From LA to SF and back again

I drove from Los Angeles to Merced to San Francisco and back again for the 3 day weekend to spend some quality family time. What better way to spend Valentine’s Day weekend? Especially since my new single status, I knew it was exactly what I needed.
As I pass from one major metropolis to another and through all the country and wide open spaces in between, a flood of emotions come with it as my appreciation for California grows. It is such a beautiful state.
The stress of getting out of Southern California, the constant checking of traffic, and the roll of the dice as to which freeway I should take, 5 hours later I pull into my hometown. Slow moving, and predictable, Merced will always have a small piece of my heart. Most of the memories of people and places no longer exist, only fragments remain. No matter what, it is my hometown.
The next day we woke up and drove through more rolling mountains and arrived in San Francisco.
The city by the bay reminds me of when I was young and it seemed so huge and inspiring. The drastic combination of extremely poor and extremely rich are all sandwiched into the second most densely populated city in California is so intriguing. The culture, the architecture, it’s all so unique. I also love it for the obvious reason that it is where my mom currently resides and it is her beloved stomping grounds. It is impossible not to leave a piece of your heart in San Francisco like Tony Bennett sang of long ago.
Monday 1pm to 9pm, I drove it all back again.
As I crawled down 405 South going about 20 mph, past LAX and limousines caring very important celebrities, Jay-Z on the track, I couldn’t help but smile really, really big. THIS is my home. I can cover the entire state of California, feel a lot of different emotions and appreciation for the cities and country side, but in that moment I knew, this was exactly where I am supposed to be.