My wife and I are always looking for an excuse to jump on a plane. While 2-year wedding anniversaries may not be widely celebrated or considered a milestone, the pandemic continues to remind us that every moment and day is to be celebrated. Plus, we got married and celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary during the pandemic so it was definitely time for us to do something we love and that’s travel.
The first time my wife and I went on vacation together was in August 2017. She came with me on an ambassador trip with Genesis USA.
Exploring Southern California
As we grow together and individually become more grounded, we continue to realize that getting out of the concrete jungle to calmer places is paramount to our mental health. Our spirits need the sunshine, clear blue sky, and close proximity to clean sand and the ocean. This kind of living fills up our cup and brings us peace.
My wife and I have frequented Los Angeles quite a bit over the years so we mixed it up this time, exploring places that she has yet visited. On the eve of our anniversary, I drove her down the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to one of my favorite places to relax and restore, the Helser Park Gazebo at Laguna Beach. We sat on the rocks for hours, sun-basketing and listening to the ocean. I’ve spent countless evenings and nights reading a book or listening to the waves at Helser Park so I knew it be the perfect place for her to just be in the moment. We continued driving South from there, stopping in my hometown of Oceanside before crossing, what she felt like the never-ending bridge to Coronado Island where we watched a beautiful sunset before the Hunter Moon light up the sky.
We capped the night in the most spontaneous way. An impromptu full body massage at this inconspicuous Asian spa called Lavender Day Spa. I’m not going to lie, internally, the New Yorker in me kicked in and I was ready for anything to go South! As I got undressed, brought myself back to my ujjayi breath, and laid on the bed in my birthday suit, I felt my body start to calm. Before you knew it, I fell into a state of deep relaxation.
I’m so glad we did it because it was the perfect mental and physical release under the rare double blood full moon.
Our Anniversary
Our anniversary eve was so incredibly amazing that we decided to keep it pretty low-key for our actual anniversary. We slept in, laid out in the sun, and of course, enjoyed a delish meal. We dined at one of our favorite plant-based restaurants, Gracias Madre, located in West Hollywood. The rest of the day was pretty chill. We relaxed and wholly embraced the energy of the full moon that was illuminated on both October 9th and 10th, 2022.
A Little Sustainable TLC
The Mrs and I stayed at the 1 Hotel West Hollywood. The sustainable luxury hotel draws its inspiration from nature and the abundant sunshine of Southern California.
Our Studio Suite faced north, making it feel like we were tucked away in the hills. The 500 sq. ft room is decorated with natural materials selected to bring the outside in. The suite includes a luxurious king-sized plush pillow-top mattress and sustainably sourced bedding that’ll make you feel like you’re melting into a cloud, a large seating room, and a refreshing bathroom.
We spend late mornings and early afternoons reading our books by the outdoor pool. In the late afternoons, we’d go for long walks, just as the sun hid behind the hills. We’d walk for hours, weaving up and down the backstreets of the Hollywood Hills, talking about everything, and stopping ever so often to gaze at the City of Angels glittering under the night sky. Our nights were spent eating at new restaurant and binging watching Ryan Murphy’s, Dahmer.
Places to Eat
Churros Don Abel
What I’m Learning
The key to a healthy relationship is first looking inward and understanding your strengths, weakness, triggers, and challenges. The better you understand yourself the more you’ll understand your partner.
A relationship is two people making a commitment to never give up on one another. When you’re able to see someone else’s humanity, their strengths and challenges, and make it work, everything else comes easy.
2 years of marriage and counting.
What do you think?