This just in:  I spent last Saturday morning at Chrissy Field in San Francisco and I wanted to tell you about the best part.

We got there at around 9:00 am.  The weather was perfect; 68 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  But that’s not the best part.

At Chrissy Field, you can walk along a beach on the bay.  The Golden Gate bridge looms large about half a mile away.  But that’s not the best part.

We had our dog, Levi.  He is a huge, 125lb Bouvier Des Flandras.  He is a fairly rare breed and yet, the first person we met on the beach had her Bouvier with her.  There are a lot of dogs on this beach but this is the first time we met one like ours.  The dogs played as we visited with the owner; comparing notes on our “good boys.”  But that wasn’t the best part.

We decided to head west.  This is not our normal route as West has leash requirements while East does not.   So why go West?  For the experience.  But that’s not the best part.

As we would walk along, we, along with our dog, would greet other people.  People are always curious about Levi so there is often a “What kind of dog is that” or “Can I pet him?”  Levi is essentially a mobile conversation starter.  For the next mile or so, we met and chatted with maybe a dozen different people.  But that’s not the best part.

At the end of the beach, the Golden Gate bridge is very close.  There are a few buildings there as well as a pier.  In one of the buildings, we got a couple of coffees and then sat with Levi on the quay wall, looking out over the bay.  As always, people stopped to inquire about Levi.  But that’s not the best part.

A guy came along with a fairly big dog that somehow reminded us of a hippy (the dog, not the guy).  It was very curious and yet, laid back.  Now it was our turn to ask about a dog.  It turns out that this dog is half Bernese mountain dog and half….Bouvier Des Flandras!  The owner was very nice and took the time to send me a link to the kennel where they got their dog.  But that’s not the best part.

We went out onto the pier where there were a lot of people fishing.  People alone, people in pairs, whole families, an entire spectrum of people and relationships sharing the commonality of fishing for crabs. We stopped and talked to maybe 20 people.  They’d ask about the dog and we’d ask about the fishing.   It seemed like someone was always hauling in a crab.  Tourist like myself would be offered a chance to hold one or even toss an understized one back.  There was a small Asian Grandma that was handed a crab.  The woman was small, old and hunched over but she squeeled with delight while getting her picture taken by her family.  There were bar-b-ques going on.  We met a dad and his daughter who was home from school.  A group of 5 year old kids were on an outing and were having the time of their life as crabs were hauled up for their inspection.  A giant seal patrolled nearby, as curious about the people on the pier as they were about him.  We must have spent an hour actively interacting with the people on the pier. But that’s not the best part.

Eventually, it was time to head back to the car.  The dog was worn out.  We were ready to get some lunch.  It had been a great day.  The setting was perfect and all the people we met made everything even better.

As I was driving home across the Golden Gate bridge, I looked over at my wife and knew, as I always know, that she is the best part of everything in my life.

The day was perfect but only because she was there with me.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away….

Jim