I flew down into San Francisco on Thursday night, and E picked me up and drove us to Windsor where he lives. It was more interesting than I expected because we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, which I had never done before. Although it was dark and I could not see anything, I knew that I was making a memory that I could look back on for the rest of my life. I love when that happens!
The rest of the weekend was filled with great food, warm weather and exciting visits to all the places that E frequents on a weekly basis. It meant so much to me because for the first time I felt like we were almost a normal couple, which we've never been.
I was also introduced to the spear fishing/diving community. E is ridiculously into spear fishing and free diving, and spent almost the entire weekend recounting diving trips, showing me where he goes diving and introducing me to his diving buddies. It was fascinating and completely foreign to me. When I look at the freezing cold waters of the northern California coast, I have no desire to delve into their depths. Yet, E spends as much time as possible in the water (although he told me he gets ridiculously sea sick and sometimes vomits when he first gets in the water. But then he's fine, which makes no sense to me). Although I sometimes felt out of place because I had no idea what him and his friends were talking about (let's remember that my mother is allergic to shellfish and my family never ate seafood), it was fun to learn about something completely foreign to me.
The Sonoma area is famous for its vineyards, and no trip there would be complete without wine tasting. So on Sunday, E and I decided to stop by one or two wineries before I left later that day. But of course, nothing can ever go smoothly with the two of us. E had told me that the Korbel Champagne headquarters were in the Sonoma area, so that was our first stop. Unfortunately, E's drivers license was denied! Here's the explanation: when E first moved down to Windsor in July, he had to receive a drivers license before he was able to start working. But, he had not finalized his living arrangements, so the DMV told him it was acceptable to put his Oregon address on his California license. The person in charge of the Korbel champagne tasting, however, refused to accept it because he thought it was a fake. So, E was not able to participate in any of the tastings, and I was not interested if he could not partake with me.
The wine tasting was not a complete bust though. We stopped by Martinelli's Vineyards (not the same company as Martinelli's sparkling cider, but they do sell apples to that company which is also located in the Sonoma area), and tasted chardonnay, pinot gris, zinfandel and a few other types that I cannot remember off the top of my head. Apparently zinfandel is as popular in Sonoma as pinots are in the Willamette Valley. And yes, they did not even card us so the license was not an issue. Nor was it an issue with any of the wine tastings he has been on before, or the numerous times he has purchased alcohol at a bar or the grocery store.
Overall, I had a great weekend and feel soooo much better about certain things involving E. I'm glad I took the time to jet set down there.
I'm thinking that my next weekend trip will be to Austin, Texas with my graduation walking buddy from high school. I've heard such great things about that city!
