Career hiatus, mental health, and exploring some of the coolest places in the US.
I don’t know about you, but damn, was this global pandemic a wake-up call. When our life—and my budding career—came to an abrupt stop in March 2020, it really threw me to a point where I needed the help of a therapist to cope, not only with all the changes but also with being a continent away from our families.
It was also during that time that I decided to take a break from social media. Pinterest was the exception because that’s my online happy place. I haven’t missed any of the other platforms so far, which is why I’m still on hiatus. I don’t know if or when I’m going to enter that world again. But in general, I feel more at peace now than I have in years. Who cares if I’m the least cool of my friends. Which incidentally reminds me of my 2021 anthem (see video).
The pandemic, together with the California wildfires, gave us the last push to fully commit to the nomadic lifestyle. So, one smoky day, we drove from the Bay Area (which was our first home since immigrating to the US back in 2012) down to San Diego to buy a tiny Airstream Bambi (see above) from a soldier who was about to be deployed.
On our first extensive trip, we explored Joshua Tree National Park (where we ended up with two desert mice inside our camper!), Death Valley (where we saw the milky way galaxy, a shooting star, and unexpectedly ran into friends who we hadn’t seen for a year thanks to the pandemic), and Red Rock State Park (Sedona, where we got caught in a storm). Who doesn’t love a good adventure?
After canceling our lease in June 2021 and putting all our stuff into storage, we decided to take Bambi on a tour across the US. Or so we thought. If you’re interested to hear how that trip turned out, read on here. Oh, those real-life plot twists! 😱
Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park Death Valley Death Valley Death Valley Death Valley Death Valley Red Rock National Park Sedona
