We leave our hearts in San Francisco

Well the day has finally come... in just a few short hours we will drive our car across the bay bridge for what may be the last time ever, as we exit this MAD city. With our car packed full of tangible stuff and UNTOUCHABLE MEMORIES that will bring us joy and laughter for many many years. My HEART SWELLS and MY EYES FEEL WITH TEARS as I think about it. Had you asked me a month or 2 ago I would have told you that San Francisco IS NOT my favorite city and that I would NEVER choose to live here on my own terms. It's Union Square doesn't come close to the feeling I got returning to TIMES SQUARE even after the billionth time. Golden Gate park is bigger than Central Park but it's not nearly as MAGICAL nor has as much to offer. Seeing all the skyscrapers from across the bay is a beautiful sight but it's not the same as driving from New Jersey into New York City... seeing even bigger, more incredible buildings, especially the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, along with the STATUE OF LIBERTY. The smell of smoke is CONSTANTLY around you in San Francisco and the smell of those STINKY sea lions makes me almost throw-up every day as I walk past them on my way to work. Spending, sometimes up to 30 minutes driving around our block TRYING TO FIND A PARKING SPACE has tested my patience more than once. We have spent HUNDREDS of dollars in parking tickets because we forgot to move our car on street cleaning days. Yet, the SAME motor home has been parked in the SAME spot on the SAME street by our apartment FOR 4 MONTHS, never with a ticket on it, nor been towed, ARGH! We spend about $50 a month washing our clothes in a COMMUNITY washer and dryer and sometimes they come out smelling WORSE than when they went in! I DISLIKE folding my own clothes yet, I fold 20+ shirts a day, in which most of them I HAD JUST FOLDED AN HOUR EARLIER! With all that being said, I AM GOING TO MISS THIS PLACE MORE THAN I CAN EXPRESS!!! Our 1960 built apartment has been OUR FIRST HOME. We were fortunate enough to live in San Francisco during the time THE SF GIANTS WON THE WORLD SERIES! I have been lucky enough to work with my husband every day for almost 5 months. We make HARDLY ANY MONEY yet the experiences we have had here have been PRICELESS. I have realized there, most likely, will never be another moment in the next 40+ years, that I get to spend ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, FOR 4 STRAIGHT MONTHS, WITH MY HUSBAND and that alone makes me not want to EVER leave all of this! Howie and I have learned more about each other in these 4 short months, than I'm sure most couples learn about each other, in YEARS! He hasn't even started traveling with his new job, but I ALREADY MISS HIM... I will miss laying on his chest every night in bed, SNUGGLING, putting my freezing hands on his warm chest and my ice cold toes on his firey feet... we make a good team, I'm his COOLER and he's my HEATER! =o) Before we got here we were excited to be coming to a store that WASN'T DOING VERY WELL, in hopes that we could MAKE A DIFFERENCEand we FAR EXCEEDED OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS! Of course, with the help of OUR OTHER HALF The Shaw's... who have become OUR BEST FRIENDS. We will miss spending every day with them!
Not to toot our own horn but we have to brag a little here. This past week we got the Del Sol newsletter to find THE 4 OF US ON THE FRONT COVER! TOOT TOOT!! The previous week we got a last minute, SURPRISE visit from the CEO of the company (Howie's uncle Jeff), and I guess he was impressed with what we've done. The last time Jeff was at the Pier 39 store was last summer. He was ASTONISHED with the improvements that we had made in the store and also by the CONSECUTIVE INCREASE IN SALES EACH MONTH SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE! We can PROUDLY say we have increased sales (not by just a little but quite DRASTICALLY) from last years numbers. This month alone we have increased sales by over 170% FROM LAST DECEMBER! AND... the Pier 39 store finished the year with the HIGHEST INCREASE IN SALES from last year OVER ALL OTHER DEL SOL STORES WORLDWIDEwith a 63% yearly increase!

So as we say our goodbye's, we salute you Tony Bennett for saying it best... (with a few changes)
We LEAVE OUR HEARTS in San Francisco
High on a hill, they call to us.
To be where LITTLE CABLE CARS
Climb halfway to the stars!
The morning fog may chill the air
I DON'T CARE
OUR LOVE GREW there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea
When we COME HOME to you, San Francisco,
YOUR GOLDEN SUN WILL SHINE FOR US!
San Francisco will always be considered a home to us, for it is where our life together, began. So until NEXT TIME San Francisco, WE WILL BE MISSING YOU!!