Desert Laura

    Mr. C and I went to San Francisco for our honeymoon.  Spent ten amazing days relaxing, eating, walking, sightseeing, and more eating.  I forget how much I love to travel and, luckily, I found a great travel companion.  I also love San Francisco.  The diversity of people, cultures and neighborhoods kept us busy exploring new things every day.  I think one of my favorite things to do was sitting on the bus and just listening to all the different languages spoken in one place.  When we were on the one bus, we heard lots of Russian and Japanese.  When we were on another, it was a mix of Mandarin, Portuguese, and other random languages.   Poster in Chinatown indigenous rights mural in Mission district San Francisco never seems to lose it's appeal for lovers, newlyweds, or couples.  My parents came here for their honeymoon over 40 years ago.  Countless friends have told me they spent their honeymoon here, too. ...

I suppose most brides would say their wedding day was the most amazing day of their lives.  But, for me, I mean it .  This day came not without stress, anxiety, tears and disappointment; but despite all of it, it was the most remarkable gathering of people in one place.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  I couldn't have imagined it would turn out better than I thought.  I should start from the beginning.  Well, the beginning of the week, at least. It started with a phone call from my grandmother saying she couldn't come to my wedding, despite the fact that she was visiting from Chicago.  It appears that my father has more influence and can invoke more fear in people than I thought.   My mom also confirmed that she, too, could not make it.  My aunt from Chicago had also planned to visit, along with her 3 children, but soon discovered what it means to be on my father's bad side.  Turns out, he found out she was coming and threatened ...