Don't Tell Me You Have a Map

Last weekend cousin Ashley came to visit. The weekend was full of laughter, reminiscing, exploring and sight seeing. It reminded me a little of what it was like to have a female roommate again, especially since she and I had lived together just a year ago. However, Nate and Ashley get along really well too. It could be because their first meeting took place when Nate had a rather scraggly beard and Ash was just fresh off her mission. From that point on, a bond was forged. She was Nate's advocate all along and helped me see the way I felt about him was more than just the friendship I thought it was. Often, Nate and Ash would stay up late talking on the couch long after I had fallen asleep while sitting there. Needless to say, we were both very excited to have her come stay for a few days.

Nate had to work on Friday so Ashley and I decided to go explore on our own. There were a few times that day that the song - One of These Things is Not Like the Other-from Sesame Street came into my head. The first time was when we stopped at a gas station in Oakland. Ash didn't even wait to fill the tank all the way. No more needs to be said. The other time was when we missed our exit and somehow ended up in the mission. We had a good laugh. One of the funniest moments is when after staring at her atlas for about 10 minutes because we were lost, I was suddenly reminded that I was carrying an excellent street map in my purse that I had put in that morning for such situations like these. Duh!

We finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge and celebrated by walking across on foot-a 1st for me. We then met up with Nate and went to Golden Gate Park. We spent a little bit of time walking around the de Young Museum. There are some pretty cool artifacts there. We were mesmerized by various tribal items from Africa and Papua New Guinea. There is so much more still to be discovered.

On Saturday we headed to the Marin Headlands. Before doing some hiking we stopped at Point Bonita, a lighthouse on the northern side of the entrance to the bay. Although it was very windy, it was sunny and clear. What more could you ask for? Afterwards, we found a trail in the headlands and went hiking. It was fun and the fresh air revitalizing. No good hike is complete without a little refreshment. We stopped at Polyanne's for ice cream on the way home. Feeling a little crazy we spun the wheel and lucked out. Nate's was the worst. He had ginger. Ashley had pineapple-coconut and I had Honeydew Melon. Saturday night ended my favorite way, falling asleep on the couch to Nate and Ash talking. There is something relaxing about falling asleep to voices and it's something I've enjoyed my whole life.

Overall, we had a great weekend and loved having Ashley visit.