According to the news one million two hundred thousand people are expected to attend the Golden State Warriors Victory Parade in Oakland. With that, we figured parking at the BART stations could be full. We picked up Aileen from her office, we drove to the BART station, she dropped us off and took the vehicle back to her office. We would just call her later to pick us up from the BART, after the parade.
We knew it would be crowded, but we didn’t expect that the crowd would start at the BART station. Half hour in line before we were able to buy train tickets. $6.40 round trip per person. Edmund dropped $20 bill and got two tickets with $10 credit each.
The train was expectedly crowded. I couldn’t reach the overhead bar so I had to cling to Edmund’s bewang and arm.
E——-“Wag kang humawak sa t-shirt ko, Baka bago ko malaman wala na akong t-shirt.
A——“Tart, mas maluwag naman ito kesa sa MRT”.
E——“Hindi natin alam yan, hindi pa tayo nakasakay sa MRT”.
A—–“Nakikita ko sa bintana. Mas dikit-dikit sila”.
When the train door opened, majority of the passengers got off at the Lake Merit station. The mood was full of energy and excitement , fans chanting GO WARRIORS! Edmund and I were not sure whether to follow the crowd or proceed to 12th Street, hoping for a better chance of getting a good spot to watch the parade. We looked at each other, with only 2 seconds to decide, “12th street tayo”.
We got off at 12th street in Oakland.
Ay ang daming tao.
Ang tatangkakd nila.
We didn’t know which way to go, I asked two police officers from which direction the parade would come from.
Edmund and I walked farther away from the thick crowd. We entered the BART station to cross to the other side of the street where there’s a road construction. The crowd was thinner. We walked two more blocks, I was already very tired, I didn’t want to walk any farther. I had no sleep yet. The night before we left for the US, I only had a few hours sleep, and kala ko I would catch up on sleep on the plane. That didn’t happen. Then when we arrived in my sister’s house, hindi rin ako nahimbing.
I lacked the energy to withstand miles of walking.
E———-“Nasurvive mo yung kay Pope Francis, eto kaya mo rin”.
He found a spot for me. He has no problem watching parades kasi he’s taller than most people. Me, shorter than most people. Okay na sa akin dito. I just wanted to sit down on the pavement.
There was an Indian sausage vendor at the corner. I bought one for $5. Super alat.
I have a good spot. It’s shady and I was able to squeeze to the front.
I noticed that thin building, similar to the one in Manhattan.
My husband left me. He looked for Starbucks.
The news said the parade would start at 10 am.
Here comes the parade:
