"Love flowers best in openness and freedom" E. Abbey
November 25 – December 2
For Thanksgiving, Bijan and I had requested 8 days off from work, in the chance that we would be able to fly home for the holidays. Unfortunately, flying home was not in the cards this year, so we decided to use the time to travel up and down the California coast instead.
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November 9 – 16
Before Bijan and I went to San Diego, I was still wearing shorts everyday and enjoyed temps in the 70s. It felt like when we returned from our trip, the weather had changed to fall. We needed jackets in the morning and at night, and we started driving to work because it was too cold for us to enjoy biking. Now we understand when Californians say it’s a different kind of cold. We found ourselves talking about how cold it was when it was 55 degrees even though we are used to temps below freezing in New England. Maybe it’s because we are expecting it to be warm, that it effects us differently!
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October 20 – 30
Now working full-time again, Bijan and I’s free time to adventure has been cut down to 4 days per week. We are not going to lie and say that work is a piece of cake, because it’s not. It’s hard and stressful most days. We can get through it, though, and justify the stress that it gives us by taking full advantage of the days that we have off.
Whether its a day trip to somewhere that is close to Santa Barbara or a few-days getaway, we always make sure we have something to look forward to. The first month or so of a new travel assignment is always a difficult adjustment, but it does get easier towards the end!
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October 8 – 11
Bijan and I spent our last few days before starting work, exploring our new temporary home – walking and biking around our new neighborhood to get to know the area. We figured out we are situated in the perfect location. Most places we will want to go around town are walkable or bike-able including work, downtown cafes/restaurants, and the beach! I find myself listening to a lot of Jack Johnson lately, it feels right being so close to the beach with all of the tropical plants, beaches and warm weather.
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October 1-2
We woke up on Thursday morning, still exhausted and groggy from our hike the day before, covered in dirt and sticky sweat. We were hoping that there was somewhere to take a shower in the valley, only to learn that the showers were closed for the 2020 season. Whats another 4 days without showering? At that point it was no big deal.
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September 27 -28
Before leaving Lake Powell, we had decided that our next stop was going to be Yosemite National Park in the Sierras. We were supposed to go there earlier in the road trip, but the park was closed for over a week due to hazardous smoke from the nearby wildfires. This park has been on our list for years, but nature has seemed to not want us to be there. Last time we were planning to go, there was a late season snow storm in May. We decided since they had opened up the park again and the conditions looked good, I scouted the campground reservations website the week before and was able to get a last minute campsite in the valley for our desired dates. We knew there would be on and off smoky conditions in the park, it was still worth showing up and hoping for the best.
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September 21 – 23
At this point in our “planned” road trip, we would be in California enjoying Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and the Mammoth Lakes area of the Sierras. Due to the wildfires and smoke hazards, we opted to alter our original plan and stall in Southwest Colorado for a bit longer. We can’t complain even the tiniest bit. It is so beautiful here, and we are grateful to have extra time to relax and explore the area.
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Our next few days activities, unfortunately, weren’t dog appropriate. So on Monday morning, we dropped off Charley at Ouray Dog Company for her own little R & R and Bijan and I took off for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in central Colorado.
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September 11 & 12th: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and half of Colorado.
We cruised through the central states and the midwest with our longest 2 driving days of the trip. Although there were not familiar faces in this part of the country, we made it a point to find a few things along the way each day to stretch our legs and get a taste of the state or city that we were driving through.
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September 9th: Departure day
We spent the morning wrapping up our car setup and enjoying a final meal with family. Google maps has it clocked at 2,787 miles to Santa Barbara, but with all that we have planned, we are looking at quite a few more.
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The Adventures of Cadence, SlugBug and Muddy Paws 