A Day Trip: San Francisco to Sonoma
I’m a huge fan of day trips. It’s a chance to get away to a destination that’s right in your backyard. Sometimes we don’t get to discover some of the hidden treasures just outside of our home city because we’re so busy planning out adventures that require extensive transport and advanced detailing. Everyone deserves a mini-break from their lives, even if it is only 24 hours.
Last month I worked on a project for Away which was a 24 hour staycation that Jon and I were able to sneak away on. Despite the busy weeks we had leading up to it, I’m so grateful we were able to steal some time to be together, relax, and reconnect with one another. We’ve been feeling super compressed because of how busy the year started off so this little trip was well deserved and much needed.
We decided to book a night over at the Gaige House + Ryokan in Sonoma. A place I’ve been dying to go to after seeing amazing photos of their Zen suite which had a traditional Japanese soaking tub.
Click on the image below to check out the full
Here Magazine feature
click on the image above
One of the benefits of having my partner, Jonathan come along on a trip is that I get beautiful photographs that tell the entire story of our trip. JK, what I love the most is being able to spend much deserved quality time with him. Taking the day to produce the content for this feature brought me back to the days where I used to weddings with him. (he’s still booking weddings)
Away wanted us to create content to feature their DayPack backpack, an awesome medium sized backpack that’s perfect for day trips and a great soft goods to complete your Away travel uniform.
Get $20 OFF your first Away luggage purchase here.
OUR FIRST STOP
THIRD CULTURE BAKERY
We love stopping by Third Culture Bakery. We discovered this little shop during our couples therapy sessions, since our therapist is just around the corner. The two owners Sam and Wenter started their business by chance. They’re just two Third Culture Kids honoring their family traditions in a modern twist. Third Culture Bakery makes these gluten-free muffins with mochiko rice flour, milled from a sweet, glutinous rice from Koda Farms, a family of fifth generation rice farmers in the Central Valley. All of their ingredients are high quality and locally sourced as much as possible.
My favorite drink to order: The Golden Yogi, a tumeric and matcha latte made with rice milk and honey.
Now that we picked up our road trip snacks we were off and ready to go!
After a pitstop at Rams Gate Winery, we were back on our way to Gaige House + Ryokan. It was perfect timing too because it had just started to rain. One of the reasons why we stoped by Rams Gate was because we heard they make an amazing Pinot Noir, but they also offer Tesla charging. Ever since purchasing my Tesla, we’ve had to plan trips around superchargers and charging stations which is great because it gives me an opportunity to slow down in my day and sometimes I get the chance to read.
GAIGE HOUSE
+ RYOKAN
We finally arrived at the Gaige House, we decided to book the Ryokan Suite which includes a traditional Japanese soaking tub, atrium, and a gorgeous little master suite set up. When we arrived we were greeted with some sake.
We quickly Googled a casual little dinner place
DINNER AT
THE GLEN ELLEN STAR
Learn about what we ordered for dinner here.
We then checked out of Gaige House + Ryokan and was on our way back home, but we had a few other stops along the way.
And when hunger strikes…Gott’s Roadside Burgers!
#WHATSINMYBAG
my travel essentials
There are things I absolutely never leave home without and with every trip I take, I keep finding more and more creature comforts that I’m adding onto my packing list. What can I say? I’m a wanderlust who still loves feeling home in any destination.
My DayPack or the Everywhere Bag are the two soft goods I travel with. They are my must have where ever I go and you can see why. It easily fits everything I need to go with ease.
#WHATSINMYBAG
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Go-To Skincare Face Hero Oil ($34) - currently my favorite face oil. I love how it’s easily absorbed into the skin and doesn’t leave the skin feeling oily. Make up also tends to apply smoothly over it without and blotchiness.
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13” inch MacBook Pro ($1799) - never really OUT OF OFFICE when I pack this thing, but that’s what happens when you love what you do for work.
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Notebook + Pens (see this post) - I love to bullet journal! (read more about my BUJO setups) I use always pack a pencil case full of my favorite pens, pencils, and markers so that I can scribe on the go.
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Apple Airpods ($159 at Target) - I have had my fair share of earbuds and I have to say I’m pretty impressed with Apple’s Airpods. It’s become the earbuds I always pack because of its sleek shape, high quality sound, and the ease of using the same lightning cable used to charge my iPhone.
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RX Bars + other snacks - there’s no explanation for this.
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Away Mini Luggage - I pack all my tech essentials in this little guy. It’s home to all my charging cords, plugs, etc.
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Swell Bottle 17oz. ($35) - We already know I’m obsessed with Swell Bottles since 2016 so I don’t really need to explain. But I always have one with me when I travel so I can reduce my waste and stay hydrated.
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Saje Wellness Pocket Farmacy ($59) - hands down the best essential oils kit you can ever own. This kit has 5 essential oil roll ons to help with relief and release of stress or any other minor pain or ache. From head to toe this kit has you covered.
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Business Cards - because you just never know who you want to keep in touch with when you travel. Plus, saying “Check me out on Instagram” is really lame, don’t ever do it please.
