up at Lombard Street. I'll let the pics tell the tale.

Yup I'm the dumb tourist blocking traffic

Next stop, Fisherman's Warf. It was incredible to walk by the shops, restaurants, and everything else going on down there. I stopped briefly because I saw some SF magnets and I bought two. When I travel to a new city, I like to get a magnet and add it to the fridge so whenever I open it, I can reminisce on my adventures. 

It wasn't long before I ended up in a noisy place. Right in front of me was a long pier with barely any people on it, but to my right was another pier full of barking sea lions. I walked the long pier first because at the end was a sweet view of the Pacific. In the distance loomed the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, notable peaks, Oakland, CA, and much more. Once I had taken this all in, I went over to get a closer look at the sea lions. Even though most of them were just sunning themselves, the rest kept trying to knock each other of the piers, some even resorting to vicious biting attacks. They'd crawl all over each other until they got to the spot they wanted and then would duke it out until one fell off or gave up and jumped off.

I hadn't really eaten anything all day and got hit with a weird stomach ache. I became worried that this was going to be an issue, but after walking around for a bit, grabbing some water and clam chowder, it went away just like that. 

While I was debating what to do next, it dawned on me that there was a webcam geocache back by the sea lions. These are rare and not allowed anymore so finding one is a treat. But I needed help. I called a geofriend of mine who happened to be not at home and in New Jersey. I figured he couldn't help, but he said we could make it work on his phone. So I made my way back to the sea linos and through his guidance, found the webcam. Then for a little over 5 minutes, I kept him on the line while he tried to guide me in front of the cam so he could see me one his phone. There were still a ton of people around and I looked like a total idiot, but it was well worth it. He managed to screen shot me on the cam and I got to claim a find.

By this time, Josh had gotten off work and  was coming to meet me by Pier 33 where out boat to Alcatraz was scheduled to leave 5 min before 6pm. As I was headed that direction, a young woman holding a bunch of CDs stopped me. Before she explained what her purpose was, she asked me  questions about myself and gave out compliments. Then finally she explained that she was a musician trying to make it big and was distributing her music. She began to autograph the CD, and upon placing it in my hands, casually slipped in that she was asking for a donation and that anything helps. I told her I'd give her $2 (I wasn't giving her the $20 I had). But she asked for more and then again said anything helps. I repeated that $2 was all I'd be willing to give and she suggested digital pay apps. I told her no and finally she accepted the $2. Now pay very close attention. These people who do this are frauds. I ran into one in NYC in 2016. Exact same thing. Holding a bunch of CDs without cover labels on them, trying to talk you up, autograph it, and then ask for "donations" if you refuse, they become like annoying telemarketers and try to get you to part with your hard earned money. And guess what, even if you think they are legit and want to help them pursue their dreams, think again. Anyone legitimately trying to promote their art, will not badger you in every way possible to get you to buy their CD. If you really want to get your music out there, you spend your time showcasing it and giving away free tracks so people won't feel cheated out of something they may not possibly like. And lastly, beware of blank cover looking CDs. Why? Well that CD I paid the $2 for, I played it in 3 different players, including a laptop it was blank. No surprise. Also, if you are legitimate and I tell you I don't have any cash or am not willing at this time, one of the worst things you can do is tell me you take credit, venmo, apple pay, or any other form of electronic payment without me asking first. That's badgering and I hate it.

After that unpleasant experience, I met up with Josh and we had some time to kill. So we walked up what seemed like an eternity of stairs, through the classic San Francisco style neighborhoods, all the way to the landing area of Coit Tower. The views yet again failed to disappoint. 

Now it was time to make the return to the pier as our boat for Alcatraz was leaving soon. Pro travel tip. If you ever plan on visiting SF, make a point to see Alcatraz. But in order to do so, you must book your tickets months in advance. And make sure you do the night tour as it is a more exciting experience and you can see an amazing sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge. 

The ferry ride over was a blast. The boat was not overcrowded like it was when I saw the statue of liberty, the California sun setting across the pacific was grand, and the SF skyline slowly fading behind us made for a great view.

Stepping off the sea-rocked vessel and onto the island nicknamed The Rock was a bit of a surreal moment. One can see all these famous places from images on a screen, read about them in countless books, magazines, and articles, and after taking all that in, feel as if they lose some of their allure. Like the Statue of Liberty in New York, Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Space Needle in Seattle, the French Quarter of New Orleans, the Opera House/Harbor Bridge in Sydney, and many many more, their allure will be superseded by the experience you receive by being there in person and leave you with memories for a lifetime.  On the other side of the coin, the thought hit me that I had gone to great lengths to visit Alcatraz. I paid money for a plane ticket. I paid money for a boat ticket. I booked the trip months in advance. And I waited in long lines. All to get on that island. Yet, when Alcatraz was operational, most people coming off that boat would've done anything to be anywhere but there. And some even lost their lives trying to escape Alcatraz.

Upon setting foot on The Rock, a tour guide was there to give us a brief tour before we marched up the hill to the main prison itself. We passed by deteriorating buildings that once were fine establishments, buildings that contained graffiti pertaining to the Native American tribes that tried to take over the island, and an eerie looking morgue. Once inside the main building, they herded us around a large room in which the prisoners showered. At the end was a booth with tour guides providing the audio tour. Josh and I grabbed a headset and off we went. The nice thing was since we had the audio device, we could stop it and play it at anytime, setting our own pace.

The tour was long and detailed so I'll give you the highlights. 

1) The corridors of the cells had classic street names such as Broadway and Michigan Ave 

2) 36 attempted to escape (two twice), 23 were caught, 6 were shot, two drowned, and five were missing but presumed drowned.

3) The Battle of Alcatraz occurred when 6 prisoners in a botched escape attempt decided to fight their way out. Three were killed including 2 guards. Two of the remaining three were sentenced to death.

4) Native American activists and Native Americans once occupied the island after the prison closed to protest broken treaties.

5) Al Capone was a prisoner here.

6) The prison was active from 1934-1963

There's so much more history here, but to really understand it all, I advise you to go see it for yourself. Tour aside, the views from the island at sunset were incredible. Just take a look.

By 9:25pm, we had to catch the last boat back to the mainland. Even though the Alcatraz tour was over, we were about to do something I love to do in cities by water. I wrote a poem once called City Lights and the Sea. In it I discuss the majestic beauty and awe of traveling across a body of water and seeing the city lit up at night and reflect upon the shores. You may think a skyline looks incredible by day, but by night its breathtaking views put the daytime views to shame. Don't believe me? The memories I have would say otherwise.

After the boat docked, we decided to end the night by getting a burger at Sam's. It was a tiny hole in the wall of a joint, but what did that matter when the food was incredible. So if you ever find yourself in SF, stop by Sam's. That'll do it for day 1.