One of the most memorable moments of our recent spring break was touring around San Francisco in a limo. But that’s not where the story ends; the car also got a flat tire in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge, amidst all of the cars and tourists on the bridge.  

The limo was for our friend’s 16th birthday party, and she had decided to take a few of her friends to spend the day visiting tourist attractions in the city.

As we were halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge, we suddenly heard a thudding sound on the right side of the car.

The limo was going considerably slower than normal, but we attributed that to the traffic on the bridge. We also noticed a lot of tourists were walking across the bridge while staring at us, but we thought it was probably just because we were in a limo.

Little did we know, they were also staring at the front right wheel of the car, which developed a giant gash in it. After moments of confusion, the driver finally rolled down the divider between him and us and informed us that we were going to take a stop at the next parking lot because we had a flat tire.

Upon hearing this news, we panicked, thinking  we would be stranded without transportation. Fortunately, all we had to do was wait 20 minutes for the driver to fix the tire.

We aren’t entirely sure how he managed to fix the tire because we weren’t watching him, but we assume he had a spare.

Although the driver fixed the tire, our bad luck continued. Later in the day, we made our way to the Sutro Baths, a saltwater swimming pool complex next to the beach at Lands End, only to find that the entrance was at least two blocks away from where our driver had dropped us off.

After aimlessly walking around for five minutes, we realized that instead of walking around the street to get to the formal entrance to the Baths, we could go down a steep dirt hill.

Eager to get down to the beach to take pictures, we took the shortcut through the dirt path, deciding against the safer entrance two blocks away. Soon, we found ourselves stumbling down a vague trail made on a dirt hill that we could have gone head first down if we weren’t going as slow as snails. It’s safe to say that we both lost our balance several times and almost fell down the rocky ground, where cement was waiting for us down below.

Although we eventually made it to the Baths, the trek down left us anxious every step of the way.

That day in San Francisco was one that neither of us will ever forget. Whether it was because we got a flat tire on one of the most famous landmarks in California or because we almost fell down a steep cliff, our trip was one we won’t soon forget.