Heading West

In other news…just before Thanksgiving I packed my car with most of my worldly possessions and headed West like every good hippie should do at some point. My destination: Austin, Texas. My mission: to secure a permanent address for more than two months. Austin has been lingering on my radar for years as a place to settle down. It seemed we might get along well from what I've heard about the place and from many visits here to see my sister over the past 10 years. My sister and her husband were super-kind to let me crash with them for a bit before I settled into my little one-bedroom apartment close to the action of downtown just after New Years. I'm now the proud owner of exciting household items such as house plants, a welcome mat, a coffee maker and real grown-up furniture. My favorite purchase is a big red sofa, which incidentally conveniently folds out into a bed...so if you ever find yourself in the area…

I've loved being a nomad for the past six years, but having a place to call home and put down some roots feels heavenly right now. Although truth be told, I've still ended up darting about the country between Austin, Arizona, and DC quite a bit over the past several months. Nonetheless, my clothes are very appreciative of a closet to live in instead of a backpack, and my books are happy to be on a shelf instead of in a box. Baby steps.

I've been working remotely for Backroads (awesome travel company out of San Francisco that I've been working for) in marketing communications. I'll put my trip leader hat back on in June as I head back out to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone to lead trips for them.

Speaking of trip leading, I had a successful first trip of my own to Guatemala in September, an experimental little maiden voyage with a small group of family and friends, we had a blast! I've definitely neglected that endeavor for the moment and hope to pick it back up once life slows a bit.

Come see me in Austin!

View of downtown Austin from my apt. complex.