Escape!

Bye, bye ice!

February – we're in the home stretch – the last really cold month of winter. March is when we slide into home with warmth and the longer spring days. I always find it easier to float hope when the sun’s out, the trees and flowers are budding and a sweater's the only wrap I need. Goodbye layers and heavy coat!

Floating hope – keeping it alive during the icy months feels akin to deadlifting 200 pound sacks of wet kibble and then going for a 5k run. Possibly doable but OOF.

It's not unusual for me to take short, (long weekend) breaks from New England's frozen harshness. I fly out to Arizona to visit Jenny in Phoenix. Brill desert heat in winter – oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Not this year. though Instead, I’m meeting Jenny and Michal (they're sisters!) in San Francisco. TONIGHT!!!

Why San Francisco? Michal’s shipping out on Monday. Going to New Zealand BY BOAT. I’ve a hard enough time making it through five hours on a plane let alone three weeks on a ship. Yes, I know, I know – the boats are big. There’s loads of room to walk around. YES, I do love the ocean BUT I don’t want to be surrounded on all bloody sides, including below.

In any case, we three will have a lovely, warm, sunny weekend in the City by the Bay. While Jenny and Michal are doing Hop On Hop Off bus tours, I’m going to visit with chums who I don’t see anywhere close to often enough. I want to wander around town on foot and, of course, hit City Lights Bookstore. This was the Beat Poet’s home turf and The Amazing Bob was def a Beat. I expect I’ll cry when I walk through the door. TAB should be with me – we'd get happily lost in their stacks for hours. In some abstract way, I suppose he will be by my side.

I’m hoping to make it to the deYoung Museum – looks like they’ve a few way intriguing exhibits up now. There’s Robert Rauschenberg show up at the SFMoMA and I TOTALLY MUST get to the Cartoon Art Museum. Their new locale is just a ten minute saunter from the hotel too. YES. SOLID!

OK, gotta go pack for WARM weather!