To celebrate the 2024 new year, McCrae and I went on a micro-adventure to watch the sun rise over the ocean.
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Travel
I heard one time that having a long bucket list meant you were a very optimistic person. Or, that you’re silly and delusional, I forget which. But the gist is that if you have a long bucket list, you are imagining a future full of life and experiences. And, while a 370 item (plus an extra 42 mountains to summit and 28 long trails to hike/run) bucket list is…more than a bit excessive…I like to think that this list is an aspirational guideline for when I need inspiration.
My first international trail race!
(aka “the Mont Blanc Intro to Nature Running Fun Run” or something like that, lol) I’ve officially run a race in Europe! I’ve officially run a race in the Alps!!
McCrae and I had already planned a trip to France for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June/July 2019 and we planned a side trip to Chamonix, not even realizing we would be there during the Marathons du Mont Blanc. Most of the races were sold out by the time we realized it, but the 10K - billed as the “intro to nature running” - still had spots available. So, eager for adventure, we signed up to race! Sure, a 10K seems a little silly now after running ultras, but I figured any chance to hit some trails and scout out the Mont Blanc area has to be a good decision. 😉Plus we were technically on holiday, so might as well take it kinda easy, right??
Annual playlist focuses on music that inspires movement
Four years ago on Labor Day weekend I went on a backpacking trip near Blood Mountain along the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. While the hiking trip and the company was great, that long agonizing drive down to Atlanta in awful Labor Day traffic sticks in my memory, and so for the past few years I've created playlists to kick off long road trips on Labor Day weekends. This year I pulled pieces that inspire movement. It's a playlist that I hope drives you to something new, whether it moves you to go on an adventure, or to make a change in your life, or to do something good in the world. Enjoy!
Photos and travelogue from the Windy City
Chicago. There is something so appealing about that word, how the letters curve on the page and how they roll in your mouth when you say the word out loud. Chicago. It's almost as if the Art Deco skyline can materialize if you just say the word. - A long form vignette love travelogue with pictures.
I was basically a zombie wandering the streets of Charleston the days between Christmas and New Year's. The charms of Charleston - the food, the night life, and the views - were lost to me. The best meals mean nothing if you can only eat soup. The fanciest cocktails mean nothing if your stomach is already sour. The prettiest buildings look dull if you're tired and aching and running a fever. Even so, I've got a few photos from the trip up on the blog!
Anyone who knows me knows I have a not-so-secret obsession with tiny houses. And no, I don't mean "small, quaint cottage in the rolling English countryside" kinda tiny but I mean tiny houses! Like 200 square foot kinda tiny. Think tiny like "just enough room for McCrae, Ryder and me to pack together like sardines with my running/backpacking/hiking/soccer/climbing/yoga/biking/photography equipment and barely be able to turn around" kinda tiny. Possibly even unreasonably tiny. I have my reasons for my love of tiny houses, and I even explored one form of tiny house living in Charleston!
Trafalgar Square. What a hodgepodge of people. In the summer afternoon it was busy: all noise and people. I could have loitered at the square all day just people-watching, but everything else around Trafalgar Square is so exciting too - The National Gallery, St. Martin in the Fields, The National Portrait Gallery, and all the captivating details of Charing Cross and the Westminster area.