11/30/13 - Hall Lake

Tonight we are camping North of Coos Bay, Oregon, at Hall Lake.


While driving south on 101, we stopped at the Yaquina lighthouse. I've never seen one in person, and it was lovely in a stark, defiant sort of way. The lighthouse stood proud at the end of a rock spit, surrounded by only ocean and grey sky.

The views here are beautiful but harsh, uninterrupted open ocean with dramatic black rock pillars jutting up to meet the stormy winter sky. We passed Haystack Rock later on, a large rock formation off the coast which unsuprisingly looks a lot like a haystack. Apparently, it also had a moment of fame while being featured in the movie 'The Goonies'.




My $20 Underarmour brand hat that I loved so much fell apart after one night. We stopped at some tiny thrift shop in the middle of nowhere to try and find a new hat. The store was one of those types you find often on the coast, run by a lady as old as the wares, chock full of antique lace doilies and creepy ceramic clown figurines. I found a hand knit scarf and hat for $5 in a stunning beige pattern, somewhat reminiscent of 1970's sofa fabric. I think it compliments Charlie nicely, if not myself.


I am seriously missing forced air heating and hot showers. Oftentimes stories of travel leave out the grimy bits, leaving you with only snippets of glowing sunsets and winding roads. There is plenty of that, but there are also three day stretches without showering, constant bumping of elbows in a tiny space, and sand in every possible crevice. I like to think of these small inconveniences as texture, lending some variety and spice to a grand adventure.



It's a definite challenge living in such a small space with two grown adults and a large, neurotic, whiny dog. Having a dog can be a wonderful experience, but having the right dog is also very important. Jax the Doberman is a difficult dog on the best days, and is having a bit of trouble adjusting to our new living arrangements. I'm hopeful that things will improve soon, otherwise he may end up being Jax the Doberman Skin Rug. Just kidding. Mostly.

11/29/13 - The Journey Begins!

Today is day 2 of the trip, as well as Jax the Dog's 6^th birthday! Riding in the car is his favorite thing, and he got to do a lot of it today. He also got an extra special meaty bone after dinner, which he busily set to work destroying all over the van floor. Thank God we installed linoleum! We stayed at my parents' house last night for Thanksgiving, and to say goodbye to the family for a while.


The dinner was absolutely amazing, as was getting to see the smiles on everyone's faces as we all gathered together to eat, drink, and laugh. We played game after game of Nerts and Cards Against Humanity, then precariously wobbled our way off to bed to sleep off the mountains of turkey and dressing.

We stayed toasty warm in the van that night, with 1 full 1lb canister of propane lasting us about 7.5 hours. We ran the heater on high for about 15 minutes, and on low (with a window cracked and the smaller fan running) for the rest of the night while we slept.


At night it has been fairly cold, 39 degrees last night and 45 tonight. As we head south it will get warmer, but for now we are using our entire insulation set up. We have a custom sleeping area that makes it much more bearable to be out in cold weather. The stock bench seats in the van fold down to form standard camper bed, which is the width of the van body. As both Dave and I are 6' tall, it was a little too cramped. We added 4 short legs that can screw in to the bottom of the removable table top, which now serves as an extender to the bed. We also made a foam pad that raises the surface up to that of the cushions. The crowning glory is a 3” thick memory foam pad that covers the entire bed surface. It rolls up in to a pretty compact package and is worth every inch of space. We purchased a Trekker brand sleeping bag from Cabela's for a blanket. It's rated to 0 degrees Farenheit (which in reality makes it good for about 30 degrees). It is rectangular and unzips to queen size blanket that sheds dog hair and keeps us toasty warm! It's an awesome system. When we get to warmer climates, we will just use the flat top sheet as a cover, and stow the sleeping bag.


In addition to using the bed to keep warm, we also have the Reflectix window coverings to hold heat and block light inside the van body. To separate the cabin from the living area of the van, Dave came up with a clever solution. He cut a space blanket to fit the gap, lined the edges with duct tape, and added at 1” foam roll at the bottom. When in use, the roll weights it down and keeps the dividing sheet taught. When not in use, we roll it up and fasten it with hair ties and hooks so it is completely out of the way. It does a great job of preventing heat loss as well as keeping the windows nice and dark from the outside!

