Pinch Me

Sometimes I have to pinch myself. Do we really live here? As we crossed the bay bridge today we had the most spectacular view of the city and the golden gate bridge. It was like a post-card came to life and we were sitting in the middle of it. "Wish you were here!" At Golden Gate Park today it was hard to believe that we were not tourists on vacation. Our family was there with other residents, spending a Sunday afternoon in what I would dare say is one of the prettiest city parks in the country. Last weekend it was the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, dim sum in China Town and sea lions on Pier 39. Our weekends are ridiculously fun, and I have to admit that I love being able to share these experiences with my children.

Growing up in the Midwest our weekend outings consisted of a drive to Mt. Horeb (otherwise known as Mt. Horrible) to tour a tiny main street and eat at a greasy spoon diner. While living in Minneapolis our get ways included frigid Duluth, the dreaded Mall of America, or a stay at the same old B&B in Stillwater. Things did get far more interesting once we relocated to Denver. In the mile high we enjoyed hiking the mountains and spending sunny afternoons at Coors Field, but the bay area my friends is the bomb. Of course there are the trade offs. My 1200 square foot home was "cute" for about three weeks and now I am entirely sick of feeling like a caged animal living in a piggy pen. The hour it took us to cross the bridge into San Fran yesterday to visit my girlfriend was no picnic either. So there are pros and cons I suppose, but for tonight anyway, I'll put on a rare show of optimism and admit there is a lot to like here.