As 2019 comes to an end, I cannot help but laugh at the audacity of the events that brought me here... I'm stoked to be able to live this life of mine! Perhaps a little wacky for some, but it’s a collection of choices made consciously and deliberately, as well as acts of sheer chance by universal intervention, if I'm being really honest.

I started this recap on my social channels under #12daysof2019 but life got in the way and I slacked off. It's all recapped below now, so keep reading if you want the full story.

JANUARY:

2019 was a leap of faith, staring with this very moment captured during my drive from Florida to California. I ended my condo lease, canceled my office agreement, got rid of all my stuff, packed my car with the few remaining possessions and left home without any solid plans but a vision to live the adventure.

Full of doubt and fear, but not letting them stop me, I made the 3200-mile trek in 14 days, with some heartbreaks and many lessons along the way. My car was hit in a parking lot of Tallahassee Whole Foods on day 2 of my trip. It got broken into in downtown Austin on day 4 of my trip and a bunch of things stolen. And on day 6 of my trip, I got the heartbreaking news of my grandma’s passing in Russia. I could have turned around then, I wanted to. But instead, I pushed forward and found respite in the ancient rocks of Sedona where the mysterious ways of the universe connected me with Peter @vortexjumper who became my spiritual guide for the weekend. He took me to the top of Bell Rock, an energy vortex and one of Sedona’s hidden treasures.

That serendipitous experience not only gave me solace but set the pace for the rest of the year of spontaneous connections, epic encounters, wonderful friendships, and many soulful miles.

FEBRUARY & MARCH

Spent these two months mainly exploring San Diego and meeting a ton of incredible people whom I miss dearly. Many great friendships were forged in those short two months.

As the first stop on my year-long road trip, before I had the Turtle, I rented an Airbnb in Ocean Beach part of San Diego. Milo and I had so much fun there.

Picked up rock climbing, went on daily hikes, played in all the dog parks, got quality time with my brother and sister who both live in Cali, took salsa lessons, went to Toastmasters, blissed out in yoga classes in the evenings and sound baths on weekends, joined networking groups, got obsessed with van life. San Diego is a city of dreamers and doers. People there are inspired and inspiring. It was a great place to soak up some good vibes and adjust to our new lifestyle away from home.

I also flew home to Florida twice, to celebrate my mom’s big birthday in February with almost the whole fam, and again to see my best friend for her birthday in late March.

Milo got trained and certified as my Emotional Support Animal in early February and he actually began to behave in public places. Shocking, I know!

APRIL & MAY:

April started with a bit of a surprise and not a pleasant one. Milo and I were in Florida for 10 days. Upon returning to our Airbnb in San Diego late at night and exhausted, I felt a weird sensation on my skin, like something was crawling on me... something was! FLEAS 😱 While we were gone, our apartment somehow got infested with fleas that attacked us as soon as we walked in. It was horrific! I remember sitting in a bathtub in my clothes, crying and brushing hundreds of them from Milo’s fur. I had nothing to treat him with and he was super itchy as they leeched on to him. We couldn’t stay there, so I called my brother who lives in San Diego at 1 am to save us. Thank goodness for siblings! We ended up spending 3 days at his place while ours was being cleaned up. Lesson learned - San Diego’s beach fleas are no joke.

April was also my birthday month. By mid-April, I left San Diego to journey north, up the Pacific Coast Hwy as a little road-trip adventure for my 31st year around the sun. I walked along the Giant Sequoias, followed ancient rivers, watched the sun kiss the horizon, set quiet with the wildlife, and felt deeply alive in my solitude. As an extrovert, I thought I needed to be around others to fill my cup, but this journey has given me a new perspective on the value of my alone time.

May was a dream! Arrived in Portland in the mid of rhododendron bloom and fell instantly in love with the city, its neighborhoods, friendly people, and picturesque nature. I was also reading “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence” by Michael Pollan and at that very time the book took me on a whole other incredible journey that I may share one day.

Ended May with getting Turtle, my lovely Rooftop tent by Tepui, installed by the cool dudes at RackAttack Portland.

JUNE & JULY:

I drove cross country TWICE in June. From Portland to Chicago to see my nephew for his 1st birthday, then to Florida for my dad’s 50th and back to California because I had a permit to hike the Half-dome in Yosemite on the 4th of July weekend. Whew! That was an intense - 8,000 miles of highways in under 30 days, but what an opportunity to explore our beautiful country!

Turtle proved to be the smartest investment I made this year because it set me up to “try” van life without the crazy $$,$$$ investment and time commitment of converting a van. My Toyota RAV4 AWD stood up to the test and took me many places near and far. In the summer, I visited over 15 national parks & monuments, including twice to Yellowstone (my favorite so far) and Grand Tetons.

Checked off my dream hike in Yosemite in July. Half-dome was surprisingly moderate, 11-hour, 17-mile roundtrip adventure, where I took an epic nap at the top right off the edge of the summit after enjoying an avocado toast I made for the special occasion. I’ll never forget how good it felt to sit there and be present for the magnificence of such a wonder of nature.

