Week Twenty-Seven

I left my heart in San Francisco. <3

I know I'm horribly late in posting, so my apologies. :) My mother, brother and I are visiting relatives and friends in California and I've been so busy I haven't had time to write about it all.

We've been on go-time ever since we landed and finally are enjoying some downtime. When I was little, we never really "saw the sights" so to speak, so this trip we squeezed in quite a bit of traveling. Among some of the places we visited were Point Lobos, Carmel, Santa Cruz, and then we spent four days in Yosemite. But this post is going to be focusing on where we went in between all of those stops... the lovely city of San Francisco. :)

This was a special day for me. It was meaningful, and I'll tell you exactly why. Back in the early 50's my Grandmother and her close friend packed their belongings up and took a bus to San Francisco to get involved in acting. They lived in an apartment and were there for five or more years until my Grandmother met and fell in love with my Grandfather. It was so surreal to be in the same city she had been in, and walking some of the same streets that she had walked so many times, so long ago.

My Grandmother passed away four years ago, but she's still so dear in my heart. A year or two ago my mom and I were back visiting my Grandfather in New Hampshire and I was nostalgically looking through my Grandmother's drawers and came across her scarf box. I found this old red, white and blue scarf that had the words "I left my heart in San Francisco" on it. I asked my mom about it and she told me about my Grandmother's life in San Francisco and that she probably bought the scarf when she was there. I brought it back home with me thinking that if I were to ever go to San Francisco that I would bring it with me in her memory. She was such an amazing woman and she inspires me so much. She went for her dream and took that step that many of us are afraid to take. She had such style, ambition, and poise. She had a sense of humor, a heart filled to the brim with love, and was the best cook I ever knew. But above all, she was strong, and didn't let anything bring her down. Someday I hope to become like her and to pursue my dreams just like she did.

I brought that scarf with me to San Francisco and had it tied to my bag the whole time. I know she was smiling down on us as we journeyed through that exciting city she once called home. <3

Here's to you, Grandma...your life has become a story that will be told and retold for as long as I live.