California, part 1: Telegraph Hill

 

 

 

When you visit San Francisco, they tell you to walk up the stairs on Telegraph Hill. There is a reason for that: these stairs are kind of a little bit magical. You climb up and up and up, peaking into people's gardens and surrounded by green, and then you turn around and get a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay. When I lived in San Francisco the year after college, whenever I got sad about missing the East Coast, I would climb Telegraph Hill and remember how lucky I was to live in such an beautiful place. Of course I would start my California trip here: it reminds me of all of my favorite things about my time out west.

I always forget how restorative a beach vacation can be until I'm on one.

Lately I've been working working working, and I've been exhausted all the time. But one of the grad students in the lab got married in Cape May yesterday, so my boss (who happens to be Emily's mom), and Emily and I took a three day weekend to attend.

The wedding was beautiful, even though it was 96 degrees. It was in the teeny tiniest little chapel right on the ocean, and then the reception was in the lounge of the ferry terminal, and it had the most gorgeous views of the bay and of ships coming and going.

Our hotel is also right on the ocean in downtown Cape May, and it's perfect. We can walk across the beach to jump in the waves for a little while, and then when we're ready, we just grab our towels and walk right back for a dip in the pool. Right now, we're sitting on the patio, waiting out a thunderstorm and watching the massive waves crash on the beach. It's pretty much perfect. I hope all your summers are going just as well.