As I write this, the sun is just coming up in Sonoma County, but I haven't seen any of it yet. Getting here took 13 hours, a car, 2 airplanes, a bus and a taxi, and so far every moment I've spent in California has been in darkness. And yet, it was a great trip: on my first flight, I met a gentle man who read religious texts quietly to himself for most of the voyage until he ventured to introduce himself to me as the plane was descending; he's in computers and he has five children, ages 12 to adult. For most of our conversation he avoided eye contact, but he was smiling the entire time, until finally, he looked me straight in the eyes:
"I love being a dad," he said, with love in his voice.
On my second flight, I sat next to a 78-year-old hippie: he deals in precious stones, and travels around the country, often in an old camper; he hikes and mountain-climbs and said things like "far out," to express his pleasure. He told me about the 60's and the 70's and his kids ("They turned out so great, and I'm not sure why!") and the great loves of his life. He viewed living as an adventure, and to be honest, simply hearing his stories was an adventure. We traded cards at the end of the voyage, and I hope he keeps in touch.
And then there was the light:
And now, it's time for me to get dressed, get my camera gear and find a hearty breakfast, especially since today will be full of learning: all about La Crema, and their processes for making their wine. I love wine, and having already tried La Crema I know I'm going to be in for a treat; however, what I'm most excited about is photographing their vineyards, which I hear are looking incredibly lovely these days.
Plus, since every place is different, I can't wait to capture Sonoma light. I bet it's extraordinary.
Song: Me & Julio down by the schoolyard by Simon & Garfunkel
This post and my trip to Sonoma are kindly sponsored by the awesome folks at La Crema Wines, as part of their new Make Your Moment campaign. La Crema celebrates the deliberate decision to create something fantastic, and invites everyone everywhere to create meaningful moments each day (something that I'm obviously very fond of doing). Over the next few months, I'll be sharing some of my favourite ways to inject awesome, joy-filled moments to your life, so I hope you'll read along.
But first, I'll be telling the visual story of this trip to their vineyards, so stay tuned, friends.