Day after returning to San Diego, I grabbed my brother and we were off to Utah for 3 weeks of joint adventures. I knew nothing about Utah but it was an instant hit for me. Some of the best parks I’ve been to are all situated there. We went to Zion, Antelope (technically Arizona), Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, then drove up to Yellowstone and Tetons, and hiked miles and miles of trails in each. My feet were bleeding after that trip. After dropping my brother off at the airport, I spent a week in the lovely Salt Lake City, then went back to Moab (that’s a town I’d like to spend a bunch more time in) for a bit, before driving back to Portland which is now where my heart is (if I ever settle in one place, it would probably be to Oregon).

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER:

August was an emotional rollercoaster, full of heavy lessons, all of which needed to be learned. A romantic connection took a crazy plot-twist and unraveled in a pile of lies. But an unlikely friendship blossomed when the two “victims” decided to join forces and reclaim power. A cheater and liar is no match for two strong women who are willing to put their egos aside and give each other a hand (and the whole truth over a cup of warm tea).

Rented the cutest Airbnb in Portland for a few months and rested from weeks of living in my car. By the end of August, I was certain that van life was meant-to-be but still had no idea where to begin. And then the roads serendipitously lead me to Descend on Bend, one the largest van life gatherings in the US. Not going to lie, I felt a bit inadequate in my Turtle in the sea of epic vans, buses and RVs, but the weekend proved to be life-changing because I met some of the most incredible people there, or in the aftermath due to the connections I made.

Extra special shoutout to my van life bestie and favorite adventure sidekick, Jarrod Tocci, who stormed into my life by sheer chance and for some reason, decided to stick around for many many miles together, including two counties (US & Canada, though could have been Mexico too if he didn’t chicken out. I kid!)

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER:

While Portland remained my home-base for nearly 3 months, I spent the bulk of late September, October and November exploring the Pacific North West. Winter came early (mid-October) while I was in Rainier National Park and although the tent did well in the winter temps (got down to 22F) it didn’t do as well in the rain. I quickly learned that Winter camping was not my thing (I’m a wimp from sunny South Florida), but we carried on from Washington state to Vancouver to Whistler, Canada. I got to spend some quality time with my friend @EvanOder who hosted Milo and me for a few nights in Whistler. Such a dreamy little place! Enjoyed snow hiking for the first time in my life there. Dis NOT enjoy the border-crossing though... for some reason, Canadians found me extra suspicious and searched my entire vehicle.

Decided it wasn’t smart to drive to Alberta to visit Banff in the tent. Returned to Portland and joined forces with Jarrod. We traveled in his awesome van, GHOST, for over a week and got to live the fairytale snow globe life at Banff National Park. A remarkable place year-round, but stoked we got to see it a few days after the lakes froze and fresh snow covered all the peaks. A must-return-to in the Summer!

November started the trek South because the North got too cold for my liking. Reuniting with my siblings and spending Thanksgiving together was a nice treat. Also, I was full-time planning my van build, searching for the right van, oh and annoying the crap out of poor Jarrod who was my bouncing board for all things van life. Surprised he didn’t run off while he had a chance!

DECEMBER:

Decided to raise my personal badass-level and drove down to Baja, Mexico all alone. Didn’t make it past Ensenada but got a great glimpse into what that region had to offer. Didn’t camp, rented an Airbnb which had an epic flood half-way through my stay, but my host was a saint and took care of me. Gave myself a little pat on the back for driving down scary, flooded, and uneven Mexican dirt-roads during a week of especially rainy weather. I was uncomfortable that entire trip but I also trusted that I can figure it out, and I did.

That was the perfect metaphor for my year, which started with the leap into complete uncertainly and came full circle over a whopping 42,000 miles of road-trip moments that have transformed me and molded a new view of the world. Nothing can stand in a way of your dreams! And if your dreams don’t scare you, you need to dream bigger!

While I was waiting to cross the border back to the US, I bought my van in Florida via a text message confirmation, and almost bought a puppy for Jarrod because the border vendors were carrying them in pockets, for sales like toys. My heart couldn’t take it! But logic kicked in. Sorry, Jarrod, no puppy for you!

My Mexico adventure was followed by the week-long return drive “home” for the holidays, and also to start on my build. And I couldn’t help the irony of time and place… the best van in the country that I found was just 15 minutes away from my parent’s house where I grew up. It was meant to be right there, waiting for me.

Anyone else a fan of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho? My favorite quote “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” literally became my life. Everything I could only dare to dream of happened for me this year and continues to develop. But it didn’t just happen to me while I was sitting on a couch eating potato chips. It took trust, and overcoming fear, sitting with vulnerability, making friends with uncertainty, being so afraid but choosing to go on anyway, and saying YES repeatedly and especially when I was most unsure.

So what is the secret sauce to living a full and remarkable life? DARE GREATLY (and go read that book for the starters, by Brene Brown)

Happy New year, dear friends! May 2020 be the year when you begin living your truth fearlessly and unapologetically. If I could, YOU could too. It's always a choice.

Share your 2020 intention below. What are you striving for this year?