San Francisco, Californiaa dream Fulfilled

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San Francisco was as wonderful as I had imagined. I had been dreaming of going there for at least a decade and I was not disappointed. Just wish I would have had more time to keep exploring its wonders. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every second I did have. The places I visited were all wonderful & the people were great. Next visit will surely be longer and I will make my way down to

San Diego as well, my other California dream city.

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The Adventure

begins & the best

part was sharing it

with one of my

greatest love.

Yscaira, my sister

& best friend,

I love you.

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Day 1- I arrived to Redwood City around 2:00 pm & we took public transportation into SF which took about 1-1/2 hour . There we met Carmen, a very warm & loving friend of Skys. She welcomed me to SF and treated us to dinner & drinks. Afterwards she took us to the first year anniversary party of the Impact Hub, an amazing place where creative wonderful people get together to work at making the world a better place. I had a lovely night that made me wish I was part of that community. I loved that it was very mixed and even little children were there. Very family oriented. Thank You Carmen!

The day started by heading to The Butler & The Chef Bistro to meet a friend and have an amazing and hearty

breakfast to prepare us for a day of exploring on foot.

After breakfast we headed to the Mission District to do the murals

walking tour. We must have walked about 12 hours that day and every

second of it was fantastic. We visited 2 neighborhoods, had Mexican food for

lunch, walked to Dolores park to check out the hippie vibe and rest our feet. Half an hour later we walked over to

the Castro district, where we witnessed some interesting spectacles, visited an adult toys shop just for fun, had a foot massage when we thought we couldnt walk anymore, had dinner soon after that at a Tapas restaurant called Beso,

which serves awesome delicious catalan cuisine & the best part is that the food comes from their own farm, therefore everything is super fresh &

organic. Amazing! plus we accompanied dinner with a bottle of

wine. But waitour evening did not end there, after dinner we went into a gay bar nearby to drink a little more and check out the scene. Best day of

fun Ive had in a very long time!

D AY 2M I S S I O N D I S T R I C T &

T H E C A S T R O

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So many streets and alleys full of art, full of messages that makes one pause and reflect or simply reminisce. It was a lot of fun

walking those streets & just letting the emotions flow. I Loved, how strong women were represented, most were sexualized as usual, but there is strength in that as well. I was pleased to find

India in the mix.. Love my Indian Goddesses.

Before leaving mission we indulged with a little shopping at these two cute little stores, Luz de Luna and Heart & Soul.

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Oh my God, I love, love, these series of shots. Sky, you are so funny. I laugh all over again every time I see these. Thank You!

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Frida Kahlo was everywhere and we loved it, as we are great fans of her. In honor of that, here are a few great quotes from this amazing woman. * Nothing is worth more than laughter, It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. ** Take a lover who looks at you like maybe

you are magic. * ** I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone jus like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, its true Im here and Im just as strange as you.

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We took every opportunity to be silly and funny and just laugh.

Carefree is the way to be!

Mission District, where one can find murals of many of the great ones whove have passed on.

Johnson, this made me think of you.

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Things that reminded me of people back in NYC .

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The Selfies

Hi Redwood, Whats up?

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Ahhhhhhhh!

Some goofy pics. Enjoying life!

I think he noticed, we were astonished by the GMO cucumber? and the lady did not look pleased. Funny!

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I could never resist immortalizing a flower. I dont pick them any more because of an OSHO quote I read that enlighten me on the matter. Quote: If you love a flower dont pick it up. Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love.

So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

Dolores Park is a city park located at the western edge of the Mission District. The southern half of the park is notable for its views of the Mission district, downtown, the San Francisco Bay and the East Bay.

This part of the park was the only part we visited. It had really amazing views, the sun was shining, and we were tired from walking. So this stop was perfectly scheduled into our tour. Lots of cannabis smokers around.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Districthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_District_(San_Francisco)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Bayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Bay_(San_Francisco_Bay_Area)

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Interesting little fact Im glad I didnt know

while I laid there.

In the 1800s this space was used as

a Jewish cemetery, which became

inactive in 1894. The cemetery was

moved to San Mateo County when San

Francisco land became too valuable

for the dead and burial within the city limits was prohibited.

