Unit 4 A Sunshine Break
Wheels of Adventures
A month ago, I flew to San ____ feeling excited and a little scared that I was traveling without my parents.
____ only companions would be my best friend, Dan, and my wheelchair.
I wasn’t sure what kinds of challenges we would face, but Dan assured me that ____ would be the coolest travelers in Northern California.
When we finally landed in San Francisco, the Golden Gate City, Dan shouted, “Let’s ____ rolling!”
Known for its rolling hills, the ____ has an extensive public transportation system.
I was disappointed to find out that the historic cable cars, which I had been looking forward to riding, do not accommodate wheelchair ____
Therefore, we decided to take a city ____ bus with wheelchair access.
When Dan and I got on the bus, ____ friendly driver welcomed us aboard, and we were off.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Fisherman’s Wharf is popular for ____ pretty shops and seafood restaurants.
We were hungry, but ____ took almost an hour for us to look around and decide what to eat for lunch.
We chose to ____ a roasted crab and clam chowder soup.
The sea ____ peacefully lying on the floats near the pier looked like melting chocolate.
____ didn’t smell pleasant up close, yet their cuteness delayed our visit to the Golden Gate Bridge, the famous spot that appears in most movies and TV shows filmed in San Francisco.
We ____ a cruise, enjoying the view of the city.
As we passed the bridge, the summer breeze blew slowly, and we watched ____ beautiful sunset.
The next day,
The next day, we traveled to Yosemite National Park, a place four hours away ____ San Francisco and about five times bigger than Seoul.
The park is famous for Northern California’s natural scenery of grand waterfalls, valleys, ____ countless forests.
Dan’s uncle Roy, who lives in San Francisco, kindly gave us a ride to ____ park.
While heading east in his car, we saw the scenery gradually changing from ____ to suburb, to forest, and finally, to mountain.
By ____ we arrived at the park, and each of us had a giant hamburger to fuel up for a hike.
____ exploring a trail in Yosemite, we stopped frequently to appreciate the fresh air blowing through the giant sequoias.
We passed some famous ____ like the Grizzly Giant, which is about 63.7 meters tall and is almost 3,000 years old.
It was massive, and I felt quite small ____ comparison.
Our hike
Our ____ took a dangerous turn at one point.
As we made our way down ____ trail, we encountered a black bear.
I was so excited that I took out my camera ____ take a picture.
It must have ____ the cold cuts and chips we had packed because it began to approach us.
Thinking quickly, Uncle Roy grabbed a stone and ____ it, yelling and waving.
____ turning me around, Dan helped Uncle Roy push me back the way we came.
Dan ____ “I guess it’s time to leave now.”
That wasn’t a ____ because I had gotten my picture!
Another memorable part
Another memorable part ____ the trip was the bike ride.
____ found out that the National Park has a bike rental service and offers hand-crank bikes.
Dan persuaded ____ to try one, and soon I was able to use the hand crank pretty well.
We had a fun day riding along the trails in the ____
The Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley was like a masterpiece painted ____ Mother Nature.
The trail also led ____ to green fields and streams where we saw some wildlife.
Watching people floating ____ the Merced River and hiking the Half Dome was cool.
It was indeed ____ wonderful trip, with lots of laughter, joy, and sweat.
I am now in my room
I am now in my room where I am organizing hundreds of ____ including one of the bottom half of a black bear to post on social media.
____ course, I have valuable memories too.
I was fortunate to have companions like ____ and Uncle Roy during the trip.
There were obstacles to overcome and challenges to meet, but ____ adventure doesn’t?
I took a deep breath, dove into a new world, ____ faced challenges.
____ I needed to take with me was courage.
I am already looking forward to my next ____ in the future.