Alli’s my little sister. Our parents got married last year, and our family grew quite a bit. She’s currently a junior in high school and when given the option to go on Spring Break with all of her cool friends in Florida, or drive cross country in a van with her older stepsister, she choose me and it made me feel SO hip. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about having her on the road with me. It’s one thing for me to sleep on the side of the road or shower at truck stops, but even though Alli is seventeen, she’s barely five feet tall. It was also a lot of driving, and potentially lack of cell service and I really, really wanted it to be a positive memorable experience for her. 

She flew into San Francisco and in eleven days we made our way down the coast, through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, stopped for a few days in New Orleans, and then down to Miami for some true Spring Break feels. Coast to coast we traveled. In the beginning Alli put her feet in the Pacific Ocean, and before heading back home went for some swims in the Atlantic. My mom went on a cross country road trip with her older sister when she was a teen, and she still talks about that trip 40 years later, so I have this vision that this experience will be something Alli takes with her for a few decades. Even with the generation’s magical disappearing SnapChat obsession, I’m hoping it stays stored in a happy memory compartment in her young sponge brain. 

I’m actually not an easy person to travel with, anyone who has spent a few days in the van with me knows this. I’m a bit of a neat freak, and everything has its perfect place and the bows on the curtains need to be tied a certain way (which no one ever manages on the first try). I can get overwhelmed with people in the space and I’m genuinely content sitting in my own silence for long periods of time. But Alli was an amazing travel companion, even for me. I’m not sure if its because she’s so physically small, or because we are similar in the way that we really value our alone time, but I was pretty bummed when her trip ended and I had to send her back to MI.

I look forward to future adventures with her and our other siblings as we continue to grow stronger bonds and solidify these new family ties. Thanks Alli for a great time, lots of laughs, sleeping in, and singing to me. Couple more weeks left in this van and we are filling it with all the love and good vibes.

It’s hard to believe that months ago we were actually going to try and not fly Corbin out while I was in California. Because he is taking so much time off for the Alaska trip this summer it just felt like a lot to take off more time for these little trips while I am out of state. But thankfully I found a really cheap flight out west and we made the last minute decision for him to join me for a weekend. Currently, it’s been almost a month since I’ve last seen him and my heart aches BAD, so even trying to imagine not having these few days together makes me crazy. 

It was his first trip to the Redwoods, so I was really excited to share my favorite spot in the country with him. Especially knowing his connection the earth, I knew he would feel the magic of the trees. It was a brief visit, so we crammed a lot into a short amount of time, but hit all of the best spots, Avenue of the Giants, Hawaiian BBQ in Eureka and then a hike out to Hidden Beach in Klamath (just across the street from where I was staying. 

It wasn’t an easy departure, and I am aware how much of a strain this distance can put on a partnership, but I am forever grateful for the support and encouragement I receive from loved one’s back home. And for anyone who actually reads and scrolls through this stuff other than my parents, I couldn't pass up that good light in the bathroom and clearly we're close. 

PS. He cooks.

The final Falcon trip. Well, not necessarily final for the Falcon, or for myself, but its our last journey together. This van means a lot to me, but I am going to save that story for a later post. 

I had to stick around Michigan a bit later this winter due to the wedding schedule, which was awesome, but cold. It felt good to get back on the road, a bit redundant, but this trip had new and important intentions, and as always, a method of overcoming fears or anxieties to prove to myself that I can do whatever I want. 

The Redwoods have always been a pretty significant place for me. During the first long road trip, I actually visited the Redwoods twice because I was so overcome by them. It was the one spot during that entire journey that completely exceeded my expectations and left me in awe. And still now, after spending a month out here, I feel that same sense of being so small, yet so empowered. 

One intention of this trip is to share adventures with several people that I care a lot about. Giving other’s a bit of van life to put into their pockets and hopefully memories and images to last a lifetime. To begin, I picked up a friend and colleague in Dallas to ride up to Klamath with me. Along the way we made pitstops in Joshua Tree, Pismo Beach, Big Sur, and Redwoods National Park. This week I will pick up my seventeen year old sister from the airport in San Francisco to drive back cross country to Miami with me. And Corbin is squeezing in several weekend visits in between. 

I have been staying in Klamath, California for almost a full month. I went onto Airbnb and sent out emails to any listings that looked like they had property asking if they would rent out a parking spot. Allyson responded back immediately inviting me to park in her barn. She is right on highway 101 and her property backs up to national forest that I've been fortunate to hike almost everyday. Her and her dog Kinyasa have made me feel like family. I am consistently blown away by the kindness I am shown while on the road, and am already feeling emotional about leaving them both. 

Its been a year since I’ve last posted a travel blog, and to be honest, I’m pretty fucking excited that I still get to do so. 

Shot on Fuji XT-1, 23mm 1.4.