Since You've Been Gone

You may have noticed my lack of posting recently, but one of the things that I've decided to do more, especially in summer, is to live life and to try to be off the internet more. I know; it is not easy! There are so many things that can suck me in! I've done a lot of blog reading here and there, but not much commenting, so I apologize for that! I am going to do a rapid fire summary of some of the things that kept me from being present in this space over the last few months and then you will also be seeing some recap posts about some of my favorites along the way. Some will be a little bit of a repeat of prior posts but I will try not to bore anyone! 

After being in Bangkok for the month of April, which meant hot hot temps and a general lethargy due to the humidity (despite or maybe also due to eating lots of good food), I was kind of ready to go home and see people and be in cooler temps! It started with a flight home on May 1st. 

May: (recap here) I had a great time with friends on our "regular 12" loop around the Marin headlands, then set off on a 10 day Alaska cruise. This is something that I would recommend to you even if you are not a cruiser. My Mom is not a huge travel fan, mostly due to the getting there and away aspect, but even she was wowed, and now talks about doing it again! We saw animals, glaciers and lots and lots of beautiful scenery. Plus I went to Glacier Bay, a new National Park!

Glacier Bay NP

Then, after visiting some friends, I headed to Tucson, where I started a 2,700 mile bike ride from Mexico to Canada. It was hard at first, and quite hot and dry, but soon I had my legs and it was so fun to see some of the interesting smaller towns and beautiful dirt road scenery of Arizona. Fun fact that most people may not know: Arizona has a lot of pine forests, not just desert! Another fun fact: Tucson public transit is free! Yippie. 

Mogollon Rim, AZ

June: (recap here) When I arrived at Flagstaff, I headed back (by bus) to Phoenix to fly to San Francisco for the World Cup. I took the Greyhound, which was not bad. Also, the Phoenix local bus system was not too shabby either. I stayed at a very swanky hotel using points, met up with a high school friend and her son, then headed to SFO. After the game there, I spent time with family, then headed to Seattle for more family time, another game, and a fun trip to Bainbridge Island (Fun fact: for $10 you can get a nice ferry ride, a great view of the skyline, and a nice wander, and plenty of options for lunch and coffee). The World Cup was fun and is something that I am really glad I did, despite the cost. 

Bainbridge Ferry, WA

After the game, and the wonderful weather of the Bay Area and Seattle, I headed back to the oven that is Arizona, and pedaled north. I visited the Grand Canyon and had a harrowing ride through the Navajo Nation before accepting a ride with a semi truck driver to Kanab UT. From there I headed north through UT, skirted Bryce, saw a cattle drive, finally had more water options and camping in the shade, and got to ride on Skyline drive (a 100 mile stretch of road above 10,000 feet). 

July: (recap here) I rode through Utah, including the Park City area, dipped into Wyoming a bit, then skirted the border of Idaho and Montana for a while before riding through a really cool section called the Magruder Corridor, which is about 100 miles of complete wilderness. I made friends with motorcycle riders, camped near some beautiful creeks, and rode up hills that I never would have thought I could (go legs!) I then popped back into Montana for the final stretch north, where I arrived at the Canada border near Roosville. Along the way, I had a nighttime encounter with a bear, but he and I parted ways amicably! 

Lots of cows (WY + everywhere)

August: (recap pending) The first half of the month consisted of hanging out with an old high school friend in Montana, then meeting up with my hiking partner, Bugsy, for some time in Glacier NP and a seven day hike in the Bob Marshall wilderness. This was great, except for the fires and smoke, and some major "bushwhacking" through downed trees due to some crazy winter microbursts. At some points we were climbing over piles of downed trees that were easily 15 or 20 feet high! 

Bugsy in the trees! (MT)

After leaving Bugsy, I headed to OH, a new state to me, to meet up with Birchie. She showed me around the state, introduced me to my new favorite beer, and made sure that when I said that I had "been to OH" before, I really meant it (not just through the airport as I had in the past). Then we set out for The Blogger Extraordinaire (TBE), a roughly 4,000 road trip from Ohio to Montana and back, with a goal to see lots of capitol buildings, national parks and PEOPLE. And that we did! We also ate good food, stayed in some interesting accommodations, learned a ton of different things, talked about everything and did some hikes and runs along the way. More recaps will be coming soon about this. Let's just say that it was good, but stay tuned for more! 

While you wait for my road trip recaps, you can read Birchie's posts: Days 1-3, 4-6, 7-9

Stay tuned for some favorite places, animals, eats and lots of fun rating systems where I rate runs, accommodation, national parks, new states and more! 

