Preparing for our trip to San Francisco

The countdown has started. We leave town on July 11th for 6 weeks in San Francisco and we have good friends coming into town on July 1st. So I am trying to get all travel arrangements planned out before July 1st. I don't want to be racing around doing all this stuff when my friends are here! I want to be able to enjoy their visit. This is an annual gathering that we have been doing for several years now, and it has been interesting as families are started, and then more kids are added into the mix. Last year we had a total of 8 adults and and 4 kids in the house and it was absolutely insane. Insane and fun too. But back to San Francisco! The whole idea for our trip was based on the realization that life is so short. My mother had just passed away, and my in-laws were dealing with some health issues too. I was feeling kind of freaked out that life was slipping away and I wasn't doing everything that I wanted to do. It was this feeling inside me, screaming DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, and so that is exactly what my husband and I decided to do. We started planning an extended trip. By going for 6 weeks, we will be able to get a true feel for the city and see it as residents, rather than 1-week-tourists. We will have a sweet townhouse just off the Presidio and I plan on spending many days there with the kiddo and my journal. It would be too hard to take my clay for sculpting, but with the art journal and the plethora of galleries in SF, I believe my creative side will be satisfied. There is one sculptor who offers short, workshop-style classes out of her studio, and I hope to be able to take one of her classes. I believe that there is always something to be learned from others, and even though she works in a different style than I do, I think it would be beneficial to take her class. At least I can meet others who are interested in similar things! And speaking of meeting others, I have already connected with another artist in my ecourse class who is in SF and we have already agreed to meet for coffee somewhere. It will be so nice to meet another classmate in real life! Follow the link to check out Tiffany's blog. I know we will have so much in common! So if you have any favorite galleries or shops or restaurants from SF, please let me know in the comments section. I'd love to hear from you! I know one thing I look forward to seeing is the wild parrots. Have you heard of them? I wrote about them in a previous blog post. They sound incredible! In case you didn't know it already, I am kind of fascinated by birds....