I Left My Heart.....

...In San Francisco.....

I don't know what it is about that beautiful city by the Bay that draws me. It always has, even when I was a little girl. I always dreamed of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, the hills, the fog rolling in...all the things that Tony Bennett sang about....OH! Isn't it romantic?!?!

I never in a million years thought I would ever see it with my own eyes. I was a Texas girl....there were too many miles and not enough dollars standing in my way.

And then Dave came into my life. I won't repeat how we got together, you can read all about it in my entry called My Renaissance Man. And he lived a mere 40 miles from my dream.

I'll never forget the first of many trips we made there. It was during my first visit to meet Dave face to face.

When I first landed in San Jose, it was a beautiful day. Dave met me at the airport with flowers, then we took a tour of his city. He took me to his office and introduced me to his co-workers. They were all like old friends, I'd talked to them all on the phone so many times. Later on, we met Dave's brother John, and his wife Sue, for dinner at a Korean BBQ place. I'd never had that before, but it was fun to have your own little grill at your table and cook your own meat there.

When night fell, I was really tired. After all, it was 3 hours later by my body's clock. To our surprise, John treated us to a night at a beautiful hotel. I forget the name of it now...sorry. The next morning, we had room service bring eggs benedict...another first for me. Then we set off, to make my dream come true.

The drive to San Fransisco was short and traffic wasn't too bad, since we missed rush hour. We were headed to Pier 39, where we would walk through all the shops, see the submarines and ships docked there, and tour Alcatraz.

I remember pulling into a parking lot near Pier 39. Dave was pointing to some tanker ships out in the ocean and telling me to keep my eye on them...I didn't know why...they weren't doing anything.

And then...while I had my eyes glued on the tankers that were doing nothing....it happened....Dave whipped the car around and my view changed....my life changed....my eyes took a second to stop spinning and there it was....the stuff my dreams were made of...MY bridge.

It was the first time I laid eyes on it and it was magnificent. I was speechless. Dave knew he had made a major dream come true and his brownie points soared!!

We made several trips back to San Francisco before we moved to Southern California. I've seen my bridge from every angle, from in a car crossing over it, to
going underneath it, headed out to sea on a fishing trip. No matter which way you look at it, whether it's shrouded in fog or lit up by night, it's incredible. And it's mine.