Meander reboot, y’all. See ya in August!

June 24, 2014 by 1 Comment

Meander through Joshua Tree National ParkGreetings from Joshua Tree National Park! I’m on the road again and won’t be back until sometime in August or beyond.

Didn’t expect to hear that. Did you?

Honestly, I didn’t expect to say it. When I woke up last Friday, I thought I had three weeks to kill before flying off to Seattle. But when I unexpectedly closed out my second contract in as many days, it was time to hit the road.

It’s been quite a journey to my second meander.

The seed was planted in March while exploring Walnut Canyon NM in Flagstaff. I waffled as I waited for word on a killer temp gig with Nomadic Agency. When the gig fell through, I began planning a second meander … until changing my mind a few days later.

I’m glad I did.

A trip to Las Vegas and Havasu Falls rekindled my spirit of adventure. And three days at Firefly Gathering let me live again without a smartphone or watch while working through some of the fear that made me cancel my plans in April.

Still, I intended to play out the summer as planned – flying to Seattle on July 11, spending three weeks in the PNW, and returning to the desert in time for Camp Tontozona. Then, on Thursday, I finished a big Infusionsoft project. On Friday, my second biggest client put our contract on hold.

My heart immediately jumped to the road. And my body was just four days behind it.

Meander reboot, y’all. See ya in August!

Silvia's Wash at Joshua Tree

My bodhi tree may be a coastal redwood, but this palo verde at Silvia’s Wash wasn’t bad either.

 

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NM. LOL. I’m not meandering this summer.

April 10, 2014 by 1 Comment

I walk outside. It’s hot. Damn hot. I remember the one (count ‘em, one!) triple-digit day of last summer’s Meander in Nevada City.

I wonder if I’ve made a mistake.

Last Thursday, I received the answer to the lingering question that forced me to kill time hiking at South Mountain. I learned that I didn’t get the temporary digital marketing gig that I thought was the only thing that could keep me in Arizona through the summer.

For a few days after the news, I proceeded as though Meander 2.0 was a go. I invited a friend to rent my house. I contacted road trip buddies. I researched campgrounds.

And then I changed my mind.

NM. LOL. Contrary to photos of my bearded face posted to Facebook, there will be no Meander this summer. Sorry for being a tease, y’all. I just don’t feel like it.

No Meander? WTF? Why not?

The Meander was founded on three principles: No girl. No gig. Just the road. That’s fine for one summer. Great, actually. But not two in a row.

The truth is, I want a girl. No, wait, I want the girl. Alas, the road offers up more flannelled forest cougars with one front tooth than, ya know, potential soul mates.

I like my gig. I’m a digital marketing consultant with some amazing clients. I’m socializing a luxury tile manufacturer, email marketing a therapeutic eyewear seller, and just plain gettin’ things done for one amazing entrepreneur who lets me be me (and meander whenever I like).

And, finally, there’s the road.

I’m not afraid to admit that it’s hard out there. And I’m a bit of a chicken about plunging back into the isolation of traveling the way I traveled last summer. For every shirtless hiking selfie I posted to Facebook, there was a tough night in my tent wishing I was home with friends and family.

Again, sorry for being a tease. This summer, I’m chillin’ … figuratively. Not literally.

OK. What you doin’ instead?

Instead, this summer I’ll keep it local. Kinda. My summer travels will commence with a Las Vegas-Havasu Falls trip in late May. I’ll commit some sins in Sin City, then pay for them by carrying a 30-pound pack 10 miles into and out of a canyon. The summer will end with Camp Tontozona and a trip to Arches and Canyonlands in August.

In between, I’ll enjoy our scintillating summer sunsets at Tempe Town Lake. I’ll work on my handstand. I’ll watch Game of Thrones (spoiler free!). I’ll camp and cabin up north, visit the beach in SoCal, and maybe even tuck in a week or two in Seattle.

The quiet of summertime in Tempe has fostered some of the most spiritual times of my life. This summer, I’ll embrace it.

Of course, there’ll be times when I’ll second-guess this decision. I’ll get cabin fever during long weekends at home. I’ll burn my bare feet getting the mail. I’ll grumble as I dash through the oppressive heat from my AC’d house to my AC’d car.

I’ll be left to ponder …

What’s the temperature in Washington right now?