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The Castro District was so much fun.

Unfortunately both of our phones batteries

gave out & we missed a few opportunities for what would have

been very entertaining pictures, e.g. a guy walking around

completely naked, except for a glittery sock on his private and it was like 50

degrees out.

The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States and has been one of the most lively

for several decades.

Fun!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_village

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Since I did not have a camera while in castro, I took the liberty of adding the pictures on this page from the web.

I saw that flyer of RuPauls Drag race viewing party but it was starting in March so I had to miss the fun.

It would have also been great to watch a drag show but time was limited. I love the living in SF means postcard. So funny.

Even funnier, thats me hugging the go-go dancer at the gay bar. He was giving a line of guys hugs, he seemed very sweet, so I thought,

hey, I love hugs too. It didnt hurt that Ive had a few drinks.

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The Hills.

Thankfully we did

not have to walk

up & down too

many of these.

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The interesting and colorful architecture.

Wish, Id taken more pictures of them.

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Day 3 - We walked around Nob Hill trying to find a place for breakfast before heading to China Town. After going in a few places which did not meet our

desires, we found Honey Honey Cafe and Crepery and it turned out to be a great choice. Afterwards, we

made our way to China Town for some sightseeing and then continued on to Fishermans Wharf.

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San Francisco's Fishermans Wharf gets its name and neighborhood characteristics from the city's early days of the mid to later 1800s when Italian immigrant fishermen came to the city by the bay to take advantage of the influx of population due to the gold rush. Fishermans Wharf its best known for being the location of Pier 39, the Cannery Shopping Center, Ghirardelli Square, a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, the Muse Mcanique, Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier_39http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cannery_Shopping_Center&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghirardelli_Squarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripley%27s_Believe_it_or_Nothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_M%C3%A9caniquehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_Museum_at_Fisherman%27s_Wharfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Maritime_National_Historical_Park

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I had a long wonderful day walking around in this area. Went to the farmers market to buy supplies for our Napa Valley picnic the next day. I stopped by Boudin to have my first ever Sourdough bread bowl soup, which was a delicious rustic tomato with parmesan. Yum! I was so

cold too, it was the perfect meal. It was very windy and in the 50s I believe, but it felt colder by the water. After my

late lunch, I walked over to Ghirardelli Square.

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D a n c i n g l i k e

n o b o d y s w a t c h i n g . : )

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Some cool T-shirts.

There were so many, but we

didnt stop for long.

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After the farmers market I was making my way back to pier 39 and passed by the coolest little bar

which was playing oldies music and I liked the really cool cars parked outside. It was a nice vibe.

I stopped to listen and watch for a little while. Music is my drug!

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Lots of bike lanes. Love it!Saw Alcatraz from afar, with so little time, I

didnt want to take time to go to a prison, regardless of how famous, plus Ive heard its

so popular it is difficult to get tickets. No worries, Lots of other wonderful sights to see!

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Ghirardelli Square was very nice, but the best part of all was that fire pit I found just in time,

and the hot chocolate I enjoyed by it.

I was starting to frost in that cold, I was definitely not

dressed for evening weather by the water, it was seriously cold.

Brrrrr!

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Some of the delicious foods on our outings & what we cooked for our friends

after coming back from Napa Valley!

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Girls day out in Napa Valley.

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Day 4 - Napa ValleyFirst Stop Artesa. It was breathtakingly beautiful

and sipping wine didnt hurt the experience. Although, I must confess I was not impressed with their wine selection on the basic 4 wines

tasting we tried. However the view, the sunshine, and the company was worth every second spent there. I would have stayed for

hours but after an hour or so we continued on.

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Next stop was Peju Winery.Very lovely, smaller property, but very beautiful. We chose to have our picnic here, so instead of a tasting we purchased a

bottle. Everything was perfect, including the wine we chose. On our way out we discovered a lovely garden with a Koi Pond.

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As with almost every place I went to, I wanted

to stay for a few hours, it was so beautiful

and relaxing. However, we had so much to

explore, so we kept going, and in the end I was

very thankful we did.

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Castello di Amorosa This was our last stop at Napa Valley and it was awesome. I kind of felt like vampires were lurking the grounds. This castle was built in authentic Tuscan style. We very much enjoyed walking around taking in the scenic views as well as watching the various animals interact.

