Stuff. All of the STUFF.

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Apparently I have a lot of 'stuff'.  I mean that in the most literal way possible.  This week I've been digging through boxes because apparently when you 'go nomad' you tuck boxes of stuff here there and everywhere.

car + stuff

I've been sifting, sorting and piling....and then avoiding, ignoring and coffee'ing...repeat.

Do you see what I'm doing here?  I'm ignoring the fact that you guys wanna know how the last hitch went and I 'm ignoring the fact I've been MIA.  Am I distracting you?  Is it working?  Let's carry on, shall we....

Here's the good news:  I fly to Hilo this week!  To say I'm excited might be an understatement.

Hope you lovelies are having a Happy Sunday! 

Here's to blogging comebacks!  Here's to vacation!  Here's to spring cleaning!

Travel Within Travel

in ,

We're packing up camp and headed to another part of the island for an overnight. 

I feel ridiculously excited.  

My Mom and I have both cracked up about how excited I am. Here I am, far from home and sooooo excited for an overnight! 

We're headed for white sand beaches and I'm doing a happy dance! 

I'm a fair amount behind in the blog - I'm thinking about how best to catch up - I'll come up with a plan soon.  

Toodles! 

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Nautie Randomness Bali Edition

in

These things used to have Roman numerals but honestly, I didn't know what came next so now they get names.  I kinda like it better like this anyways.  This is the Bali Edition - things I meant to tell you before I left for Bali - things I meant to tell you when I got to Bali - things I just want to tell you!

Balinese Man working in the rice paddies in early this morning.

Balinese Man working in the rice paddies in early this morning.

Can someone who reads this blog on a comupter tell me if the above photo (and well, the photos below) are gigantic?  I've been having minor difficulties resizing the photos on my iPad and because Squarespace is right ontop of optimizing posts on mobile devices I can't tell if that photo a) takes forever to load and b) is distorted due to being very, very large!  It's also possible that the flipside is true - are these photos small?  I realize that this makes no sense but the bottom line is:  Do the photos look okay on your viewing platform?!

Morning light in my little yard.

Morning light in my little yard.

I haven't ventured too far from my nest since I've been here.  There are a couple reasons why but, one major reason is that I was really behind on 'life'.  There were so many long overdue emails to write / reply to.  Organizing data.  Organizing my schedule.  I didn't quite realize how much I had been going, going, going.  Being here, typing on my iPad, looking out the window, journaling and taking photos has been just what the doctor ordered.

Rice Paddies, A Camera, A Coffee.  Bliss.

Rice Paddies, A Camera, A Coffee.  Bliss.

So far, my morning routine has consisted of waking up really early, finding a mug of something warm, grabbing my camera and strolling along the edges of the rice paddies.  This morning the ravine on the Eastern edge of the ridge was full of mist and thanks to a light rain through the night things were extra dewy.

Rice Paddy and Morning Light.

Rice Paddy and Morning Light.

Just so I don't leave you confused, I wrote some blog posts and set them up as 'scheduled posts'.  I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time to blog on the road and figured thought I'd share some of the photos I took while I was at sea last to keep you company in case of my absence.  I hope this doesn't throw anyone for too much of a loop! 

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Here's something random for you.  When I was driving from the airport to Ubud I saw a really, really big lizard cross the road.  Big as in, if we hit it we would have felt it.  When my hosts were showing me through my house I asked them if I should keep the doors closed sometimes.  I mean, I'm down with geckos but that thing was bigger than a rat!  My hosts say, 'nah, you should be okay, we only had a snake in the house once!'.  *Gulp* I might be at one with the tropics but....we don't have snakes in Hawaii!  Then he says, 'that's why the houses are tiled - snakes can't slither on tile!'.  What?!  Good to know?!  Whew?!  Snakes?!

Thanks for tagging along with me! 

Going Nomad :: Bali & Nepal

in ,
Via

Via

A few months ago - as in right around the time I made this grand proclamation - I saw the above photo in my instagram feed.  A sweet little bungalow in Ubud, Bali.

