Adding To The Story

For the boyfriend's birthday I decided the best way to celebrate a big number was for us to FINALLY go on a trip of our own... No friends or weddings, family or birthdays but just the two of us on our own seeing somewhere new together.

I picked San Francisco because I knew enough about the city to have things to show but not too much to not be able to find new things. Johnno hadn't been since he was young so it would be new to him and the perfect mix of exeprience and possibility. I was excited to be able to show something to him but more to crreate something for us.

We flew out on a Friday night--delayed of course--but we finally arrived in the city in the dark of night. After a hair-raising super shuttle ride which involved us being lost for another of a time period to make me more insane--we finally found our cute little bed and breakfast in Castro. I figured Castro was gay enough, foot friendly enough and romantic enough for us to have something to do each day even if we never left it.

But of course we did the gayborhood and head out into the city. I immediately got us lost trying to walk down to the wharf--sending us up a hill and away from the water which is pretty impressive considering you can see where the damn water is. The iphone--aka my arch enemy--was of no use and it took a bit to get things going right but once we did--it was off and running.

We managed to make our way through the city to the water, see the seals, pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, and more confusion as we tried to find the right bar. We were on a mission and hungry and tired--which is not a good combination for either of us but we eventually collapsed into the Buena Vista for amazing Irish coffees and conversation.

This is where the romance part started. We spend time lingering over coffees and tellling each other stories about who we were before "us"; about the people dated before, the things we did as kids, the little pieces of histroy that somehow had stayed in the background. It was relaxing and reassuring that we continue to have so much to say to each other, still so much to share and live through together. Sometimes the hardest part is to not assume or get comfortable--this afternoon showed me how much more we could have to be for each other.

We then spent the remainder of the day exploring--post sex nap--and I showed him the little things I learned about the city from other trips. We stood in the City Lights bookstore and looked at books about the Beat poets and drank in the atmosphere as writers can do. We wandered the dark streets of Chinatown and laughed at the umbrellas and kimonios, the geisha pictures and lucky cat statues. We had dinner at the same romantic resteraunt I took Chloe once by accident--we stared out over the city as we sipped cocktails and enjoyed great food. And even though the fortune cookie through me off--"accept the next proposition you get"... We recovered from fate's plans and made our way back out into the streets.

We drank in pretty bars and ate lunch next to dogs, we played pool in bars named after famous whales and shared champaigne while ignoring the Super Bowl for a bit... We had many more moments--holding hands and little smiles, lots of moments that should make me embarrassed.... I never knew how much a bed and breakfast can make you feel like you are having sex in your parents house.

And then it was time to come home--back to where we both live and sleep. There was something reassuring about that--to know we had a place to belong after we saw the city together. It wasn't so much about the Dollhouse but about us having a home with each other. It's the major plot of our lives right now.