August. OK, so it’s supposed to be summer but no one told me how cold it is this time of year in San Francisco! It’s all good; I’m still loving it here and not feeling the urge to take off…yet.

Here’s what August looked like through my eyes:

August was my first full month in San Francisco.

I’m still here! At first I thought I’d only be in San Francisco short-term before checking out other cities on the west coast, but this city persuaded me to stay. Truthfully, it’s been really nice to live in a city in which I have a consistent group of friends that I don’t have to say goodbye to every few days or weeks and I’m insanely lucky to live with my brother-in-law as I get settled and figure out a long-term arrangement (like, a job that allows me to afford rent).

I’m still exploring SF like a newbie! We went to Napa again (no complaints here!) and I also spent the month discovering different parts of the city and surrounding area with new and old friends. Everything is new to me here; it’s been a blast to experience it with people I’ve known from college or traveling and with new faces I just met here.

Jon and I met in a hostel in La Paz, Bolivia in March.

After only a week of hanging out in Bolivia, it was so great to catch up with him again stateside months later! This is why I love travel: making friends and reuniting all over the world. Not all travel friendships are short-lived. Most of mine aren’t, actually. We went hiking to Alamere Falls along the coast and exchanged stories about our trips and took in the nature!

I also met some other cool travel blogging women here in SF! Christine of Tour de Lust and Shem of Sincerely Shem are so creative and are awesome reminders of how it is possible settle in a place and still travel! I’m so happy and thankful to have connected with them on Instagram!

I revisited one of my favorite US cities: Austin, TX.

I. Love. Austin. It’s probably been my favorite US city since my childhood best friend and I reunited and took over the city a few years ago. I went to Austin for my cousin’s bachelorette party this time around but couldn’t resist flying in a few days early to stay at the hostel HK Austin and get some solo travel fun going.

I can’t describe how good it felt to walk around a city that’s still relatively new to me, alone. I borrowed a bicycle from the hostel and biked to South Congress Avenue. I spent the entire day photographing the street art, stopping for my necessary coffee and taco fix, and striking up conversations with locals on the street. I felt like the “on-the-road-Lavi” again, that part of my personality that I know I’ll never lose or change.

Looking Ahead

My future travel plans might not be mapped out right now aside from a bachelorette party and a wedding (adulting is weird), but I am embracing this time as what might be the last months before I’m working full-time again. I can’t tell the future but I can live in the now. That means I want to continue exploring SF and the surrounding area and who knows, maybe make a cheeky trip somewhere if I can!

I’m still catching up on writing about South America. This month I finally covered the Galápagos Islands! Along with writing for my blog, I wrote this post on Go, See, Write about La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires and this one on AWOL about the most epic spots in South America to check out. There’s so much more to share, I’d better start writing now!