Sometimes you don’t know what you really want until it’s right in front of you.

The minute I got to San Francisco, I knew: I couldn’t leave this city until I hugged a redwood tree.

Sure, the delicious dumplings were also noteworthy, as were drinks with friends I see hardly ever, and getting to hang out with my ridiculous west coast colleagues.  But there was a redwood-sized hole in my heart that only a hug could fix.

So on Saturday, Dan (my high school prom date), Steven (his fiancé), and I headed out into the Muir Woods for a redwood adventure.  If you’re in the area, do not miss this park – it was everything I dreamed it would be and more.  The trees were so enormous and so different from the pines and oaks back in New England.  The canopy above looked like a caricature of itself, with small pinwheeled branches reaching toward the sun.

And even without going off the path, I got to hug and climb inside not one but half a dozen redwoods, having my own Ferngully moment of appreciating these trees that are older than everyone I know, older than most of the states in the union, and still reaching toward the sky all the same.

Hugging a redwood for the first time! (with Dan peeking over my shoulder)

My walking buddies, Steven and Dan

Redwood canopy, as seen by a short human

Achievement unlocked – now on to the next goal!