End-of-the-Year Trip: San Francisco
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Sunday, June 5, 2011
Students arrived on campus at 5:30 am for a prompt 6:00 am departure. Our veteran and venerable Santa Barbara Airbus driver, David Harkness, once again drove for Anacapa. Upon arrival in San Francisco, our first stop was a stair walk up the Moraga Stairway with its tiled “magic stairway” to Grand View Park with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the City. Our second stop was a walking tour of the Haight-Ashbury District. Students were divided into six Walking Groups, which had been carefully made by the seniors and their headmaster. The groups worked out very well to keep the students together and safely supervised. Next stop was the Union Street Eco-Urban Festival, which had a variety of interesting education and food booths. From there, each group walked the eight blocks to the Fort Mason Youth Hostel for check-in at 4:00 pm. For dinner that evening, we went back to the cozy Chef Jia’s Chinese restaurant for an excellent meal. Because the restaurant is so small, we went in two groups, one at 5:30 and the other at 6:30. That evening, students enjoyed free time back at the hostel until the11:00 pm curfew.
Monday, June 6, 2011
We left for our city bus tour in light rain at 9:00 am. First stop was Grace Cathedral to once again see the copy of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, which adorn the Baptistery of the Duomo in Florence. Students shared the Bible stories told in the incredible Gates that took Ghiberti 19 years to make. After the Gates, we went to City Hall and toured that amazing building, which was completed in 1915 with a dome 13 feet higher than the Capital dome. Afterwards, we visited Alamo Park and the Castro District. Then, the Walking Groups were dropped off near Union Square to begin their afternoon walking tours to destinations such as Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower, and Fisherman’s Wharf before heading back to the hostel by 4:30 pm. We had a pizza party at the hostel at 5:00 in time to leave for AT&T Park to see the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants play the Washington Nationals. The game looked like it was going to be won by the Nationals, as they led 4-0 until the 8th inning, when the Giants came back to tie it in the 9th. The game became super-exciting and went to the 13th inning, when the Giants went on to win it with a two-out base hit by Freddy Sanchez! We got back on the bus at midnight and returned—pumped up—to the hostel.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
We went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) to see the Main Collection and the once-in-a-lifetime special showing of the Stein Collection, a collection amassed by Gertrude Stein and her family of the masters of early 20th Century painting from Matisse to Picasso and many more. Student docents from the Anacapa Studio Art class each led a Walking Group through the exhibition. Another exhibition of early photography master Eadweard Muybridge amazed students with his early animation studies, Yosemite photos, and photos from his world travels. After MOMA, we headed for the traditional walk across the Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny, crystal-clear day. It was so clear we headed the bus to the summit of Mount Tamalpais to take advantage of its great views. After David expertly drove the bus up the winding road, we took a short walk to the summit for views of the San Francisco Bay and surroundings. After returning to the hostel, students had free time until 6:45 pm when we left for the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club for our traditional, private banquet in their very elegant dining room. The food was fantastic, and the service could not have been better. After dinner, we rearranged the tables so we could make a circle for our traditional end-of-the-year trip appreciations gathering. The energy among the students and teachers was very positive and full of laughter. Emotions ran high with very sentimental and tearful feelings as everyone faced the fact that our excellent school year was ending soon, and our seniors were moving on to college. After dinner, we drove to see the city lights from man-made Treasure Island. After returning to the hostel, students hung out with each other and shared the positive emotions swirling around their last night together.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
We walked from the hostel to the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, the last original Liberty Ship from World War II. The students already knew quite a lot about the role the Liberty Ships played in defeating the Axis. The special tour included veterans from World War II, who were located at different parts of the ship to add their own personal stories. One man, Father Jim Wade, was 91 years old and gave a very spirited and detailed explanation of what the Liberty Ships did at Omaha and Utah beaches during the D-Day Invasion. Others explained the intricacies of the engine room. After the tour of the ship, we walked back to the hostel to check out by 11:00 am. We made one last gelato stop in North Beach, and then drove back to Santa Barbara with a fast food stop at “In and Out Burger” in Atascadero. Gordon and Bryan met separately with the juniors/rising seniors to talk about plans for their leadership next school year. We arrived back in Santa Barbara on time at 7:00 pm, having had an absolutely exceptional trip!
Student quotes about the Trip:
“When we toured the Liberty Ship, it brought back lessons on WWII from history class. We all asked plenty of questions, and added a lot more to our knowledge base.” – Alyssa, Grade 12
“One day our walking groups had the chance to be very careful about managing our time. In order to see all of the destinations, we had to be very efficient.” – Libby, Grade 12
“I was able to develop leadership skills by helping to lead people in the art museum. It was fun to be able to explain artists at the museum.” – Matthew, Grade 9
“We did a lot of history, and we did a lot of exercise.” – Diego, Grade 8
“I personally realized that I am fully capable of taking care of myself, and knowing what I want and where to go. I was able to lead people around through my good sense of direction, and I owe this to Anacapa because they allow us to be independent but stay close at the same time.” – Haley, Grade 11
“I think a special experience would be towards the end of the trip when the whole school was having the family dinner at the Italian Athletic Club. During the appreciations, people said some really touching things that showed how our school is really one big family because most of us spend more time with each other than at home. It changed me because it taught me to appreciate this school and all the opportunities it’s given me.” – Zinnia, Grade 10