We drove down the coast, first on 1-5 South, and then Highway 101 South. We stopped in Astoria at the Bumblebee Tuna museum and watched a dock worker feed sea lions off the pier. They were huge! Tonight we are boondocking just North of Cannon Beach, OR. A ways out of the last town, we saw a road split off the highway into the pines, and we pulled off. It turned out to be an old abandoned construction site, with piles of unused asphalt, nearly invisible from the road. We settled in, had some spicy clam chowder, and got ready for night number 2!

Selcouth

Listening to: "Pompeii" by Bastille



Fall, that dripping predecessor to Winter, has arrived in full force here in Western Washington.

Today, whilst waiting out the rain indoors, wrapped in a blanket with cup of tea, I stumbled upon a list of uncommon English words. One of the words that caught my fancy was 'selcouth'.

"Selcouth" adj.
Definition: "Rarely known; unusual; strange; marvelous."

 I think it captures the essence of life really, and the spirit of this blog. We are meant to pursue and experience the unknown, the strange, and the marvelous with open arms. 

We are now 12 days away from our own undoubtedly selcouth experience, and things are starting to come together! The van has had all the necessary bits added on and is fully functional. All systems are very nearly go! There is one last repair needed to fix a leaky windshield and make sure Charlie is fully water tight. We will head to my parents' house on Thanksgiving to stuff ourselves one last time, and bid loved ones adieu, then we will be leaving first thing in the morning, towards warmer climes and great adventure. 

Preparing the Majestic Land Yacht for Liftoff

As Dave and I scramble to put the last of the details in order on Charlie the Wondervan, it seems as though it's all coming together. New additions include a sturdier table, new alternator, 3" memory foam mattress topper, endless amounts of electrical tinkering by Dave, and a hand-made dog bed and jacket liner for our Doberman, Jax.

We did a trial run to test out how the van will handle cold weather with all of us inside of it. In true Washington style, it absolutely poured rain the entire 80 miles of freeway to my parents' house. When preparing for the trip, we laughed and shared confident high-fives, visualizing ourselves sitting warm and dry in the cockpit of our faithful steed, while the elements huffed and puffed and did their worst. The elements definitely fulfilled their part, slinging wet strands of drooling rain down on us and smacking us sideways with big gusts of wind. Instead of laughing, we spent most of the drive frantically trying to control a catastrophic leak that appeared out of nowhere along the entire bottom seal of the windshield.

"Charlie's incontinent!" I wailed at Dave, while sopping up the water that was dripping into the vents and dash.
"Well, he is an old man." said Dave with a shrug, as he squinted through the fog of condensation on the windshield.

We made it safely to my parents' house and drowned our sorrows (pardon the pun) in steak and potatoes and the warmth of family. We spent the night camped in the driveway. The heater works amazingly well, on the high setting it got the interior of the van up to a comfortable T-Shirt temperature in about 5 minutes. Unfortunately we were concerned about safety, so we didn't leave it running while we slept, and the outside temperature quickly fell to 37 degrees Farenheit. Dave and I were toasty in our bed, but Jax the Dog was freezing cold on the floor.  He woke us up at 2AM with pathetic wide eyes, whimpering and shivering, and was summarily integrated into our cozy little bed system. After that we all slept soundly, and in the morning headed out to The Calico Cupboard for breakfast.


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More Van Mods

THE FLOORING

The van came with some absolutely God-awful bright orange and brown fuzzy 1970's carpet. Personally, I think any kind of carpet in a travel rig is the worst decision you could make. This applies doubly when it's so ugly it makes you naueseous to look at it. I undertook the task of ripping it out so that the subfloor could be inspected and new flooring installed. The subfloor was solid, and Dave did a beautiful job installing the new linoleum. Huge improvement here, and worth every dime!