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Look past the chickens, see the bride?

Grouchy!

Cool chicken coop. Ever seen chickens with their on tree house?

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Time to leave the castle behind.

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Day 5 - Wunderlich County Park On our last morning we sneaked in a short hike. We didnt have a lot of time before going to the airport but we wanted to maximize our time in San Fran, so we walked the trail for an hour or so. It was so beautiful & the sun was shining, we really wanted to stay all day.

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Wunderlich County Park is located in the hills above the town of Woodside. Wunderlich Park contains

over 900 acres of redwood forest, open meadows, and beautiful oaks and madrones. The park is largely

open space, with a system of beautiful trails that are popular with hikers, runners, and equestrians.

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Find the deer.

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There is no doubt, that there is no place like home, still, I was sad leaving San Francisco so soon. I will be eternally grateful to those who made this trip

possible. It is one of the most amazing gifts Ive ever gotten.

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Aerial Shots of San Francisco on my way back to New York.

Going back to NYC :(

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This dreamy California escape was made possible by you, my amazing loved ones. I would have never imagined that you were going to surprise me with such an

amazing & generous gift. I feel so incredibly blessed & I am so thankful to have in my life such a loving & wonderful group of family and friends.

Words could never express the magnitude of my gratitude to you, and to the Universal Energy which makes all my blessings possible each day.

Without a doubt this will be a year and a birthday to be remembered always. I pray that the tone has been set for the rest of 2015, may it be an amazing year

for all of us, and may we all get to travel, and explore new places. Amen!

Special thanks to my loving sisters Yscaira & Jenny as well as my wonderful son Joshua and my loving friend Spencer for making this trip possible. I adore you!Thank You, to my beautiful daughters Katherine & Crystal, for the gifts & for sharing in my happiness. Thank you, to my second mom, India, for cooking my

favorite meal and being available to us whenever needed.Many thanks & blessings to my sister Yesenia, to my nieces Jesely & Misherly and to the rest of the family as well. Eric, Jay, Robert, Ryan, Clarisa, Wilson,

Natalie, Johnson, Wilbert and my sister Olga, love you guys.Thank you! to Sydney, Julisa & Isabel, as well as those who forgot to write their names along with their contribution and everyone else who attended my party or

sent me good wishes from afar.A million Thanks to Julie & Max who opened up their home to us in San

Francisco and whom were such gracious hosts. Thanks, to all the San Franciscans for making that city as wonderful as it is and leaving me with a great first

impression, eager to return. Many blessings to all, may the universal energy reward you a million times over

for your love and generosity. I love you!

My Thanks to If I happen to leave out your name, forgive me and know that you are loved by me and by the one that guides your loving actions.

The biggest thanks of all, goes to you, my beautiful & amazing soul sister, Yscaira, I cannot, for one second, imagine my life without you.

Thank You, for putting this together as I know that, though, I have many to thank, none of it would have happened without your idea, planning and all your hard work.

Thank you for always being the light & the rainbow, within my storm.

Thank you, for loving me as much as I love you. Thank you for always seeing the light in me. Thank you, for never giving up on me whenever I go into hermit mode which as we know is often. You have showed me throughout our 23 years of friendship that you love me & accept me just as I am, as I do you, I assure you. To be, not only loved, but

accepted its truly a special blessing. Thank You, for always thinking of me and contacting me no matter what part of the world you happen to live-in at the time.

Thank you, for pushing me when Ive needed to be pushed and at times helping me see some hard truths, when Ive been in denial about others characters or actions. Thank you, for being the one to always keep me informed about family gatherings or news, I

wouldnt truly be part of the family without you. Thank you, for always reminding me to take care of myself and not allow others to take advantage of me, regardless of whom they may be. Thank you, for always caring about my happiness & overall well-being.

Thank you, for being my confidant, my ally, my rock, my person.Thank You, for all that, and for so, so, much more.

May the universal energy Bless You! my love, after my children you are without a doubt the grandest and most magnificent gift the Universe has granted me.

I love you with all that I am, my sister, my best friend.

Namaste (I see the divinity in you)- Mayerlin Miches