And who do I know with a pool?

summer in az

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One foot in front of the other while I wait for an answer

March 30, 2014 by 4 Comments

I spontaneously decided to hike South Mountain late this afternoon. I did it because there was nothing else left for me to do. I’m ready to commit to plans for the summer, but life is telling me I have to wait.

To meander or not to meander? That is the question.

I researched new routes to Seattle last weekend. I touched based with a few road trip buddies. I put feelers out for someone to watch my house while I’m gone. I even set a return date of early August (though admittedly that was mostly a result of ASU publishing its Camp Tontozona schedule).

And then I discovered a temporary opening for a wannabe digital marketer like me. It’d be an incredible opportunity to learn from some of the best marketers in town. It’s an opportunity I wouldn’t pass up, even if it meant a summer of rush hour traffic and triple-digit temperatures.

I interviewed on Thursday. I was told I’d hear back Friday. My phone never rang.

So, now I wait. If I get the gig, I’ll spend the next three months in Phoenix. In August, I’ll mini-meander with a friend through southeast Utah’s national parks. Then, I’ll follow the ASU football team to Albuquerque and Boulder with art stops in Santa Fe and Taos.

If I don’t get the gig, I’ll leave for Burbank in early May and slowly work my way up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle. This year, I intend to zigzag less and sit still more. I’m especially interested in spending more time in small towns where I can work, practice yoga, and get a feel for the community.

Which will it be? I have no idea. And that’s a bit frustrating.

Alas, life doesn’t provide the answers on my timeline. There were times during last summer’s meander that I was confused, or lonely, or just in good ol’ fashioned pain. But I learned that I can always kill a few hours climbing a mountain while I wait for tomorrow. One foot in front of the other …

A saguaro at sunset in South Mountain

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After 100 days on the road, I’m restless in Seattle

August 15, 2013 by 4 Comments

Seattle greeted me with open arms when I arrived on July 5. In my first 48 hours in the city, I reacquainted with my cousin and her family, found a great yoga studio, and saw two concerts including Robert Plant. What a reception!

No city could keep up that pace. Two years ago, I was ready to move to Seattle. Today, I’m ready to go home. I’m very aware of missing things like my Tempe Leadership class’s first reunion, two of my closest friends’ last nights in Arizona, and the start of Camp Tontozona.

Desert rat in snow at Mt Baker

There’s gotta be a desert here somewhere …

Of course, I’m making the most of my time here. I absolutely love this area! I’ve seen the Seattle sights with my mom, camped twice in the North Cascades, and enjoyed quiet time connecting with my cousin’s family and doing a ton of yoga.

I know what some of you are thinking. Boo frickin’ hoo.

Most of you are sweltering in triple-digit temperatures. You’re reading this post while sitting in your cubicle. You quite understandably think that I’m on a hella long vacation.

I totally get that. It’s hard to define this experience in terms I’d have recognized six months ago. I mean, what the hell is a sabbatical anyway? As I approach my 100th day on the road, it’s quite clear that it is not a vacation. It’s a lifestyle – and not one that I’d choose to live long-term.

No girl. No gig. Just the road. That mantra carried me through an action-packed, spiritually-charged, growth-fostering, two-month drive from San Diego to Seattle. But now? Meh.

No gig? Ha! I love my career. Breakfast with a former coworker in Portland reminded me how much I miss wrapping my mind around a good puzzle.

No girl? Well, I really really dug a girl in Phoenix. Goodbye was a prerequisite for this trip and all the benefits it’s delivered. But goodbye was NOT easy.

Now, after nearly 100 days on the road, it’s time to get back to the gig. And the girl. And ASU football. And my favorite city in the world. And my own bed and kitchen. And all of you.

I’m leaving Seattle on August 26 for a week in the Olympics followed by a short layover in Central Washington. I’ll be at Glacier National Park in Montana by September 8 and Yellowstone in Wyoming by September 15. From there, I’m heading straight down the Colorado-Utah border toward Tempe (with short stops at Dinosaur National Monument and Arches).

That means no Denver and Rocky Mountain National Park. No Salt Lake City and Bryce Canyon and Zion.

Estimated date of arrival: September 28. Right in time to watch my Sun Devils trounce Southern Cal. Right in time for Tempe to wake from its summer slumber.

Until then, I’m stuck on sabbatical. But, if you gotta be stuck somewhere, sabbatical is the place to be. After all, the weather and the views are fantastic!

seattle skyline from kerry park

A decent view until I get home …

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