Bonnie and Nate... They made our home. We often think of them warmly.
ボニー、ネイト・・・私たちのHOME：「心休まる場所」になってくれた二人。何度となく二人と過ごした時間を思い出しては、優しい気持ちになった。
Shingo saw their A-frame house on Instagram. "A playful fun wooden house" was the first impression. With our broken car beside us, we sent them a message, asking to visit. Bonnie quickly replied saying, "YES!" How encouraging it was to know somebody was waiting for us, even though we hadn't seen our future car yet. Some comfortable conversations told me about her friendly personality. She told us that her husband, Nate loves Japan and rides 1987 Toyota FJ60. We had the idea to make them a home-cooked Japanese meal as a thank.
インスタグラムで見つけたボニー達のA-frame house。「木で遊んでいる、楽しそうな家」が第一印象。走らなくなった愛車を傍らに車を探している最中送ったメッセージには、すぐ返信が！車は見つかっていないけど私たちを待っている人がいる。どんなにか励まされたことだろう。心地のよいメッセージのやりとりがボニーの友好的な人となりを伝えた。１９８７年製のトヨタFJ６０に乗るという日本びいきのネイトのために家庭料理を作ること提案したら、二人とも和食が大好きだと楽しみにしてくれた。
From Lake Tahoe, I don't remember why but we took a winding road through Eldorado National Forest and Stanislaus National Forest, not the flat road going close to the state capital, Sacramento. It took us half a day. Arnold was a pretty little town that's famous for Calaveras Big Tree State Park. Arnold is popular as a vacation destination. (The next day, Bonnie took us on a driving tour of the town. There were some unique A-frame houses.)
タホ湖から州都サクラメント経由の平坦な道ではなく、なぜかエルドラド、スタニスロース国立森林公園を通るクネクネ道を選び、走ること半日。やっとたどり着いたアーノルドはカラベラス・ビッグツリー州立公園で知られる小さな町だった。別荘地としても人気の町。（二日目ボニーが連れて行ってくれた町内ドライブツアーでは、様々なA-frame houseを見ることができた。）
Their dogs, one-year-old Hedy and ten-year-old Cruz, were so excited to see us and they made the beginning of our 13th visit to "The Teepee” special. Nate had to tell them calm down and Bonnie joined us before long. We were surprised to hear that she had had a job interview at a winery that day. It was hard for us to see that she had a big day because she was full of excitement and had a big smile! We forgot that we also had had a long day thanks to their warm welcome.
１歳のヘディ、１０歳のクルーズ、２匹の大興奮・大歓迎を受け、13件目の取材訪問が始まった。２匹をたしなめつつも笑顔で迎えてくれたのはネイト。ボニーもほどなく帰宅。聞けばワイナリーでの就職面接を終えてきたというではないか。疲れた様子を微塵も見せずに、私たちの訪問を満面の笑顔で迎えてくれた。長旅の疲れも吹き飛んだ。
The gorgeous wooden spiral staircase gave this A its charm. It was surprising to hear that it was all made from an electric pole by hand. No wonder it feels so special. The catwalk also gives the A-frame house a real character. It was made to go up to the balcony but became a popular spot for the little kids to play and sleep.
迫力ある木製の螺旋階段はこの家のチャームポイント。手製だと聞いてビックリ、元々は電信柱だったと聞いて二度ビックリ！どうりでパワフルだと・・・。キャットウォークも特徴的。バルコニーに出るための通路として作られたが、子どもたちにとっては楽しい遊び場・寝室に。
We went up the spiral staircase to the loft. The guest room was right under the A! It was our very first time for us to sleep looking at an A and we fell fast asleep in a second.
螺旋階段を登りロフトに登る。ゲストルームはA-frame部分！人生初体験となるA-frameを見上げて眠る夜は、瞬時に私たちを夢の中へといざなった。
They met in Seattle 20 years ago and moved to San Jose later. During their eight years there, it was their tradition to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at a rented cabin in the mountains. They learned about Arnold when they visited Calaveras Big Tree State Park.
