We were entering Grand Teton National Park when AJ started to cry. We had been staying in Yellowstone National Park for the past few days and were slightly sleep deprived, due to the constant night time rain (and a gravelly rock filled camp site). But it wasn’t the sleep deprivation that made him cry. We had been slightly off-grid for the past few days, meaning minimal electricity and no cell/data service and as we drove from site to site, in those short little spurts where we had tiny little reception, AJ had gotten a text from his parents. “Win win on Supreme Court for DOMA and Prop 8. Knew it would pass. Yea!!” Turns out gay marriage legalization was here to stay.
We quickly scrambled on his phone to find more information (which was tough while driving and crying) but eventually, under a tidal wave of new text messages from friends and loved ones, we were able to piece together what exactly a win win meant. It meant that we could finally get married if we wanted to in California.
AJ was planning on a solo bicycle ride that morning once we hit Grand Teton and I was going to meet up with him afterwards, but with the news (and the emotional outpouring from both of us) we decided to spend the day together. And though people have since asked if it’s weird that we’re out-of-town while San Francisco (our adopted hometown and the place that started it all) is celebrating the SCOTUS win, for me, it’s not just a California win. It’s a win for all of America. And really, any place that I am with AJ is celebration. The fact that we’re spending the entire summer driving to see America is the best celebration of all.
We’ve been in and out of National Parks and slowly winding our way through America on this summer roadtrip. It’s taking us from San Francisco through Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota and Iowa. We plan on working our way through Missouri and Indiana (where I’m from and where AJ’s from). We’ll end up down in Florida (for the Food and Wine Conference where I’m leading a session on photography) then back home to SF via Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and the Grand Canyon.
You can keep up with AJ and me on our roadtrip via instagram or twitter with the hashtag #RoadtripUSA. You’ll also probably notice that I’m going a bit crazy with the new Instagram video feature. I’m still learning how to use it, so keep that in mind. I’ll have more extensive blogs posts about the places that we visited, but don’t worry, I also have a number of recipes that I want to share with you this summer. In the meanwhile, thank you Supreme Court of the United States for understanding that love is love. And thank you everyone out there, for following along with AJ and me for all this time. You guys truly are the best.
Dawnmarie says
Absolutely love the story of your hearing the news and celebrating. I had tears in my eyes last week when the ruling came down as I thought of what it means for so many of my friends. Enjoy your trip!!! And thanks for sharing!
Arthur in the Garden! says
Wonderful! It has been an interesting time in the USA for us all and a watershed moment for the Supreme Court!
alexandra @ sweet betweens [blog] says
loving your RoadTripUSA Instagram pics! what a great DOMA story, too. to be unplugged and away from the media craze for a while, and to find out such historic + wonderful news straight from your dear loved ones. what a day!
Chelsea says
So happy for what this means for you and for AJ and for so many others! One step closer… also, enjoying your Instagram shots.
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
I love this post, Irvin! I’m Canadian and I’m so happy that the US Supreme Court decided the way it did. It’s about human rights and equal treatment. You guys are on the road towards enjoying rights that others have been enjoying for years (up here, same sex marriage has been legalized for a decade). You and AJ are just too cute in these pics. Enjoy the rest of your trip – I’ve been following along on Instagram and everything looks fabulous!
Miss Kim @ behgopa says
Congrats! Cute photos for a cute post! When I first began reading, I thought AJ started to cry over something bad. Thought he was sad about something. But I’m glad to hear that they were happy tears.
I am so jealous of your road trip across America. I have always wanted to do that. But wow, how are you handling this summer heat throughout your trip?! I can’t wait to see all the different yummy goodness to be explored from the different places you visit!
Belinda @zomppa says
What a magical place to celebrate a magical moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave M. says
Wonderful pictures and story! This is an exciting moment for the LGBT community.
Broderick @ Savory Exposure says
So happy for you both!
Nik@ABrownTable says
I am so happy for you both. It feels great to be a part of history, we had a wonderful celebration here in DC too!
Jay C. says
It was a wonderful day. I was truly surprised because the present court is fairly conservative and it was more than I had hoped for.
Love your site. Love your photography. Hope you guys have a wonderful trip!
merri says
i’ve been following your trip on your instagrams and loving it!! i get to see all the best parts without being in a car for hrs. 🙂 SF was def a great place to be to celebrate the decision, and pride a few days later, but probably couldn’t compare to celebrating it with the one you love in beautiful nature. 🙂
Sugar Jones says
*sniff*
Beautiful.