Start Something – The Pursuit of Life

October 19, 2016 / 4 Comments

A New Adventure | Moving Home to Florida

Article Circle, Alaska

What an incredible sabbatical this has been. We have been on the road exploring the West for 7 months and our road trip has recently come to an end. I am in mourning. BIG TIME. I have loved this time for us to be free, to explore, to see the most beautiful, varied, breathtaking landscapes that our country has to offer, all on our own time without a schedule, without normal everyday stresses, without any strings attached. It has been a dream – that is the only way to describe it – and it already seems like a dream. Like it didn’t happen. I have to remind myself that it did happen and we were so lucky to have been able to take some time out of real life to explore and satisfy some wanderlust for a while. If you think it has gotten the wanderlusting out of our systems, you are sadly mistaken. It has only whetted our appetites for more travels, more meeting new people, more adventures, more crafting our lives to be what we want them to be. But now it’s time to put down some roots and get back to reality, as much as that pains me. And so we have moved back home to Florida!

Florida life

June 22, 2016 / 7 Comments

100 Days On the Road

Well we have officially been on the road for 100 days! Well a couple more than that by now. Our 100th day fell on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and we spent the day sea kayaking around San Juan Island in very windy seas but beautiful sunny weather, searching the horizon for signs of Orcas or other whales or dolphins. We didn’t see any whales unfortunately, but spotted a number of Bald Eagles, including some mating activity, and had a lovely time exploring the western coast of San Juan Island, and getting a workout in to boot.

So, as we celebrate this milestone of 100 days into this grand adventure, here are some random thoughts from me.

May 11, 2016 / 4 Comments

THE PURSUIT OF DELISH | SOURDOUGH CAMP BREAD

Sourdough Camp Bread Recipe

I am not a baker per se. I don’t have the fancy scales, cake pans and pie tins that are hallmarks of a serious baker. I dabble in baking and usually it turns out pretty tasty … although I have never quite figured out how to make my flourless cake not crumble the instant I try to serve it on a plate. Regardless, I’d like to think that I’m a decent baker because I am a rule follower. To the T. So I can follow a recipe like it’s nobody’s business. When we finalized our plans for this trip, I decided that I wanted to learn how to make bread so that I can make some bread for us from time to time on the road.

Sourdough Bread Baking Class, La Victoria Bakery, San Francisco

April 11, 2016 / 8 Comments

So how did we decide on a 6 month road trip anyway?!

Excellent question. If you’ve decided to take some time off from work to do something different for a bit, how do you begin to decide what to do? For us it was a long time of what ifs and how abouts and that sounds interestings. One hears from time to time about those people who just quit their jobs, sell their belongings, and travel the world. Actually one often reads about them in a magazine or newspaper or blog. I certainly have – in fact I usually print those stories out and put them on my desk amidst the stacks and stacks and stacks of papers, intending to read up on these fascinating people if only I could find the time.

And then about a year ago, I said to Ryan – no, really, why not?! And that started a semi-serious conversation about whether we could actually take some time off.

March 13, 2016 / 12 Comments

THE PURSUIT OF ADVENTURE | BIG SUR BIRTHDAY

Home Sweet Home

Well it’s official, we are off on the grand adventure. On Tuesday, we moved out of our apartment, took the final boxes and Ryan’s road bike to the storage unit, said farewell to a few friends who wanted to send us off, and we drove out of San Francisco. Not before stopping at Comcast to return our modem of course. No matter how romantic I’d like to make this trip, there are the practicalities of life to deal with. Like dropping off the modem.

February 5, 2016 / 19 Comments

THE PURSUIT OF ADVENTURE | A SABBATICAL

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me – Walt Whitman

We are going on a road trip. For six months. We’ve taken leave from work, given our landlord notice and done our best to purge all of our extra belongings. And so begins an expedition of sorts, an odyssey to explore the West, see where an unstructured life will take us, and give ourselves time to exhale and relax and just be. Here’s why.

Why Not?! It seems like a no brainer – if you find yourself with the opportunity to take a sabbatical and put some wanderlusting into action, why on Earth wouldn’t you? Well, yes. But it’s so much easier dreamt than done. We, like most of you, have for years heard about those people who have cast aside their responsibilities, sold their belongings and quit their jobs and traveled the world. And we always thought wow, I wish we could do that. How lucky those people must be. And then it hit me about a year ago. Why not? For better or worse, I have always been someone who thought: if he can do it, I can do it. And so we started to really think about it and to think about what we would want to do with some time off.

January 4, 2016 / 3 Comments

The Pursuit of Life | A New Year

APPROACH THE NEW YEAR WITH RESOLVE TO FIND THE OPPORTUNITIES HIDDEN IN EACH NEW DAY. – Michael Josephson

I love this quote. It embodies the fresh start that comes with each new year. Many people hate New Year’s resolutions, and the typical half-hearted resolutions probably are something to loathe. But with the start of the new year comes the opportunity to reassess. To stop and think about the past year, the lessons learned, opportunities taken, opportunities missed, happiness, successes, regrets. And to evaluate how we’ll take these into the new year. Rather than making resolutions, I like to take some time to simply be more mindful. Think about the person that I want to be, where I am currently, and what I can do to continue to grow, learn and thrive. It’s a good practice to periodically take the time to reevaluate our trajectory, and why not start with the beginning of the year?

August 28, 2015 / 4 Comments

THE PURSUIT OF: A CREATIVE OUTLET

Welcome to The Pursuit of Life! I’ve been talking about this blog for ages, much to the annoyance of my hubs I’m sure, and have decided it’s time to put my words into action. I hesitate for a million different reasons, not least of which is because who has time for anything extra anymore?! But what a fun way to share the things that I love with anyone and everyone who cares to read about them, and so here we are. As I sit on the back deck of a house that we have rented with friends overlooking the Flathead River outside of Glacier National Park, in Hungry Horse, Montana, it seems like a good place to start.

At the very least this blog can be a way for our families to keep track of what’s been going on lately and what new cockamamie ideas we have sprouted and adventures we have sought. The ‘we’ here is my husband Ryan, our furbaby Coconut, and me. As a bonus, my day job lacks a creative outlet (which could be an understatement?), so I look forward to exploring the right side of my brain in a way that I’ve never allowed myself the time or energy before. And in striving to live my life with intention, to really pursue life and all of its joys, adventures, sorrows, feelings and experiences, perhaps I can bring some happiness, even if fleeting, to someone else.

Helen Keller said that ‘Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.’ It is one of my favorite things to remember. We are all here for a short, finite period of time, so we should strive to make the most of our lives. The pursuit of life means a very different thing to each and every person. Through this blog, you’ll come to see what the pursuit of life means to me. Each day won’t be a daring adventure, but each day will hopefully bring a few of life’s joys. Read more

The Pursuit of Life

Tag: Start Something