二人の出会いは２０年前にシアトルで。その後移り住んだサン・ノゼには８年間住んだ。感謝祭の休みにはコテージを借りて過ごすのが家族の習わしだった。アーノルドに家を探したのは３年前に近くのビッグツリー州立公園に来たことがきっかけだった。
"An A-frame house with a Swedish fireplace" Nate had had a very clear picture of his dream house so he had no hesitation going for this "Tee-pee" A-frame house when he saw it online. It was waiting for them in Arnold, 240km away from San Jose. He excitedly said "Let's go tonight otherwise it will go to somebody else.” Bonnie and Nate had moved to their A-frame house just two weeks before. They waited for their son to graduate from high school and started a new chapter in this beautiful green town.
スウェーデン風暖炉があるA-frame house・・・憧れのイメージははっきり見えていたから見つけた時には迷いはなかった。サン・ノゼから240km離れたアーノルドにネイトがネットで見つけたA-frame。早く行かないと他の人の手に渡ってしまう！と『今夜にでも行こう！』と大興奮したことを笑って思い出していた。ボニーとネイトは２週間前に引っ越してきたばかり。息子さんが大学進学で家を離れるのを待って、緑豊かなこの土地で二人の新しいチャプターが始まった。
This A-frame house was also special for the original owner who built it by himself in 1970. He was an engineer and it took him, his dear family, and friends two years and became a place full of memories. On the wall, there's still a piece of stained glass art of this A-frame house made by his friend.
このA-frame houseに込められた想いはまた特別なものだった。
１９６９年から２年かけてあるエンジニアが自らの手で建てた家。家族や友人・・・大切な人たちの手を借りて作った、至るところに思い出の詰まった家。壁には今もハウス氏が友人から贈られた、手作りのA-frame houseステンドグラス作品が飾られている。
Nate worked for four years in the human resources at Tesla, a car maker, and it was very stressful. The average tenure was two years so his four years didn’t feel short. However, the four years also made him grown into a professional, independent businessman. Now he works as a consultant from home, holding a few phone-meetings a day. The basement area is his quiet office and he has more time to spend with his dogs and on his hobby, cooking.
車のメーカー、テスラの人事部で働いていた４年間はネイトにとってストレスの多い時間だった。平均して２年間ほど勤めると辞めていく仲間が多い中、４年間という年月は決して短く感じるものではなかった。ただ、その間培った経験と自信が今の彼を作ったのも確か。今ではコンサルタントとして１日に２件ほどの電話会議という独立したワークスタイルを確立している。地下室が集中できる書斎となり、愛犬との時間や趣味の料理に費やす時間も増えた。
On the other hand, Bonnie who is neither a morning or a night person, but an all-day person, works at a winery in the neighboring town, Murphys. It's known as a former gold mining settlement and popular for many different wineries. She's worked as a reporter for animations. I think she could make her life anywhere with her friendly personality and curiosity.
一方で「朝方人間」でも「夜型人間」でもない、エネルギー有り余る「一日型人間」のボニー。近くにある、かつてゴールドラッシュで栄えた町マーフィーズにあるワイナリーで働いている。以前はアニメーションの記者をしていた彼女。持ち前の明るさと好奇心旺盛な性格で、どこに行っても打ち込めることを見つけるのだろう。
Nate's into the latest technologies and his A-frame house shows it. It has Danish Velux skylights and a Canadian Mysa smart heating system. They also cherish some furniture and items from their family. Both of traditional and new things; the combination was inspiring for me. Their answer to my favorite question, “What do you like about your A-frame house?” was, “Everything!" They like that their A has an open space where you know what's going on in the house. They're happy with the windows that let a lot of natural light inside.
ネイトは最新技術に興味があり、家がそれを物語っている。天窓はデンマークのVelux（ベルクス）で、ヒートシステムはカナダのMysa（マイサ）。一方で二人の家には家族から譲り受けた家具や小物が大切にされ、新旧がどちらも愛されているのが印象的だった。
好きなところは「すべて」！特に開放的な空間；家の中で何が起きているのかがわかるから／窓；たっぷりと差し込む光が気持ちいいから！
～A message from Bonnie and Nate～
Be unique. A-frame living is unique. You’ll get noticed. Embrace what you love even if it’s different from others.
～ボニー、ネイトからのメッセージ～
ユニークなあなたを大切に。A-frameは目立ちます。
他と違っても自分が愛するものを大切に。
Altitude(高度):663m Average temperature(平均気温):5.8to23.8℃
Annual precipitation(年間降水量):940mm 参照(CLIMATE-DATA.ORG)