What fun things have you been up to this summer!?! Lay it on me! 

Looking Back: Books

You are going to laugh at this. In my mind, I was thinking, okay it's time for my quarterly book post, since the last time I did it was in the first quarter. Then I went back to find the last one, as I generally use the template to create the new one, and the last time I did a quarterly book post was the first quarter of 2024! Oopsie. So yeah, I guess time flies..? So I am going to do Q1 and Q2 together, I guess! Since this is 2025, I am going to give you...2 books I gave 0 stars (DNFed), 2 books I absolutely loved (5 stars) and 5 books that I did not give five stars but are definitely worth a read. So 2-0-2-5, (+5?) kind of! I am not going to divulge all the books I have given five stars yet, as that will in the year end wrap up! Stay tuned! 

Before I start, speaking of five star reads, last month I put the new TJR on hold!!! She has been consistently good (except that I don't love her older stuff as much, but everyone has to start somewhere) and I am looking forward to seeing what this new book brings! However, I am number 57 in line with 96 people waiting per copy so we will see how it goes! Hopefully my library gets more copies! 

Recommend! (5 stars): It is hard to pick just two really, but like I said, at the end of the year I will tell you all of them, so for now I will arbitrarily pick two! For fun, I will try to give you two that I have not heard many people talk about lately, so hopefully you will have not read these yet.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. Her books are sometimes a little over the top, but this one I enjoyed. I actually started it when I was riding my bike to Elisabeth's house, then my loan ran out and I waited around 12 more weeks before I could get it again and finish it! It is the story of the woman who was the real author of Shakespeare's plays, and a modern day woman who has written a screenplay about her. I found it fun. It also is based on an actual theory that Shakespeare was not the true author of the plays he was famous for. Picoult does a good job researching her subjects, and a good job portraying her stories, and this book was no exception. It got mixed reviews on GR, but I enjoyed it. 

Look Closer by David Ellis. I read this book in one day. I was going to do all the things, and then I started it and then I could not put it down, and I got none of the things done. It was exactly what I needed after reading a few meh books in a row. It is a thriller about a couple who seem normal at first, but the more you read, the deeper the tale goes and before you know it, you can't really tell which way is up. The cops get involved and there is money, revenge and emotional distress. I loved it. Recommended by Stephany (thanks!)

Still great! (4 stars): Once again, I will try to touch on a few that you may not have heard of as much on the interwebs lately. Four stars is actually my most common rating so far this year, despite the fact that if you asked me, I probably would have guessed it to be three. Here are a few good ones! 

Leviathon Wakes by James Comey. I feel like this is something Jenny would like, as it is a bit like Ender's Game in a way. This is the first of nine (?) books in the Expanse series, and just like the Picoult book, I started it in the middle of 2024, but either wasn't in the mood or my hold lapsed, and you may recall, I had it on a list of "should I ditch these currently reading books" at the end of the year last year. I did not ditch it because I have several friends of different walks of life who have really enjoyed the series, and I am glad I stuck with it, as it was fun. It is the story of a battle in space, topped with a bit of romance and friendship. This is not my usual genre, but I have put book two on hold! 

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley. This is a story about a teenager in the Ojibwe tribe, and covers some of the strife between the people on the reservation and the nearby town, and of being a teenager in general. The main character Daunis finds friendship in a hockey player friend of her brothers, but then finds out that he is not all that he was cracked up to be after she witnesses a murder and sees how he reacts. 

Wish You Well by David Balducci. I guess this author normally writes legal thrillers, but I have never read one. However, this is a coming of age novel about a girl from 1940s Manhattan whose family tragedy forces her and her younger brother to move to a small coal mining town in Virginia to live with their grandmother. The lessons they learn about life, love and friendship in the small town are priceless. I think normal Balducci fans, and some others, really did not like it, but I enjoyed it. 

All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. This is a cross between a missing person/murder mystery with elements of phycological thriller, coming of age and love (and obsession). It is the story of a young boy and girl and a small town. One day, the boy, Patch, saves a popular girl from a bad man but in doing so, gets captured himself. The search for him is lengthy and in the end, becomes bigger than you would ever imagine. If you like this, you may also like his other book, We Begin at the End, which I preferred over this. 

