The Sun Sets on a Cloudy Mind.

Today my head feels clear & my heart light.

This weekend has been wonderful. Just wonderful.

We spend the day on Saturday being tourists in our own city. I never fail to have an amazing time when I do that. San Francisco is just a vibrant, energizing place to be and with a clear, sunny, warm day...well, we couldn't go wrong.

Our buddy Sean (or "Shawm," as Karma says) was our tour guide and chauffeur and he and I are notorious for indulging in too many sweets together (or any vegan food for that matter), so it was an understood, unspoken agreement that we would eat our way through the day. And ate we did.

We started out with a smoothie at Potrero Center then went straight to the San Francisco Vegan Bake Sale in the Mission (benefiting an aviary, non-profit group). We loaded up our boxes to tote along and sampled some muffins & cookies (oh, my!). We did our best to refrain from filling up on said sugary delicacies before lunch and headed to Lower Haight to grab sandwiches for a picnic in Golden Gate park. "Love n' Haight" had amazing vegan choices and meat for my carnivore husband, so we were all happy.

We drove down through the Sunset district, which runs along the length of the park (south side), and found a sunny bench by a pond to picnic by, so we pulled over and parked. The sun on my face felt so rejuvenating after a long week of cloudy skies and a cloudy mind. I was just starting to get over my cold, so it really put some life back in me.

From the park we continued west and came to an opening in the lush, green forest and there it was. The spacious sea meeting the cloudless, spacious sky. Amazing.



We parked by Ocean Beach and walked straight to the water, then walked along the coast until we came to the huge bluff that you cannot pass (what The Cliff House sits on top of). We walked through a small cave that comes out on top of come boulders, where we sat and meditated for about a half hour facing the ocean, the sun reflecting on us as we reflected within.



Next, Karma finally took his first trip over the Golden Gate Bridge, which he's seen for 3 months from across the Bay. We got off the road and drove up to the crowded overlook....simply amazing to see from the edge of those high, rocky cliffs.



As the sun was making its way back toward the ocean, we decided to drive to a beach in Marin about 15 minutes from the GG bridge to watch it set. It was a smaller beach that I'd never been to and that Sean has fallen in love with. I now understand why. We walked the entire length of the beach and back as the sun was slowly sinking into the great Pacific. The colors on this beach were simply stunning. The sand has the texture of tiny pebbles, smooth, so it barely sticks to your skin, and it's a mix of various dark colors. Then there is a lagoon that is a slate grey/blue and there are burnt orange cliffs, accentuated by the setting sun, wearing green, grassy hats. And, of course, the sea. The great blue grandeur.



The rest of this weekend was filled with visiting friends. Karma and I each did our own thing both yesterday (all day) and today (for the afternoon).  He found the Thai Buddhist temple yesterday and saw classmates and ate lunch and explored Berkeley. Today he rode the bus for the first time (and alone!) and visited a friend up the way in El Cerrito. He's becoming more mobile and, therefore, more adventurous and confident. This brings such joy to my heart.



Today I tried to take him as my guest to the Y (my gym), but he forgot his I.D. That turned into him walking home, then getting lost for an hour trying to find his way back. Meanwhile, I was working out and waiting for him. Needless to say, my feet are sore and so are his, but he never made it to the gym. He's still learning. And so am I.