In my head I had one thought:  

MAKE.IT.HAPPEN. 

I have been talking about going to Bali for just about my entire life.  My Mom visited Bali a few times when I was just a little girl and brought back tons of stuff.  As I sit here typing and I look around the living room I see a stack of Balinese baskets, a Balinese carving and a Batik throw pillow.

When I knew that I wouldn't have an apartment lined up for myself for the month of October and November I knew it was time.  Time to book some tickets.

My plan was to travel through Bali and Thailand.  Two dreamy, long time put off, destinations.

In July I headed up to BC, where I visited some cousins and drove golf carts.  My Girl Cousin said, 'I'm going to Nepal in October'!  ...and I said, 'ohmygodi'mgoingwithyou'.  

Then, before I knew it, I'd booked myself a ticket to Bali and Nepal.  Mostly because I knew that if I didn't just make it happen, it would never happen.  It's official.  I'll be splitting the month of October in Ubud, Bali and Kathmandu, Nepal. 

I leave next week and should be over the moon excited but, I spend a pretty big part of my day thinking, 'oh boy.  have you bitten off more than you can chew?' and then I think, 'nope, you're gonna be fine...' and then, I wander over to my packed suitcase and paw through things.  For the record, Bali and Nepal require drastically different outfits.

Being without a 'home base' is just as challenging as I expected it to be - it's also just as liberating.  It lends to a fair amount of chaos and upheaval - it also creates a fair amount of opportunity.  It spawns adventure - which was exactly what I was looking for.

Bali!  Nepal!  Nomad!  Adventure!  Yippeeeeee! 

 

for the record the inspirational photo isn't where I'll be staying....it just got the ball rolling...

Nomad Summer Wrap Up

in ,
packing cubes on the road

This summer marked the beginning of my Going Nomad adventure.  My time on the road was brief but lengthy.  I mean, man, I covered some miles.  Between the middle of June and the beginning of August I put 9,000 miles on my little-car-car!

To sum it up I drove from California to Texas with my Mom (who flew in and met me when I got off my ship).  We booked it to Texas as fast as we could - packed up my apartment and loaded it into a u-haul pod - and then picked my Step-Dad up at the airport.  We immediately booked it for New Orleans.  A few nights in New Orleans and then we were off to Arkansas and Oklahoma to visit family.  From Oklahoma we bee lined for Vegas.  I mean, Vegas is always a good idea, right?!  Vegas wore us out and we straggled back in to California where we recouped in a lovely backyard with amazing friends.  My parents flew back to Hawaii and I made a solo trip up the West Coast stopping in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia before making my way back down to California and rejoining my ship.  I mean, whew! 

It almost feels like a cheat to call that one and a half months Going Nomad because it was just so short except, I put so many miles on my car that I decided it has to count.

Spending so much time in a car and hopping from house to house you're bound to learn a few things about yourself.  Here's what I learned....

I will wear the same thing everyday unless the weather prevents it.  I had no desire to switch things up.  I saw new people everyday so they were none the wiser! 

A pint of blueberries fits perfectly in the console between your seats.

More disgustingly, I don't really like to shower.  I get a little self conscious showering at other peoples house.  What is that about?!

I have no will power to eat healthy when someone puts something yummy in front of me.  If I had my cooler and was in the car I was golden.  Faced with a yummy spread - nope.  

Healthy food choices aside, you're allowed to buy yourself a McFlurry after hours on the road.  Judge away interwebz.

Podcasts make my heart sing.

I can drive really, really fast and be none the wiser.

My friends and family are the best ever.  Truly the best.  So helpful!  So supportive!  So loving!

It's not that easy sometimes.  Introverts need to build in some alone time.  

Stop for the good coffee.  Skip the Starbucks.

Buying packing cubes was smart.  Really smart.

Touch the ferret at the rest stop.  You'll be so happy you did later.

I can't wait to tell you about my upcoming adventures!  This fall will be one for the books!