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. If you are looking for books from non American writers, this is a good one to try. The author is Turkish, and she writes beautifully. This book is about a talking tree (no, not like the Ents in the Lord of the Rings), love, and loss. Set in both Cypress and London, it is a beautifully written tale of a Greek Cypriot falling in love with a Turkish Cypriot during the time when this was forbidden. They have to meet in secret, in a tavern, under the branches of a fig tree. When war breaks out, people flee the island, but one person brings a branch of the tree to London, where it survives. Years later, the girl living there does not understand what this tree has been through, but as the tale progresses she learns more of its (and her own) story. 

Don't bother! (0 stars): 

Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez. This book was actually so bad that I gave it one star, because I don't know if the zero stars go into the overall average and I wanted to make sure that my vote counted. In addition, I even wrote a review, which I rarely do. Here is what I said: Do not waste your time with this book. Whatever good information or insights the author may have had were drowned in his ego, entitlement and narcissistic manner. I nearly DNFed the book around the 5% mark when he started reminding me of all the finance bros I used to work with, but I carried on, thinking maybe it was a phase, but it was not. I thought I would check the GR reviews to see if they were so good that I should reconsider, but they were not, and laughably, the author rebuts several of the poor reviews in a very condescending manner, which seems pretty much on point. I finally DNFed for good at 22%.

Challenger by Adam Higgenbotham. I wanted to like this book; I wanted to learn more about this time period and situation. However, the description, the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster based on new archival research and in-depth reporting, is pretty much spot on. It is IN DEPTH, and it is minute by minute, and I tried to concentrate on it but I just could not. Maybe some other time, but I was not in the mood for that much detail and fact. 

Have you read any of these books and if so, what did you think? What was your favorite book in June? What was your favorite book so far this year? 

What I Learned & Looking Back & Forward: March 2025

March: in like a lion and out like a lamb? You tell me! Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

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

January: Baguettes and Many Steps
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii
March: Wet and Wild

2. What did you learn last month? 

I learned that I love small towns but they are not as great for finding community when traveling for an extended time period. I learned that I can live with a shitty phone with a mostly dead battery, although it really sucks, especially when you are in a place where you may need maps, or to get into your remotely controlled (by the phone) door. I learned that having a new phone, with a working battery and a new camera is like a rainbow after a storm. 

3. What was the weather like where you are? 

Another spoiler by the title, but...it rained a lot! Here is the news from Malaga, which is near where I was. It was not great for life on the Sunshine coast, let me tell you. 

4. What event last month was your favorite?

Granada with the family. If you ever get to Spain, I liked Seville, but I liked Granada more! What a wonderful town with good food, outdoor activities and nice people. Plus you can't beat the fact that if you order a beer/wine, you get a free tapa with it! Those are my kind of people! 

Seen below left to right, top to bottom: Berenjenas con miel (eggplant with honey). This was my favorite. It sounds weird, but it is so good. Pulpo a la Gallaga (octopus). I love me some octopus, and this is so tender, and is not chewy at all. Anchovies (don't knock them 'til you've tried them pickled). Habas con jamon (beans with ham, aka pork and beans taken to the next level). 

Plus the Alhambra. Well worth a visit and you can see it from many parts of town, so it is also worth trying to get different views of it from different hills. 

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

I am going to tell this in book, movie/show, podcast format. 

Book: The Third Gilmore Girl; it was interesting to hear the perspective of Laureli's Mom, Emily, and also to learn more about Kelly Bishop)

Movie/Show: still watching Jeopardy! That Ken Jennings is really growing on me. Sorry, Alex! 

Podcast: Mostly money related; I am going through Choose FI from the beginning just for fun. 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

My Dad, brother and I were having dinner. My brother and I can speak enough Spanish to get by and my Dad can say baño and gracias. My brother and I were asking the server some questions about the menu in Spanish and my Dad says to the server, in English, what are they saying, and the server translates for him, in English, what we had been saying. I don't know why but I found it funny that (a) Dad did not ask broski and I what SHE was saying and (b) that she had to help him translate what his own kids were saying to her and (c) that she spoke perfect English so that we could have been speaking in English if we wanted to. I don't know why, but that made me giggle, like we need to have a translator hang out with us to translate to my Dad what broski and I are saying. 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

I am starting a long distance hike in April and am looking forward to it but am also kind of dreading it, as (a) it has been raining (!) and (b) it has been a while since I have done a longer hike. However, this is my MO; I often get "nervous" before doing something, even though as soon as I start, the nerves are gone and I just get to work, and I enjoy myself. Sometimes the planning can be fun but I think I am ready now to get the show on the road.

