What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: May 2026

You may recall that May is my favorite month. Don't get me wrong, I actually love all the months for various reasons, but May always seems to be a place of rebirth. The flowers are blooming, the sun starts shining more, and this is one of the best months to be 

in San Francisco. Karl, the fog, has not made his appearance yet, as it is brought on by the very hot temperatures inland clashing with the cool temperatures of the Pacific. The weather is just right, not too cool, not too hot, and the morning air is fresh and clear. May always reminds me that it is a joy to be alive. 

This year is no different. I flew home on the first, beat jetlag by staying up the entire flight (boo yeah) and literally hit the ground running....by going out for a run in one of my favorite places, the headlands. The rest of the month was spent with family, walking or running my usual 6 mile loop, and at the end, prepping for and starting off on the next adventure, a bike trip! This one goes from Mexico to Canada along a different dirt route, which you can see here. 80% of the route is on dirt and 70% of it is on public lands (National Forests, National Parks and Monuments, and BLM land), which means that for the most part, you can stop and camp wherever you want. Currently I am still in Segment 9 in Arizona. 

I've got a long way to go still...

I'd love to hear what you're up to! Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Alaska, BC, California, Arizona

What country related books or documentaries did I watch? 

Read: I actually read quite a few books about the US and Mexico! 

Amity: 1866 post Civil War, formerly enslaved (but not yet freed) brother and sister get separated; one is in the US and one is in Mexico. Brother goes to find sister. (****)

Ballad of Love and Glory: 1846 Mexican American war (****)

On the Plain of Snakes: Travel writer Paul Theroux drives along and crosses over the US/Mexican border several times before delving deeper into the country. (in progress)

Watched: n/a

Did I complete any other items on this year's looking forward list? 

✅New food <-- black sesame ice cream *yum*

✅ Book about country <-- see above

✅ Family time! 

✅ Ride my bike in two new states <-- Arizona - 1/2

✅ See at least one National Park that I have not been to before. <-- Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

✅ New thing <-- saw an orca!

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1. What is the name of last month's chapter? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato

February: Back in the Groove

March: Serenity Before the Storm

April: Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

May: The Ring of Fire and Ice

I went from Alaska (cold) to Arizona (hot) all in one month and it was quite the contrast! 

2. What did I learn last month? 

I learned a lot about salmon, glaciers, my family's knowledge of trivia questions and...cactus! I decided I had to stop calling them the "one that looks like a pincushion" and the "one that looks like a Rastafarian" and so I looked them up. Did you know that Arizona has over 50 different kinds of cacti? We all probably are familiar with the Saguaro (middle row, far left photo), and it is very fun to find people shapes within them, but one of my favorites is the Cholla (top row, middle photo), because it reminds me of my little succulents at home, where you could remove the "chick" and make a whole new plant. The Cholla does the same thing, giving it the nickname of the Jumping Cholla. Also, if you speak Spanish, you will know this already, but if you don't...Saguaro is pronounced Sah-wahr-oh, and Cholla is pronounced Choy-ah. 

Cacti

3. What was the weather like? 

It was all over the place! Alaska was around 40-50 most of the time, San Francisco was around 50-60, it was about 50-70 at my parents, and then it was 70-105 in Arizona! The only place it rained was BC, but otherwise the skies were clear and it was beautiful! 

4. What event last month was my favorite?

It's really hard to choose! I saw orcas! I even got them on video, which was very lucky! We also did a helicopter ride to a glacier while in Alaska which was a very cool experience. I have been on a helicopter before but I can honestly say that it does not get old. I would do it again in a heartbeat and would love to even learn to fly one. #lifegoals! 

I also got to ride on a narrow gauge railway that my Dad has done a lot of work with, spent a lot of great time with family and friends, got a new bike, played many, MANY hands of Rummy with my brother, had a birthday, ate hamburgers, drank beer, walked in the forest, went to San Francisco and so much more! It was a very full month for sure. 

5. What was the best thing read, listened to or watched last month? Despite a pretty slow start, once I started riding, I read at least a book a day on audio, and due to camping, have been reading my Kindle a lot at night! However, no five stars, but lots and lots of fours! 

Book: The Electricity of Every Living Thing - While on a thru-hike in England, the author determines that she has Asperger's. The walk gives her time to think it through and contemplate what this diagnosis means for her.  

Movie/Show: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (Britbox/Kanopy (free)) - Classic detective stories set in London and surrounds, based on books by Elizabeth George. When I was younger I read so many of her novels and loved them. The show was filmed in the early aughts so the quality is not great but the stories are still fun. 

Podcast: I am loving the Headwaters podcast, which is about Glacier NP. First of all, it is hosted by two rangers, and I like them, so that helps. Second, despite being about Glacier, there are so many interesting parallels to other things, like this episode where they talk about forest fires and how they affect different groups, the environment and the animals. 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

My Driver License was expiring on my birthday this year. Now, I am not a procrastinator, so of course, I got online in February to renew. Not to make a short story long, but if you are unaware, for a REAL ID, you need to have a physical address and prove that you live there. My ID still had my Oakland address, so in order to renew the first step is to change your address (online) and the second step is to request a new ID (also online). Easy right? Well, for some reason, the online address change would not work. I would go it, change it, it would say that it was going to take 3-5 business days, then I would get no email or anything, but in 3-5 days would go back and check and it would say "not processed." I did this several times using different browsers, my phone, and even my brother, as I thought maybe the issue was that I wasn't in the US. It did not work. I sent an email to the DMV asking for an extension. I got no response. 

I was going to be arriving home one day before my birthday, so plan B was that I would just go in to a physical location. If you have ever been to the DMV, or maybe it is just the DMV in California, the reputation is not great. So I printed out everything that they may ask for, and tried to make an appointment. The first available was in June, so I decided to just take my chances. I borrowed my Dad's car and went in on my birthday, the day my ID expired, and got in line. Good news: it only took about 15 minutes! Yay! Bad news: I got back in the car and the car wouldn't start. So I spent the next hour figuring out why and ultimately getting a new battery for the car. 

In the end, it was not too bad, and I went and got my free Starbucks milkshake frappuccino to celebrate my win. The funny thing is that my Dad had asked me earlier what special thing I wanted to do for my birthday and I told him that it was just a regular day really and that I had a lot of errands to run. So after my errands I also helped him clean out the basement! Sometimes being an adult is fun, eh? Full disclosure: I had a hamburger and a beer too!

Cheeseburger salad, buffalo cauliflower, IPA

Is this how the IG people do it?

7. What am I looking forward to this month?

The World Cup! I will fly home and go to a game in the Bay Area and then go to Seattle for a second game and it is going to be so much fun. My friend K and I have tried to get tickets to other years but have failed so this is our redemption! 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

MAY:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?

2. What did you learn last month?

3. What was the weather like where you are?

4. What event last month was your favorite?

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

JUNE: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! What is your ideal birthday meal (and drink)?