September & October. It’s officially fall! Things majorly slowed down for me in September and to be honest, I didn’t think I had much to share about my travels. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t really go anywhere or do much. To be honest, it made me sad. Luckily, October was a bit more exciting! Here’s what September and October looked like through my eyes:
September 1st marked the one-year anniversary of the start of my longest trip.
I can’t lie; it was really hard to see September 1st roll around and me not be in Latin America. I miss it every day, and spilled my heart out a little as the day came and went. The beginning of the month really had me thinking back to exactly a year ago when I embarked on my longest trip starting in Mexico. I find myself thinking back to where I was one year ago almost every day and replaying those memories in my mind. While a lot of things have changed since then, I still miss that adventure dearly and feel like part of me is back in Latin America.
I signed on as a Zipkick influencer
Zipkick is a great app to find out the best restaurants, bars and cafés in your city. I heard about the app awhile ago and loved the idea of it; little did I know I would soon be a part of it! This community of travel and food influencers have some awesome recommendations. Download Zipkick for my favorite SF food and drink spots or find out what other influencers have to recommend near you!
I made a video of my Latin America travels
Saying earlier that I miss traveling in Latin America is probably the understatement of the century. In September I finally got around to sitting down and creating a video with clips from my trip. Seeing my life in motion and compiling these clips brought me so much joy and reminded me of some of the best memories of my life. You can check it out here:
I went on a road trip to Big Sur
I was starting to go stir crazy in the beginning of October and really wanted to find a way to incorporate travel into my life again.Without having anyone to join me, I decided it was as good a time as any to decide to overcome a fear of mine: driving. It’s not that I was afraid of driving, I just hadn’t done much of it in recent years. I booked a hostel in Monterey, CA, rented a car, and took off down Highway 1. It was a beautiful drive along California’s coast, exactly what I had seen in all the photos!
I explored Big Sur and Pebble Beach both alone and with a friend I met in Madrid who I hadn’t seen in over a year is from Monterey. The time I spent driving alone was so peaceful. It confirmed in my mind that I shouldn’t not do something just because I didn’t have someone to take care of me or join me. It was the best little getaway and I returned home feeling empowered.
I partied it up in Savannah, Georgia
…And I have no photos to show for it! I flew from San Francisco across the country to Savannah, Georgia for my best friend’s bachelorette party. If you saw my Instagram story at all few weeks ago, you could have seen that while it was a blast, I sadly didn’t take many any travel photos, only silly bachelorette photos that really shouldn’t be anywhere on the internet.
This was my first time to the real “deep south” of the US and it certainly lived up to the hype. The architecture of the old buildings was beautiful and the food was amazing! Savannah is known to be built upon old graveyards and apparently is haunted. While we didn’t see any ghosts, I could definitely understand the spooky feel of the city. I really want to go back one day and experience it in its entirety (read: sober).
I attended a Digital Nomad Girls meetup in SF
It’s so fun to meet new people who share my love traveling and photography, especially now that I’m in a new city. I met a group of girls at Sutro Baths in San Francisco through Digital Nomad Girls. It was a rainy day, but we made the most of it and when we couldn’t handle any more of the weather, we went to brunch! It was a great opportunity to make new friends and connections with like-minded women!
I celebrated Halloween!
This Halloween was the first in two years that I was in the US, so it was time I celebrated. I missed the memo when I lived in Madrid that everyone dressed scary for Halloween and I dressed like a Native American. This time around, I decided to look a little scary instead! I painted my entire face as a skeleton. I learned how to do it on YouTube, it was awesome.
Recent Blog Posts
In case you missed them, I wrote these posts in September and October:
- Day 1 in Latin America: One Year Later
- Biking the World’s Most Dangerous Road with Altitude Adventures
- Girls Who Travel: A Book Review
- Bolivia’s Salt Flats: A 3 Day Salar de Uyuni Tour
- 15 Photos of Salar de Uyuni to Spark Your Wanderlust
Looking Ahead
So, what’s up next? I’m not sure. Not traveling full-time is a tough pill to swallow, but I’m still determined to find the balance between work and my passion. While I find my place here in San Francisco, I plan to explore more of California and see where I end up! As far as the blog goes, you can expect new posts about Patagonia this month – one of my favorite places in the world!