Fun story though: I met up for lunch with a woman who had just finished the same hike, and we had a fun time talking about life, travel and hiking and in the end, she let me borrow her tent! So now that is one less thing to worry about! I still need a sleeping bag and a pot, but those don't have to be good quality, so I can just find a cheap one somewhere, whereas it is really nice to have a good quality (and light!) tent! Thank you DB! As they say in the hiking world, "the trail provides." 

MARCH:
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 listened to or watched last month?  
6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

APRIL: 
7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! Do you have a "the trail provides" story to tell us? 

March Madness

March seems to be one of those months that things happen. You may recall that two years ago, I wrote a post about the 23rd of March. I know most people probably equate the pandemic as the 16th, but for me, the 23rd was the day that had the most impact on me. Last year, on this very day (the 24th), I was riding off into the rain for my first day of my bike trip! I was looking back at that time, and realized that this day, and the couple of days to either side of it, are days that for some reason things happen. I am guessing it is because winter is starting to thaw and the urge to get out and about is high. Here is a quick recap! 

On this day in 2010, I was in New Orleans, getting ready for a RTW trip. 

City Park, NOLA

On this day in 2011, I was in Bali. 

Bali

On this day in 2012, I was in Kansas City (the week before that I was in Naples, FL and the week after that I was in DC running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I got around!)

Kansas City

On this day in 2013, I was getting ready to fly to Boston for the Boston Marathon. 

We both survived!

On this day in 2014, I ran the Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon with my brother. 

Somewhere between the north and south rim

On this day in 2015, I was touring the house that I bought! Less than two months later, I would be a proud homeowner! 

Photo I took at the Open House. 

On this day in 2016, I was in Yosemite. 

Yosemite Falls, beer in a sock. 

On this day in 2017, I ran the Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon with some friends. March is a good time to do this, as it is not too hot, and the North rim is still closed (less tourists). 

Headed down from the North rim to the South rim. 

On this day in 2018, I walked over the border into Tijuana and ran a 50k and then went back to San Diego for some beer. 

Oceanside, CA

On this day in 2019, I ran in the Marin Headlands. This is one of my favorite places to run and hike. 

Pirate's Cove

On this day in 2020, we all know what happened! 

Everything is closed? No problem! 

On this day in 2021, I worked from home from Oregon. 

Deschutes River

On this day in 2022, I went to New York for a wedding that was supposed to happen on March 14th, 2020. 

This is not my wedding outfit ;)

On this day in 2023, I am the soccer chauffeur. I drop off the kids and take a hike. The east bay in March is beautiful and green. In summer it is brown and dry. This was right after the collapse of several regional banks.

Sycamore Valley Park

On this EXACT day in 2024, I was setting off for my bike trip! 

Happy anniversary, Bob! 

So what happened this year? I spent some time in Granada and Malaga and am headed off on a new adventure today, which I will talk about more later! 

What were you doing on this day over the last few years? Or if March is not your jam, what month do you usually have a lot of things going on? 

What I Learned & Looking Back & Forward: February 2025

February is over, so you know what that means! Time for another wrap up! Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

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

January: Baguettes and Many Steps
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii*

*It was freezing at the beginning of the month, actually way below freezing and then beautiful at the end.  

2. What did you learn last month? 

I learned so much that I cannot even list the things. I watched Schindler's List and then went to the museum in Krakow and although I knew a lot about the German invasion of Poland, I learned a lot more. I also learned some French, Polish and Dutch words. Bedankt!

3. What was the weather like where you are? 

I guess I had a spoiler alert with my February book title, but it varied! I think the lowest was about 9 F / -12 C and the highest was about 65 F / 18 C. 

When it's cold, I eat bread products!

4. What event last month was your favorite?

Well, I would not say "favorite" but I am glad I went to Auschwitz and saw it with my own eyes. It was very cold that day and I kept having to pause and think about how cold it would have been, and obviously how horrid, for the poor prisoners who were there. 

On the flip side, arriving in Spain to warmth and water has been a mood lifter for sure! 

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

Schindler's List. I don't know why I never watched it when it came out. Also I am still watching Jeopardy and am loving the Tournament of Champions (TOC for those in the know). It also makes me feel smart, as sometimes I know answers that the contestants don't. Of course, I have no pressure as I sit in my pajamas and yell at the screen! 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

I got chewed out by a cleaning lady in Seville on my first real day in Spain. She was mopping the outdoor tile patio at the Plaza de España, where there were hundreds if not thousands of people walking around (on the tile) and I walked over the wet part, and she came at me! Obviously I did not know all the words, but she was not happy, so I said, "lo siento (I am sorry)!" and she said, "lo siento, coño!" which is not a nice word. I almost giggled right in front of her, as I do not know a lot of Spanish, but of course I know the bad words. I managed to get far enough away to giggle without her seeing me. 