Before and After!

RACK CITY, B****.

We were having a hell of a time finding a rack set up that would work for us, without costing $1,500 or more. We needed to carry a generator, 2 bicycles, and a spare tire on the back, while still being able to open the rear doors. After some exhausting research, we finally found a solution! We purchased a swing away Thule brand bike rack that mounts in a trailer hitch (see 'Products and Gear' tab for full review). Dave drew up a design for a locking generator mount, and had it welded up by a mutual friend at work. We had to special order another door mount piece, the mirror image of the stock mount that holds the spare tire. Once welded up, we fit tested everything and it works like a charm!

STEREO

The van came with an outdated (to say the least) stereo. We went to Mobile Music and had it replaced with an HD radio/CD/MP3 player that we can play our iPod or Spotify radio through. It also charges the iPhone while it's plugged in, which leaves our cigarette lighter 12v open for other devices. We also upgraded the speakers to something a little nicer, so now we have a great all around sound system!


MISCELLANEOUS ADD ONS

The center console, or "doghouse" on the van didn't have any cup holders, and I was shocked by the lack of options for add ons. I finally found some at a marine supply dealer for a reasonable price. They fold down when not in use, and can be mounted to a flat or vertical surface.

The one downside of bringing your furry friend along on a trip like this is HAIR. Hair everywhere. Hair in shocking abundance in places it ought not to be. We are doing everything we can to combat the never ending waves of invasive Doberman fur, but it can feel like a losing battle. The stock fabric on the bench and front seats was apparently specifically designed to cling to any form of dust or pet hair, so it had to go. We had the rear bench seat reupholstered with a thick Pleather-like fabric, and I found some universal slip-on seat covers on Amazon.

Lastly was a bit of labor on our part. There was a substantial leak along the bottom line of the windshield that was letting water and air through. On closer inspection, we found the bottom seal was completely gone and the metal had become quite rusted. After a quote from an auto glass shop that left me laughing hysterically and Dave clutching his chest in the manner of a heart attack victim, we decided to fix it ourselves as best we could.

We drove the van to my parents' house to have a warm, dry place to work. We pulled off the trim surrounding the windshield and began cleaning out the gutter that surrounds it. Everything had to be perfectly dry for the new sealant to stick, so we got to work with hair dryers and paper towels. When everything was clean and dry, we used a caulking gun to apply the new sealant to the damaged areas. It was no easy task to get a good seal without removing the glass, but when everything was said and done it turned out great, and Charlie is once again watertight!

Charlie Gets Some Lovin'

As Charlie is an older van, he needs some lovin' care. I'll be posting our little add ons and edits in the order that we do them, which is somewhat random.

I have a deep and abiding love of minimalism and function. I have dabbled in the backpacker travel set and ultralight backpacking, as well as Lean Manufacturing. All of these hold to be true the main principle that less is best. Everything must have more than one purpose. The freedom you attain from becoming unburdened is a truly sweet thing.

Dave is slowly coming around to this school of thought, although he doesn't share my fervor. Comfort is key, and if it means that he might have to reuse a pair of socks twice in a row, he's going to bring MORE SOCKS, despite my protestations. Despite this, he has come to admit that many things that pass under the radar in daily life are just clutter, and not valued possessions.

We recently downsized from a medium sized home to a one bedroom apartment, which required quite a bit of throwing out of junk.
"Dave" I said, staring in exasperation "Why do you have a pack of unopened seafood forks?"
He looked at them sheepishly and said "For eating seafood?"
Our moving proceeded in this manner with several items getting tossed in the process, including my personal favorite: a butter warming pan. (Yes, this is its' sole purpose in life. Warming butter.)

What this comes down to is that in a small space, sometimes function must take precedence over comfort. However, spending a year in a tin box with none of the small comforts of home is not preferable either. Together we make an excellent team, and the van will soon be the perfect home on the road!


