WEEK TEN
Longest blog post EVER. But it was a crazy amazing week. When I look back through the images I cannot for the life of me understand how we squeezed everything into seven short days. And on top of that, despite my proud bragging of how I never get sick, a cabin full of sniffling/coughing roommates at Field Trip kicked my immune systems ass and I definitely got very, very sick. It clearly didn’t slow us down, but you can see how exhausted I am.
Vlad flew in last Friday and in that time we managed to hang out in Vegas, camp in the Grand Canyon, backcountry through Joshua Tree, and visit friends in San Diego. The trip is starting to wind down (at least it feels that way even though there is a full month left), but there is still so much to accomplish. We are just starting to make our way up the coast with stops in San Fransisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.
Backpacking in Joshua Tree was definitely one of my more favorite experiences of the journey so far. Talk about the ultimate agoraphobic challenge. Here, fit everything you think you could possibly need and go frolic through the dessert miles away from any water sources, your vehicle, cell phone service, or any other humans. Hope all goes well. All I could think about tripping and breaking an ankle, or Vlad having a seizure (even though he is in perfect health and has never had a seizure prior) and me being stuck out in these rocks trying to navigate my way to help. Instead we actually had a beautiful hike, found an amazing campsite, and woke up to an insanely gorgeous and silent sunrise the next morning. My hips are still bruised from lugging around my new hiking pack, but I will not ever forget that feeling of serenity after waking up to overcoming even more fears.
I am thankful that empowerment seems to be a reoccurring theme as I go. Every time I conquer something I feel that much stronger and more assured that I can truly do anything I want. That I do not need to be tied to any one place or path. Changing courses has been the best decision of my life and I want to encourage others to take the leap. Even if its a small leap, just make it happen. Every morning that I roll out of my van I say a quick prayer for all of the people stuck in rush hour on their way to jobs that don’t fulfill them. I pray that they take charge of their happiness. I pray that I will continue to do the same.
Even with Vlad being here, I am still fighting a bit of homesickness. The more places I visit the more I recognize that Detroit is not such a bad place to be and I feel excited to be excited to get back home. I am not at all sad about missing winter in Michigan, or that I will have tan lines for 18 strait months, but I can’t deny that I can’t wait for how ridiculous this wedding season is going to be, or how much I want to hug all of my friends. It feels good to long for a place I’ve wanted to run away from for so long. What is the saying? If you love someone let them go? I believe this is true for locations too.
Okay, the Starbucks employees are definitely sick of me today (the barista has asked if I am hungry every hour on the hour, and I’m starving) so it’s time to get back out exploring. Until next week…
