About Me

I’m an adventure travel blogger! I’m also a doctor of physical therapy, artist, breathwork facilitator, vision calendar workshop facilitator, and all around multi-passionate student of life.

I’ve loved traveling for as long as I can remember. My family didn’t take many trips that involved planes. My first trip on a plane was to Sacramento when I was about 11, and I drank up every minute of it. I don’t remember much of Sac-town, but I do remember putting my bag in the overhead compartment, and riding down the escalator at the airport. I couldn’t wait for the time when I could fly on my own.

Camping, in contrast, was something my family did. We went camping every summer. We went to land my parents’ friends owned, with no facilities. This made things like digging holes for the potty and washing with biodegradable soap with river water from a bucket far away from the river seem like a normal part of life! I loved the experience of being outdoors all the time, and assumed I would camp every summer for the rest of my life. Fast forward to now, where I’ve finally realized that if I want to go camping, I get to create the experience for myself. Nobody is going to do it for me!

Adventure travel combines the best of both worlds. I love flying anywhere and experiencing life in a different city, in a different culture, in a different climate. It excites my senses and wakes me up. I love doing things differently than my everyday. It’s fascinating to think how things that seem completely normal for some people are way beyond the comfort zone of others. This is the contrast that excites me the most.

I took my first international trip to Mexico, where I experienced the discomfort of jet lag, waiting hours in a bus terminal, and a friends’ passport stolen in the metro. I also experienced the friendliness of strangers, learning to communicate in another language, and trekking through the jungle to ancient Mayan ruins.

Next I went to Brasil, where I loved it so much I decided to stay until I was fluent in the language. It took 7 months and falling in love with a handsome Brasilian. I missed my flight home and overstayed my visa. During this time I had a life-changing encounter with a woman about my age, who lived with her toddler-age daughter in a shack. It would not have been considered inhabitable by any standards I was familiar with. It was made of concrete, and the counters were covered with newspaper. She had generously volunteered to let me hang with her for a few hours while I waited for my boyfriend to take care of some business. She hosted me in her tiny house without apology. I sat on a crate and we watched tv, drank a sugary orange drink and chatted. She said, “But you have a blue passport. What are you going to do with that blue passport?” It’s a question that stuck with me. I ended up leaving Brasil shortly and pursued getting my doctorate in physical therapy.

There, I thought, that would be it. With a background in western medicine, with the coveted title of “Dr.” I could not only earn a living and never be without a job, but I could also legitimize any eastern-inspired healing I could think of- reiki, crystal healing, astrology.

The thing is, I wasn’t into the physical therapy work. I couldn’t get into it. I tried outpatient, home health, even went to Australia for a graduate certificate program (and another excuse to travel, of course!) I came back and went into private practice. None of it took off for me. My heart just couldn’t get over the boredom, the annnoying-ness of writing notes and being a slave to the insurance system. Even with a cash-pay practice, I couldn’t get into the “running-the-business” side of things.

I still do physical therapy, and I just do home health now. There are things I love about it. I love the flexibility. I love entering the culture of other peoples’ homes. I love getting to know my patients, and developing friendships with them. But mostly, it’s the flexibility that I love.

I’ve finally embraced that I will forever be multipassionate. I will do many things at once and I will always love to travel. I will leave behind my will to become the best DPT in history, and be satisfied with being a slightly better than average PT. I will however, be 100% committed to exploring the world and healing through breathwork, vision calendaring and making jewelry.