SAUSALITO
If you left your heart in San Francisco,
It’s probably only because you didn’t go a little farther north to
SAUSALITO…
Second only to being surrounded by my boys and my wife on my couch at home,
Sausalito my favorite place on EARTH!
I am not often one for favorites.
I tend to find beauty in so many locations…
But, for me, there is a harmony that I find in Sausalito that is immediate, profound and so very filling.
From the first time that I visited as a teenager with my parents, to the many visits in the early '90s working on the Metamucil project, to my recent visit with the family a few years ago... it's always the same...
I don’t know if it’s the water that seems to be a part of every view,
Or the mountains that rise above it.
I don’t know if it’s the familiar Spanish feel of the parks,
Or the fact that every cup of coffee is bold and so very perfect.
I don’t know if its the flowing wine, or the light breeze,
Or the old couple sitting outside having their breakfast, acknowledging me and smiling in the most genuine of ways…
I don’t know if it’s the gorgeous homes all built around the views, or the endless steps up between them…
Or the way the houses cling on to the sides of the hills…
Or the boueys holding on to theirs sail boats…
I don’t know if it’s the sounds of the waves hitting upon the rocks, or the art galleries where every piece of art seems alive…
Or the restaurants that cantilever over the water providing the most gorgeous of views…
Or the ducks on the pilons or the seals in the water…
I don’t know if it’s the fact that it feels remote, but is so accessible, or that it feels so natural while being so very urban.
I don’t know if it’s the fashion sense of the people, or the active lifestyle of the joggers… the countless road bikers, or the happy tourists…
I just know that when I am here, my heart smiles and dreams and thanks…
I went for a workout this morning after my 4:30 am conference call. I worked out in a small gym, and later turned on the television, aware of my distancing from the moment.
Victor Hugo’s Miserable, the movie, came on. So there I am, lifting weights and being a meat head, sweating and manly, listening to the soothing sounds of Jean Van Jean or something like that. That music inspires me… what can I say.
So after my workout, I went downstairs and decided to go for a short run before I sprinted back to get dressed to take the ferry in for my day of meetings…
Aware of my pace, and wanting to enjoy the moment, I took my first step.
As I came around the park, the sky was a majestic pink, the city seemed very far and yet close enough to touch it. The water which was awesome and expansive in the view with the Bay Bridge in the background was a very perfect kind of blue… like it was lit from beneath.
I had to stop running and just breathe.
There was a boat approaching with the lights on that was centered in the picture, and for a moment I wished I had my camera.
Then I remembered… just be here, capture this moment in my mind, enjoy this moment right now…
It will be my one and only sunrise in Sausalito on this trip… and it’s the only one I need.
There is something about Sausalito and me…
I can’t describe it in words…
But I feel it every moment that I am here.
And, I am grateful for having known this place in my life…
I dream of living in a place where I feel this connected…
And, I look forward to going home.
I will come back soon… I leave tomorrow very early, but
There is a part of me that I don’t think has ever left…
Maybe it was a part of me that was here even before I visited the first time.
It waits for me…
patiently,
longingly,
faithfully…
To embrace me every time that I return...
Yours in Sausalito...,
Nestor