CURTAINS/INSULATION

After doing some research, I decided to replace the old molded out cloth curtains with Reflectix brand home insulation. It's essentially bubble wrap coated in aluminum, and acts as a radiant heat barrier. You can find it at Lowes and most likely other home improvement stores for about 25$ a roll. I used large sheets of butcher paper to create templates of the window shapes, then cut the Reflectix to size, and fastened them with Velcro. Be sure to use the Velcro glue if you go this route, as it's stronger than the sticky back alone, and won't melt under high temperatures.

 

It's definitely not a "stealthy" way to go for windows, but that's obviously not what we're going for with our rig. After testing in cold weather, this works beautifully! It reflects the radiant heater's warmth and keeps drafts out, as well as blocking about 90% of the light.

In addition to the Reflectix, we decided to purchase another heat source. Since we are traveling with our Doberman "Jax", he needs to keep warm as well. After reading on some of the van forums out there ("cheaprvliving.com" is a great resource) we decided on a Mr. Heater "Buddy" brand radiant propane heater. They are safe to use indoors, and put out a good amount of heat. They run on 1lb propane bottles and can also be hooked up to a 20lb tank. It set us back about $80 at Lowes. This keeps us nice and toasty on even the coldest days! Just be sure if you go this route to provide lots of ventilation.

LIGHTING

Next up on the list was some auxillary lighting. We are trying to avoid drawing off the battery as much as possible, so everything that can be powered in a different way, will be. I found these guys at Lowes.

They are a little pricey at 10$ a pop ($18 for the two pack), but they are great! They are push button type LEDs, put out a soft light that is plenty bright, and the batteries last forever. They run on two AA batteries a piece, and have a "bright" and "dim" setting. The back is magnetic, and a small steel disk is included, which you glue to any surface you want the light to stick to. They also will stick to any steel surface without the disk. We put some right down the middle of the van and over the card table area, and it lights the place up great! I also love them for late night trips to the bathroom, because I can simply grab one off the ceiling and use it as a flashlight. No more fumbling in the dark!



KITCHEN

The kitchen in the van is mostly awesome, it just needed some small mods. I added a dishtowel rack to the cupboard door (made from some wood parts I found at Goodwill),, a paper towel roll holder, and a refillable wet wipe dispenser. Wet wipes are awesome, they can be used to clean both you and the countertops! I also added a small broom and dustpan to help keep the floor and inside the cupboards clean.

Here is the kitchen area with the Reflectix window cover installed:

The towel rack and broom:

Wet wipe dispenser and paper towels:

The Norcold refrigerator that came with the van has not been tested long term yet, but appears to work great. We added a small magnetic whiteboard from Office Max. These are invaluable for taking notes and remembering dates!

As well as drawing awesome ninjas:

MISC ODDS AND ENDS

The entry steps on the sides and rear were bare painted metal, which can be very slippery when wet. This makes for cracked heads and an unhappy Dobe when he goes sliding off while climbing into the van! I purchased some stairway grip tape from our local hardware store and layed that down to eliminate the problem.

Meet Charlie!

In order to make an epic van roadtrip, one needs an epic van. After a few months of debating between the pros and cons of various models, we found a posting on craigslist that looked perfect. He met all of our stringent requirements, those being that he was dirt cheap and had a running engine.

A short trip to Sedro-Woolley and a cash transaction later, and here he is!
Meet Charlie the Wondervan!

Charlie is a true classic, and his previous family treated him like gold. He is a 1976 Ford Econoline 250, with a custom hardtop and camper setup done by a company in Ballard, WA. No leaks, no major engine problems, no rat nests in the upholstery?? Unheard of! We brought him home, and he'll be our command center for the next year or so.

The van has a high top roof, AT tires, a propane stove, table with benches, and a fold down bed. We were specifically looking for a smaller rig like this that can go more places than a large RV. In our past experience truck stops work excellent for hot showers, and this being America, bathrooms are plentiful and evenly spaced. This guy will get us where we need to go, albeit not in a hurry, and do it in style!

Of course, the van needed some tweaking to obtain absolute travel perfection, so I'll be posting updates as we add and remove little bits and pieces!

