When the decision was made to move back to Northern California after approaching my 8th year down south, the flood of emotion over everything I would be leaving behind hit quick. All the amenities that I had become so accustom to were all going to become memories of how things were. The infinite menu selections at all times of day, with optional door to door delivery would be reduced to a few pizza joints that might deliver up to 10:00pm. Yougurtland, Canter’s Deli truck, that Mexican Japanese BBQ place in Korea town, all bound to be places that I would lay at night dreaming about. The more I pondered the more overwhelming the sense of loss became and I wasn’t the only one feeling it, Ryan was feeling it too. His last visits were full of revisiting our favorite spots together on top of trying all those spots we always said we would go to. We bought enough Crumb’s cupcakes on Larchmont in the final months to open our own bakery.
We knew what we were about to leave behind and we did all we could to soak it up before it was all just a story.
I think during any transition in life the fear of losing the comfort of what you know can initially out weigh the excitement of new memories about to come. (I realize how bad that sounds like ones of those “like if you agree” quotes on Facebook, just so you’re aware.) The reality that I was moving to be with, inevitably, my future Mr. was truly the most exciting step I had ever taken, just took a minute for both of us to get there. I constantly found myself asking “What are we going to do in Sonoma County? ” There just didn’t seem to be that much to do, especially in comparison to everything at my disposal in LA.
The decision had been made around October of 2010 that a move was unavoidable and by March of 2011, I threw all my belongings in a U-Haul, loaded the cat and boyfriend into the Jetta and waved good-bye to Hollywood one last time.
The first step I took to help ease the feelings of being a new kid was get to know the area. I knew my anxiety of relocating somewhere with nothing to do was ignorant and stubborn of me and I had a determination to squash it. Luckily, I had an unbelievably good looking tour guide to show me around. It wasn’t long before I had discovered, my favorite areas to people watch, top spots to munch at and even some places to shop. There was life beyond La Brea after all.
Today, beginning my fourth year as a re-transplanted transplant, I relish in the endless options of how to spend our weekends. With San Francisco about an hour away, Marin County between us and the local scenery that includes everything from vineyards to sand filed beaches, there is little room for complaint. The biggest highlight for me has been discovering something that Ryan and I can both be passionate about. In Los Angeles, I loved the infinite options of free things to do, ways to spend an afternoon enjoying the priceless things in life. Photography has really filled that void for me, for us. I think that with camera in hand we both have discovered Sonoma County and the areas around us with a refreshed vision. The two of us have such diverse creative outlooks and very opposing strengths and weaknesses. This has allowed us to learn from each other skills, techniques and view points that would have been impossible alone. I have always loved photography, mini photo sessions with myself or the streets of LA was a frequent pass time of mine, but if it wasn’t for me relocating and starting this adventure with my Noodle, I would never be able to truly call it my hobby. Leaving everything I knew to start again has been all the more worth it, as I have gained one hell of a bff of a husband and reached a level in my photography that I never would have seen coming. Home is where the heart is, and at least for now, my heart is here.
