Grave-hopping

My husband and I went graveyard hopping last Sunday.

After months of waiting, I had finally learned the plot location of my great-grandmother (Marion) at Mt. Tam Cemetery, so we drove up to San Rafael to see it. Unfortunately, there is no plot map and the plot areas aren't clearly marked. After two hours of searching up and down muddy hills, we caved and headed south to the Golden Gate National Cemetery where her husband, my great-grandfather (Paul) is buried. 

Thanks to the organization skills of the US military, we found Paul's gravesite in less than 5 minutes. I left some flowers and took a few pictures. He is buried with his 3rd (possibly 4th) wife, Anna. He served in the US Army and was stationed in Hawaii during the Spanish American War after an injury during basic training left him unable to serve in combat.

I decided to call Mt. Tam Cemetery the following day to follow up and fully expected to be put off again for months.  A lovely woman named Mary-Kay politely took my name and said she call me back later in the day.  I was shocked when she called me the next day to tell me that we were in the right place looking for Marion's grave, but the gophers had dug up dirt that obscured the headstone.  It's now been found and maintenance is going to clean up the area so when I visit again I'll be able to spot it.  I suppose 98 years of no one visiting does that to a grave.  Mary-Kay mailed me the plot map along with a map of the entire cemetery (which I will post because I can't possibly be the only one looking for one).  

I'm terribly excited to visit my great-grandmother's grave in the coming weeks.