The Dangers of Drinking Good Wine

10 months ago Invisidave and I were sitting down to a very good meal in our home town of Bellingham, WA. A damn good meal. The kind of meal that makes you roll your eyes back and say “Mmmmmm” loud enough that the other patrons in the restaurant start wondering if food is all you're having.


We had decided to go to D'Annas Italian Cafe as a treat. It's my personal favorite in town for down right beautiful Italian food done rich and right. We sat at the wooden table in the dimly lit cafe, surrounded by the sound of happy diners and clinking silverware. As always, we began the meal with a glass of Riesling. I am no wine afficienado, not even a wine fan really. You will never catch me rolling wine around a glass while sniffing and declaring I detect “subtle hints of resin and asphalt”. However, I do adore a good Riesling. To hell with your pairings and subtle scents, give me a Washington Riesling in a Mason jar and I am a happy woman. I am not the entomologist in his lab dissecting the butterfly on a slide to see what little part makes it a beautiful creature; I simply know I like butterflies. Especially when they taste like sugar and apples and get me drunk. You know. Metaphorically.


The glass of wine turned into a bottle, and we talked and relaxed into the atmosphere while getting slowly and pleasantly drunk. Then came the food. For me a plate of lightly seared Ahi tuna topped with a balsamic reduction on a bed of Italian rice, chewy thick handmade spinach noodles, and light sweet potato crisps. Dave went for duck breast medallions in a cherry sauce. For a while we attacked our food with enamored ferocity, pausing only to sigh with absolute contentment and laugh at a joke.


There's a special state of mind you enter after a truly excellent meal in some dimly lit place, full of wine and goodwill towards man. The world glows and anything seems possible.


“Dave”, I said “I think we should drive to South America in a van.”




And so it all began.




Shortly after, we were walking down Clayton Beach with our little Dobe Jax, passing another bottle of cheap wine back and forth, breathing in the salt sea air and enjoying the sunset on the water. We decided that in exactly one year, come Hell, high water, or anything in between, we would be leaving our beloved home town and becoming nomadic for a period of up to a year. Although we tucked the South America idea away for a later day, this trip will be around the United States, in a vaguely south, squiggly sort of line.



Now, fast forward, and here it is 10 months later, and it is actually happening. So here's our story, thanks for coming along for the ride!!

The Olympic Peninsula or "I went to Wynootchee and all I got was this stupid blog post".

My friend Wildcat, her dog Herman and I have returned successfully from a mini adventure, and in absence of anything resembling important stuff, here's what you get.

Wildcat and Herman in action

Big, Weird, Wonderful World
Route and highlights:

Bellingham - Home base!
Olympia - Wolf Sanctuary
Forks - Way too much Twilight paraphenalia
La Push - Waves and rain
Sequim - Olympic Game Farm
Port Angeles - Frugal's burgers
Port Townsend -Ferry and porpoises
Bellingham - Back on home.




Wild Cat and I got the super tent set up on the beach at La Push while a light rain passed through, and the sun sank below the waves. The wind was gusting through a keyhole formation in the rock face and making a low, mournful hooting sound. We cooked up a quick dinner of clam chowder and bread on my REI Duallist cookset, then turned in for bed with lukewarm Olympia beers in hand. Several hours, and many hands of Nerts later, we squinted at each other through a haze of entirely legal smoke and resoundingly agreed it was time for a well earned sleep. The super tent served us well, and after a long, warm, dry night we rubbed the sleep and sand from our eyes, and broke camp.

We headed into the finest restaurant in La Push for breakfast. Well, admittedly, it is the ONLY restaurant in La Push for breakfast, and it opens at the late hour of 8am. It also doubles as a souvenir and bait shop, the latter of which may possibly have ended up in hour breakfast. Wildcat and I played a leisurely game of Cribbage over bitter coffee and lukewarm food, enjoying the simplicity of it all. When the concentration of wide-eyed, over enthusiastic patrons ordering "Creamy, delicious Cullen chowder" and "Jacob Black-berry shakes" became too high, we headed back to the Jeep to mosey our way to the Olympic Game Farm.


