The Bay in a Day (on an intern budget)

Hello and happy #TheatreThursday!

If you don't follow me on social media:

1. You should.

Twitter: @seachels12 @TipsyTTraveler Instagram: @seachels1294

2. You probably don't know I spent my #TravelTuesday /second (say what) day off in the beautiful and sunny San Francisco.

And what a beautiful day it was. My favorite show in the entire world The Color Purple is currently touring at the Orpheum Theatre and after having my life changed seeing it on Broadway, I knew I had to catch the tour. More on that later.

So the whole purpose of this trip was to go see this incredible show.

But I ended up falling in love with this city the way you fall asleep, slowly, then all at once.

I had an incredible friend/tour guide/photographer from the Man of La Mancha cast who joined me on this adventure because while your girl is independent, she isn't ready to make solo excursions in a vehicle quite yet. But I'm getting there.

Here's a little breakdown/itinerary of how I spent my day in the bay and how much it cost.

9:00 AM Woke up & purchased TCP tickets via the Today Tix app ($40.00 via the rush system, plus $5.00 processing fee)

9:30 AM Gabe found a parking app (Park Whiz) which allowed us to park for the entire day of $17.65. Divide by two and it was about $9.00 for us individually.

11:00 AM Drive to pick up Gabe. Wait outside for 10ish minutes because my phone died and I couldn't let him know I was there.

11:30-ish AM Stop for Starbucks. This wasn't a necessary purchase. But I was starving and so I ended getting a breakfast sandwich and a venti iced Carmel macchiato. $10.00 even.

12:30/ 1:00 PM Arrive in San Francisco. Parked at the Hilton. Checked that the app was actually legit and we weren't going to end up spending $60 to park at the end of the day because it was a fraud. Luckily for us it was the real deal.

*This is where I stopped noticing the time.

We walked to Fisherman's Wharf right by the water. We were originally going to take the cable car down, but ended up all turned around because directions are hard so we ended up walking because we were only about a mile away.

At the Wharf we went to Boudin, which has been around for hundreds of years. It's a restaurant / bread store, which also had a museum where you could watch the bread being made. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I got chicken tacos (which we're a smidge to spicy for me) and water because this girl was needing some H20 after all of those hills. I spent $15.39.

While in the museum, we learned that the Irish coffee (or the American version of it) had been invented in a local bar called Buena Vista. So that's where we made our next stop. It was such a cute little spot and I no joke felt like we should have been in Ireland. The bartenders were rougher/older men, we didn't get carded, and it was right near the water. I wanted there to be more of the foam/creamy part of the drink, but I finished it like the true tipsy traveler I claim to be on this blog. It cost $10.50.

We then took a Lyft line to the Golden Gate Bridge. When we got there it was so foggy, you couldn't see the slightest bit of the bridge. My roommate told me that tends to happen in the afternoon, but that didn't stop my little east coast self from walking on the bridge/ having a mini-photo shoot. It was freezing, the fog looked straight out a horror film, and I have an irrational fear regarding bridges (ask me about it) but I am so so glad I did it. We then stopped at the gift shop and I bought a coffee mug (I collect those if you didn't know) and a journal (I have so many we might as well say I collect them too). I spent $22.73.

We then took a Lyft to Hot Cookie Bakery . I got a peanut butter cookie for $3.50 . We also stopped in a bookstore and at a Starbucks before getting a Lyft back to the Hilton.

We freshened up, dropped some stuff off in my car and then went to Melt for dinner on the way to the theatre. Melt has apparently been featured on some cooking show and I can see why. I got a grilled cheese with Mac and cheese and bacon on it for $8.00 and I was the happiest girl on the planet. We then made our way to the Orpheum Theatre for the show.

I will be writing another post about the show soon- so be sure to subscribe to this blog, follow me on social media so you don't miss it!

After the show we headed back to Sacramento and jammed to Hamilton the entire ride like the basic theatre kids we are.

So the grand total for my trip to San Francisco was = $124.12 (plus about $15 splitting tolls/Lyft) . I absolutely could have done it cheaper had I avoided Starbucks and the gift shop at the bridge. But it was all worth it. I have only been here once so I cannot say these are the "must hits" of SF, but I did enjoy the spots I visited and would recommend them if you are ever in SF.

I just wanted to give one final shoutout to Gabe- for driving, taking all of the photos (because my phone dies on 80 percent), and for being the best tour guide. Here's to five more shows and more adventures back on the East Coast.

Also wanted to give a shoutout to Katie Pyne (@Katiepyne16) , Rachel Langley (@rlangleyw), and Emily Dwornik (@emily_dwornik) for their knowledge of John Green quotes and messaging me for my little Instagram contest! Katie is currently kicking butt SM'ing in Florida. Rachel has her own theatre company and podcast and is about to work at Weston as a scenic painter. Emily is teaching children and performing/directing all while traveling the US through Missoula's Children's Theatre. Be sure to give all three of them a follow on Instagram and check out some of their work!

If you read this entire post, I applaud you because it is one of my longer ones. I absolutely loved this city and it definitely gave NYC a run for it's money. Which if you know me is saying a lot.

"It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco."

-Oscar Wilde

Much love always,

Chelsea