SUMMARY OF SEPTEMBER
You wouldn’t think having one day less this month would make that much of a difference. Yet, here we are once again at the end of the month wondering how we got here already.
I’ve spent the month (and all summer really) getting reacquainted with my hometown. I’ve been doing a ton of new hikes and thinking to myself- how did I not know about this before? I have loved getting up high and looking down at the views over Boulder. Proximity to nature has been the absolute best part of being home.
Beyond hiking, I’ve spent the majority of my time at the brewery in Boulder where I currently work. When I’m not chatting about craft beer, I’m writing blog posts, and going on mini-adventures. For example, I recently went to the newly renovated and reopened Casa Bonita.
Casa Bonita is my childhood nostalgia. It’s where I spent birthday parties and field trips. Watching cliff divers jump into the pool. Watching gorillas steal purses. Getting scared in Bart’s Cave, and winning prizes in the arcade. Casa Bonita is a state treasure to those who grew up in Colorado. But if you’re not from Colorado, but you’re thinking it sounds familiar, you may have heard of it from South Park.
The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are originally from Colorado, and even went to my alma mater, the University of Colorado Boulder. So of course, they have many solid Colorado references, Casa Bonita being one of them. During the pandemic, Casa Bonita closed its doors, only to have Matt and Trey purchase it and redo it. So now, Casa Bonita is back, baby! But it’s not that easy to get into. There has been a beta opening for months. You first have to sign up on a mailing list, and from that list, there is a lottery. Fortunately for me, my friend won. She was able to invite as many people as she wanted. So our group of 6 got to enter the doors of Casa Bonita for the first time in years. Almost everything looked the same, but the food was much improved!
Here in Colorado, the days are still hot and sunny. It’s still shorts weather as much as I don’t want it to be shorts weather. I want sweaters, and slippers, and beanies, and light jackets. At least mornings allow us a sneak peek into the upcoming colder days.
Speaking of mornings, this morning I was headed out early for the gym when I noticed my car was driving funny. Yup, another flat tire. I had been keeping an eye on this front tire since I bought the car in June, the day my scooter got stolen. Well, after 3 months, the tire had had enough. Instead of going directly to the gym, I went directly to Big O’ Tires.
Sometimes things just don’t go as planned.
Like this month. I thought I would have a kitchen by the end of this month, but it’s still a construction zone. I thought I might have found a ‘real job’ by now. I thought I would be finalizing plans to move to California like I originally intended when I came back to the US in May.
But things change. Life doesn’t go as planned. You make other decisions. That’s what September has been for me. A month of changing my mind.
WHAT’S NEXT
While I thought I might be ready to live a life in the US, turns out I’m not. I’m so used to life on the road and I’m not ready to give it up just yet.
I recently renewed my US passport. A blank slate. No stamps. No visas. Nothing. This is very exciting for me, as it means I can finally visit several countries for the first time, that I wasn’t able to with my previous passport.
In 2014 I went to the West Bank, Palestine. In order to get there, I had to cross through Israel first. Israel is not supposed to stamp your passport, but they stamped mine. What this meant for me was that as long as I had that passport, I was barred from visiting some Muslim and Arab countries. But now, I can! No Israeli stamp, no entry issues.
Earlier this month, I messaged my friend Art (from Gringo Nation), and said “Hey what are your travel plans next year?” From there, we started to plan.
First up, Europe. He’ll be headed to Spain for a month or two. In early January, I’m headed back to Italy to visit friends from my days of living in Florence. Unfortunately, it’s just a short visit before catching a flight to Egypt. Art and I were able to time our flights so that I’ll have a layover in Barcelona, where we’ll rendezvous in the airport, and from there we’ll be on the same flight to Cairo. The Egypt visa allows us 30 days, so I suppose we’ll stay for 30 days. From there, the idea is to go to Pakistan. Then we’ll see how we feel.
I’m excited to get back onto the road again with my favorite travel pal. Egypt will be our 5th country together (after Georgia, Turkey, Peru, and the US).
I’m not positive I’ll be focusing on my YouTube channel while there. But I’ll absolutely be updating my blog and Instagram, so make sure to follow along for the journey.
ARGENTINA TOURS
As excited as I am about Egypt and Pakistan, I still can’t stop thinking about Argentina. This country will always hold a very special place in my heart. I really want to go back. But I want to go back with you. There is a company called Trova Trip that organizes all the logistics for group trips, and they’ve got a few that go to the south of Argentina. But in order to lead one of these group trips down to Patagonia, I need to get 50 surveys filled out from my audience to prove that there is a real desire and willingness to go.
I know there are so many fantastic, Argentina-loving people out there who have found me via YouTube, Instagram, or my blog, so I know we can make this happen.
If you have 5-10 minutes to spare, I would like to ask you to pretty please fill out this survey. Even if you don’t know for sure, or you don’t fully intend to take the trip, just getting the survey filled out is a huge help to me. The more surveys, the better.
In order for the survey to be considered valid, you just need to select that you are willing to spend over $2000 on a trip. You can select any countries that you might be interested in for a trip. But of course, the more people who also select Argentina, the more likely it will be that we can take a Patagonia hiking trip together.
I thank you in advance a million times over!
Save Yourself a Headache and Get Insured
As I prepare to travel again soon, I am of course thinking of travel medical insurance. The company that I always use is SafetyWing. They have the best coverage and you can start and end the insurance coverage at any time. You can even start a new plan after you’ve already started traveling. It’s a travel medical insurance company that was created by nomads for nomads. So if you too are thinking of traveling soon, consider SafetyWing coverage for your next adventure.
THANK YOU
As always, thank you to all of you who support me and my work. Thank you for reading my words and watching my videos. Buying me coffee and donating to my blog. My travels are self-funded, and I truly appreciate all your continued support and encouragement.