The Olympic Game Farm is always worth a stop. As you drive through, free roaming bison, yak, deer, elk, and others walk right up to your car window and beg or slobber for bread. You can interact with everything from Grizzly bears to peacocks, with adorable little bunnies sleeping fearlessly outside the wolf enclosure.
As you can tell from the picture, the animals are all well fed and darn right cheerful.

Happy yak approved!

There are even a pair of best friends there, a wolf and a black bear that were raised together from infancy. When the handlers tried separating them into their own enclosures, they were heartbroken and stopped eating. So now they live together in one enclosure, much to our delight and Herman's dismay. Despite being the evolutionary equivalent of a stuffed plushie llama, he growled threats and rude names to the wolf from our window. The wolf paced back and forth with intense eyes and hackles up until his friend the black bear placated him with comforting words. "Come on bro. He's only a pup."

Out of bread and ready for our second high-quality meal of the day, we headed to Frugal's in Port Townsend. Frugal's is a long standing institution in the community of broke and hungry fast food lovers. Tasty, greasy, American goodness with a side of fry sauce, and of course, a couple chocolate shakes to wash it all down.

On the ferry home we consumed what was most likely our 895th cup of coffee in two days, watched the porpoises follow the ferry along, and Wildcat once again showed me how far inferior my Nerts playing skills are. One day, victory shall be mine!

A great time was had by all and we got home dry and ready for our own ever-so-comfy beds. 

Bonus Blog Note!

 Here are some actual names of towns in Washington State:

Wynootchee (it's like derpy Wenatchee!)

Humptulips.

Duckabush.

Tumtum,

(and last but not least)

CLIMAX.

That's all till next time, folks!

Flyin' Solo

As a woman who travels alone, I am still somewhat of an anomaly. Although this is becoming more and more common, it's still often met with incredulous stares. My travel experience is incredibly limited compared to many of my friends who found their wings a little earlier, yet I keep getting asked the same questions.

"Aren't you scared to travel alone?"
"Wow, I wish I could just go do that..."
"Don't you get lonely?"
"What if something HAPPENS??"

I'd like to address this, because that line of questioning , unchecked, will stop you dead in your adventurous tracks and send you galloping home to hide under your bed.

I was brought up in a home that didn't tolerate a lot of nonsense. You were going to be a productive member of society in whatever way you could, or you were going to go live under a bridge. Period. I cannot thank my parents enough for instilling these values in me from the start. I was taught to be useful, self confident, and to take pride in these qualities. So many of the women I meet get this wide-eyed look when I tell them I'm taking off to Costa Rica for a month with nothing but my backpack.

Usually the first response is concern.

"You're going ALONE? Aren't you scared? What if something happens? Won't you be lonely?"

Ladies, STOP. Let's talk about this.

Am I scared of travelling alone sometimes? Of course I am. As a somewhat slightly built woman (not speaking for all women of course) I am physically incapable of defending myself from a stronger assailant. Sometimes I do feel that cosmic target hovering above my head when walking down a strange street alone. And things do happen, really bad things to really good people, all the time. But here's the thing. Just because they can does not mean they will. We have this amazing ability to selectively ignore the dangers that are statistically highest and focus on those that are hyped up by the media and people around us. For instance, most of us spend a good part of our day inside of (or walking within inches of) a several thousand pound mass of metal which is hurtling down the road at speeds which could easily turn you into nothing but a smear on the concrete. That vehicle is controlled by a PERSON. You are trusting that same person who you might meet in a dark alley some night with your life every single day! Wake up and look at things logically. We all are going to die sometime, you simply cannot avoid it. Would you like to go out nice and safely, having missed out on the best experiences in life because you were scared? Or would you like to go out with nothing left to give and a smile on your face, knowing you really lived? Take precautions to protect yourself of course, don't be foolish and do what is necessary to stay safe, but for God's sake, GO.

