California Dreaming: San Francisco

I’m having the most severe honeymoon withdrawal ever. It started the moment I got on the plane from LAX and it hasn’t gone away since. For the first two weeks after I got home, I’d crawl into my “happy place” in my head and imagine that I was strolling down the strip in Vegas and squishing snowballs in Tahoe. Some days, I could almost smell the scent of fresh snow. Heavenly. On the last day of my honeymoon, I was throwing a hissy fit refusing to go home. I told the husband something along the lines of “that’s it, I’m staying here forever and you can go home without me.”

2 years and 2 kids later, I still wonder if I should have sat my ass down on the kerb and stood my ground. Life would be so different. IHOP every morning, skiing in the winter, road trips, shopping at Saks, sipping coffee in Santa Monica, Disneyland. Life would be good.

These days, I still retire to my happy place whenever things got too depressing. The irony is that I end up feeling more depressed than ever. It’s bittersweet, especially now that there’s no chance of ever recapturing those moments again. We were young and in love, flying by the seat of our pants and without a care in the world. We’re still young and in love, but my pants are now stuffed with diapers, breast milk and baby vomit. And responsibilities compel me. It’s a catch 22, really. Taking a holiday with the kids would be a logistical nightmare and taking a holiday without them would be an emotional one.

So I’m content with browsing the pictures and recapturing the moments in my head. And since I’m feeling extra generous today, I’ll share them with you.

Leg 1: I left my heart in San Francisco

I still don’t know what ever possessed us to do it, but in a bid to save $400 on admin charges to fly direct to SFO, we decided to land in LAX and take a 9 hour drive along the Pacific Coast Highway right after a gruelling 27 hour flight. I have since learnt a painful lesson on not being too cheapskate.

I love that the entire Bay area is so laid back. Folks aren’t rushing at breakneck speed and they’ll take the time to stop and chat. The first day, we were up at 5am and by noon, we had conquered Fisherman’s Wharf, Coit Tower, the Embarcadero, Chinatown and Union Square. Don’t ask me how we did it, but we did it.

My personal favorite was Sausalito. It’s like a slice of heaven. We’ve already marked it as our ideal retirement location. I felt like I was stepping into Stars Hollow on the set of Gilmore Girls. The shops were quaint and there was magic in the air. I even made friends with a cute little Goldie.

And of course, the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. Driving across at 80 mph, my hands were trembling as I felt the bridge sway. And in the distance, the bay was completely fogged up.

Me: Look, its all fogged up!

Husband: Hey, stop swearing ok.

Me: Just shut up.