...because of number two.

like i have told you before, my favorite thing about making lists is being able to cross things off.  i like accomplishing goals. i like the preparation, the anxiety that comes along with planning, and actually experiencing what if feels like to achieve what you set out to do.  i've been working on the birthday list i created three months ago and this last weekend, i got to cross off number two; i went to san francisco and i had never been there before. it was a weekend full of plans and no plans. it was a weekend full of looking for sunshine and avoiding the shade; literally and figuratively.  it was a friday of trying to capture the vibe of a new place, and a night of hearing a stranger's entire life story.  it was a saturday morning of sitting on the balcony, listening to the waves crash.  a 7 o'clock morning of appreciating how beautiful it all really is. it was playing catch with a right-handed glove and a left handed thrower on the beach. it was a saturday afternoon of playing in the freezing cold ocean water. of running barefoot in the sand.  of getting my pants covered with water because i couldn't resist getting my feet wet. it was a day of driving up the coast, taking pictures of seagulls.  it was a drive interrupted by random (and frequent) stops of corn maze adventures, pumpkin patches, and mirror mazes. it was a sunday of laughter, panoramic pictures, and learning patience.  it was a weekend of leaf collecting, leaf crunching, and noticing how different everyone's fall can be. 

i had never been in a maze before.  and so in the midst of driving the down the coast, we turned around, and drove back to the pumpkin patch we passed by.  we paid for the tickets and then started to run.  of course i didn't know where i was going, but i ran in my cowboy boots anyways. we twisted and turned, ran out of breath, and lost ourselves.  and everyone knows the best part about being lost is the getting found part.  we did that too.

i had also never seen the golden gate bridge. and you might know how obsessed i get about bridges. on the east coast it was the brooklyn bridge; naturally the west coast would mean the golden gate bridge.  my boyfriend new how excited i was to see it, so he tried to prevent me from knowing how close we were to it.  and when we finally drove across it, we turned right back around and did it again.

i think there is extreme value in going somewhere you have never been. in doing things you have never experienced before. i'm lucky to have a weekend filled with just that.