As for loneliness, this is a valid concern, but also one of the most valuable experiences you can have. Almost all of us have had that feeling at one point or another of being completely alone in a crowded room. We fill our lives to the brim with chatter and people and their judgements and noise, we base our lives and our self-worth around our friends and family. With all this constant background static, when do you ever have a moment to just sit with your own company? Most people have become afraid or even incapable of this. Traveling alone puts you in a unique position. You don't have other company. You don't have the judgement and opinions of others always ringing in your ears. You don't have anything to direct your thoughts except yourself; it is complete accountability. Maybe at first it will be very difficult. Your mind rebels at being alone, not being told what to do and how to act and think. But it gets better! The human mind is amazingly complex and needs stimulation. Eventually you are going to get bored with the negative thought patterns you feed yourself. You will simply become tired of hearing yourself whine, and may begin to explore whole new areas of yourself you never knew were there. This can be an amazingly valuable and healing experience, so embrace it! You do not need anyone else to verify your worth or your opinions. Become your own best friend and you will never be alone.

"What if something happens??" This is usually followed by that horrified look, fear of the inescapable nastiness that surrounds them just outside their little safety bubble, waiting to pounce at any moment. Come on. Really?? Odds are something is going to happen. That's travel. That's part of the experience. I am sick and tired of listening to women reinforce this antiquated idea that we are somehow less capable than a man in any situation. You are only as capable as you choose to be!! You get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere? Fix it. You get lost in a city that you don't speak the language in? Find a damn map. You get all your documents stolen? Figure it out. You are perfectly capable of surviving and thriving on your own, and the more challenges you face and conquer, the more confident you will feel. You can't always change the things that happen but you can sure change your attitude. You can either fall down in a helpless, whining heap when trouble strikes or you can try your best to find the humor and fix it. Stop being helpless!


I hope this can inspire you to get off your couch, get out of your bubble, and go. I'd love to see proud, self-sufficient women travelers become the new normal! Happy travels to you all. :)

-Rachel

Welcome

Welcome, stranger and friend, to my big, weird, wonderful blog! A travel blog full of food, humor, and general weirdness. After all, there's so much to see in this world, why would you not experience it?

This blog is based on a few basic truths that I hold to be self evident, and noble, and grand, and...well, generally just good ideas.

First and foremost!

1) Life is innately funny. 


Things are going to happen in life that just don't make sense. They are going to take that neat little idea of your life that you have packaged safely in your head and dayplanner and drop-kick it off a really. big. cliff. This is what makes life so damn interesting and fun to live! If you can get over that panic response as you watch all your neat little plans splatter, you might notice that they form the exact shape of a tap-dancing giraffe at the bottom. Don't take things too seriously, because they sure won't do the same for you. Smile!! :)

2) People rock.

To quote singer Regina Spektor, "People are just people, they shouldn't make you nervous!". Every person you pass on the street and give that blank, polite half smile might be your new best friend. They've done things in their life you couldn't imagine. They have a new perspective that you've never considered. They have a really funny story about that one time they tried to feed a monkey at the zoo a maple donut and got arrested. If you walk around avoiding eye contact and being afraid to speak to the people around you, you will NEVER GET TO HEAR THAT AWESOME STORY!! And it's a good one, trust me.


3) Be thankful.

This is probably the best advice I can give anyone. This simple statement, two little words, has changed my life from a rather unfortunate mess to one I am excited to wake up to every damn day. I went from being cold over-boiled oatmeal to French toast with a big pile of strawberries and whip cream! (No offense if you prefer the over-boiled oatmeal. Although I do question your good taste.) If you can truly take this simple idea to heart you will see everything in your life in a new way. Did you wake up today? You're reading this blog, so short of being some sort of freakish medical anomaly, yes you did. BE THANKFUL! You are breathing! Air!! It's exciting!! Every time you experience something that doesn't suck, even something as simple as a deep breath, give thanks. And when something does inevitably suck, give thanks that you have the opportunity to learn from it.



I leave you with these things to consider, and all of my love and good wishes. :)