Maybe it’s the change of season that we anticipate in Northeast Ohio with mild temperatures and less snow forecasted. Perhaps it’s because of its significance in our early stages of dating.
At the time, David frequently traveled for work. He was with a customer in the Bay Area, so traveling there was easier as we booked Edward a round-trip ticket to San Jose for an extended personal weekend. Being Edward’s first trip to the West Coast, David drove us in a rental car, which Edward helped navigate and curate playlists centered around Honne.
We used the HOV lanes (reserved for those with more than one passenger and high-efficiency vehicles), which is symbolic of a benefit to doing more with another.
We drove through Santa Cruz Friday afternoon and hiked at Point Lobos along the Monterey Peninsula. We covered a lot of sights! We thought we’d chase sunsets and see whales, and we succeeded in one of those. But to our surprise, we discovered a small, cute, and quaint art district.
We ended up having dinner in Carmel-by-the-Sea and admired the beautiful art in the galleries. It was a night to remember.
Our friends joined us on Saturday when we met and went to Napa and Sonoma County to enjoy the wineries together. We started with Buena Vista, the oldest winery. It was surreal crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, by the way.
Then we went to Artesa, which offered vistas of the country as far as the eye could see. We wrapped up in Napa at the Wine Alley, which was so fun to stroll and stop into various tasting rooms. It was such a fun day.
We admired the city’s view and Painted Ladies at Alamo Square Park as we walked around the Mission District and Dolores Park. We shopped and enjoyed a mimosa in Jonathan Adler. We took in some tastes at Ghiradelli and Dandelion Chocolate.
We stood in awe in front of the house where Mrs. Doubtfire was filmed and paid tribute to those before us in the Castro. It was so powerful as we felt emotional crossing the rainbow-painted crosswalks, and seeing so much love and passion paved the way to the rights we share today.
As we look forward to our next trip, we reflect on how this shaped us. We recognize our love of bringing elements from our travels into our homes. We appreciate how wine tastings were a privilege that allowed us to enjoy the sacred grape more together.
And, of course, the art and architecture we saw in California inspire us as we look forward to our new build. Our subconscious ideas in our minds ultimately present themselves in our design choices; we’re sure of it!
We are an interracial, same-sex married couple, on our journey of building a family, turning our house into a home and capturing our daily adventures.
