By Grace Runkel

Wednesday was the day that would not end.

After being forced to land at the Indianapolis Airport for several hours, we were finally able to catch a flight to Washington. Washington, D.C. on the east coast. Where did we want to be? The west coast.

After a five minute layover we jumped onto a plane that would finally take us to San Francisco. Six hours later we were finally at our destination.

We successfully maneuvered our way through the BART and checked into our hotel.

The rest of the night was spent exploring the Union Square area, which really just means we went shopping.

The real sightseeing began Thursday.

The number one stop on everyone’s wish list was Alcatraz, so we made that our top priority. We hopped on a cable car, rode it to Fisherman’s Wharf, and took the ferry to the infamous rock.

Alcatraz was perfect. From the views, to the buildings, to the actually interesting audio tour, this stop was a definite hit with everyone.

The afternoon was spent walking around Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. The highlight of the day, however, was the cable car ride back to the hotel when Anna and I got to hang off the side of the car. If you ever go to San Francisco you have to do this.

Just be careful: it can be kind of tight when other cars pass by.

Back at the hotel we were registered for convention. And it was crazy. Never have I ever seen so many high school journalists in one place. I feel kind of bad for anyone else staying in the hotel this weekend.

The last event if the night was the opening ceremony. Keynote speaker Richard Ross spoke about the power each individual has to start a movement and shared work from his latest project: Juvenile In Justice