Six years ago I walked into a small café in the kooky, quaint town of Guerneville. I had returned to Sonoma to learn to make wine and settled in the remote coastal town of Occidental, with Glenny, my girlfriend at the time (now my wife). We had just moved from New York a week or so earlier and discovered that the manager and chef at this café had not only recently moved from Brooklyn as well, but was from the very same neighborhood - and had lived just a couple blocks from us. She had even worked at the sister wine shop where my wife and I met.
A connection was made. Something more than coincidence was at play perhaps. We became quick friends. It wouldn’t be long before she would remark that I needed to meet her brother. That she just knew we'd connect too. But he was busy, or rather – away at the time, with his then girlfriend (and now wife). More on that shortly.
Eventually, her brother and I would meet - at Doña Tomás, here in Temescal, just over two years ago. And his sister was right, but not just about her brother, David – it was easy to feel an immediate connection with his partner, Alexandra, as well... and impossible to ignore their unique magnetism, and the sense that I was supposed to meet this pairing that was destined to pair.
A Year Off: A Story About Traveling the World-and How to Make it Happen for You is a book about connections. About destiny and destinations. One part memoir, one part travel essays and one part travel guide, it documents the story of Alexandra and David Brown, a couple who decided to take a year off from their jobs and 'regular lives' to travel the world together - embarking on their journey after only knowing each other for four months.
TONIGHT... A very special Thursday Night Flights! OAKLAND YARD welcomes Chronicle Books and the authors of A Year Off, Alexandra and David Brown. Join us as we celebrate this spirit of exploration. There will be white and red flights from around the globe and complementary nibbles. Say yes. Throw your homework onto the fire. Come out and find the one you love. Tasting Flights and wines by the glass from 4-8pm! Launch party from 6-8 For more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/259409701365264/
SUNDAY: September 8th: ROSÉ Tasting! The sun will be out and we'll be pouring some dry and delightful pink favorites from around the world. Roll in to OAKLAND YARD for Flights from 2-6pm - and wines by the glass until 9pm!
SUNDAY, September 9th: LOIRE FLIGHTS – some of our favorite mineral-driven whites and earthy fresh reds from the Loire river valley! Flights $15, from 2-6pm.
See you soon,
Daniel