I’m sure you’ve all heard the famous quote by Mark Twain “The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco” I’ve heard it too, a million times, in fact I hear it almost every day living here in San Francisco. Although it is quite accurate, it would be ok with me if I never heard it again.

This month we have reached our fifth year of living in San Francisco, and that means our fifth summer in San Francisco. And I can truly say, after all these years I am not bitter about our summers here, unlike many others. Yes I love the sun, warm weather, and blue sky’s. But growing up just a couple hours away from here in the central valley, our summers were miserably hot. Some days reaching 90 degrees before 9am, and others days sitting at a temperature of 110 degrees all day. Miserable. If you didn’t have a pool, you didn’t go outside. Our first house as newlyweds didn’t have a pool, or air conditioning. If it was 110 degrees outside, it was sure to be around the same in our house. The linoleum tile in the kitchen would get so hot, that I couldn’t even walk on it barefoot. The air was so thick in that tiny kitchen it would threaten to suffocate you if you stood in there for more than five minutes. Miserable.

So now, I welcome the fog. I smile as it greets me every morning with its cool breeze while I think about my friends and family melting in their own homes. I feel bad for them, I do. But I don’t miss it. At least not yet.

A couple of days ago we went on a walk, Mari needed to run out all her two year old energy, and I needed fresh air and a clear head, for me that is being in the fog.  So we bundled up, and found a beautiful trail in Lands end just minutes from our house. It was amazing. The fog was just coming in and began to cover the Golden Gate bridge like a blanket. The air was moody, the sky was still, and the mist danced on our eyelashes.

I am constantly blown away and left speechless by all the beauty that surrounds us. It is truly one of my favorite things about living in this city. There are so many trails and so much to explore. And we have decided we are going to explore this city as much as we can.