Plaza de España; see the tile? 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

I have people coming to visit! My uncle, who has never really traveled out of the US except to go to the Bahamas (?), is coming, and my Dad and brother will be here too. I see many games of cards in our future, and we have already booked some hiking and sightseeing trips. It will be fun. 

FEBRUARY:
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 listened to or watched last month?  
6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

MARCH: 
7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! Have you ever been cursed out in a different language? 

What I Learned & Looking Back & Forward: A Journey Through 2025

Mais, oui! Of course I would like a pastry!

It's February already! You thought I was going to give you yet another what I learned list, but I am not! I had many comments on my What I Learned look back and I thought it would be fun to do a group effort here this year. In the way of Elisabeth and her chapters! Also, I liked the chapters idea too, but Elisabeth said she may not do that again on her blog (E - if this is not true, I can cede the project back to you!), so I plan on doing a monthly chapter and a statement of what I learned in the last month. I would love it if you would join me! Also, since I guess I AM doing a list after all, please join me in answering these questions. 

JANUARY:
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 listened to or watched last month?  
6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

FEBRUARY: 
7. What are you looking forward to this month? 

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

January: Baguettes and Many Steps

2. What did you learn last month? 

I learned a lot about the silk workers in Lyon, and about the poor Alsatians who got caught in the wars fighting against their brethren, and about how Dijon mustard used to be made with wine but is now generally made with vinegar. 

3. What was the weather like where you are? 

It was very cold at first, in the 20s, with snow and rain, and then at the end of the month, the wind direction changed or something, because now it is in the 50s (and raining). 

4. What event last month was your favorite?

I went to a meetup with a random person and we spent about five hours just chatting, talking about travel and shooting the breeze. It reminds me that even though I hate reaching out to strangers, when I do, I usually have a good time! 

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

I have been watching Jeopardy! I actually am enjoying Ken Jennings and I always have fun trying to guess the clues! It makes me feel so smart when I get one that the contestants don't get! This one was hard for them: As individuals, only Santa Claus & this public service ad icon introduced in 1944 have their own ZIP codes. Do you know the answer!? Also, I just found out that there is a fan based site where you can look up all of the questions and answers! Down the rabbit hole I go! 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

I currently have a lot of language barrier stories. Here is one of many. I went to the grocery store and bought my first bottle of wine in France the other day. As I am waiting to be rung up, I see a sign that says something about needing to be 18 to buy liquor. I get to the front, the cashier starts ringing me up, and then she swipes the wine and asks me (in French, of course) for my card. I was thinking in my mind, "WOW, I have not been carded in years, and now I am getting carded in France, where they can drink at 18, and most likely drink wine well before that? This is a first!" So I get out my ID and I hand it to her but in my mind, I am thinking, "she is never going to know where to look for my birthday on my CA drivers license!"

She peers at my card, gives me a quizzical look and says (still in French), "non, I meant your store card!" and she shows me the loyalty card of the store. I say, "no, I don't have one yet" and take the application she hands me. Oops! 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

I am not really "looking forward" to this, but I booked my admission to Auschwitz and I have wanted to go and see it for so many years and I am glad that I am finally going to go. 

Your turn! Answer the questions if you want and also tell me, have you been to Auschwitz? 

2024: A Year in Twelve Chapters

We don't exist in a vacuum, and other people's great ideas can be our best fodder sometimes. A year ago, Elisabeth started asking us what our monthly chapter names would be, and she kept it up for twelve months. Then Stephany did a post celebrating her chapters, and I love the idea, so I am totally copying it! Thanks ladies! 

PS Happy MLK day to the US folks reading this!

Chapter One – January: Everything Must Go!

As most of you know, in 2024 I decided to quit my job and pursue a life of full time travel. After giving it some thought and looking into renting out my house long term or on Airbnb, I ultimately decided that selling was the best option for me. I had lived in my house for nearly 10 years and it was time to go. Also, I felt that I could invest the proceeds and make more than I would getting a monthly income from renting AND I would have to do less work. 

After deciding that, I also decided that instead of putting things in storage and paying hundreds of dollars a month for an undefined amount of time, the best thing financially and emotionally would be to get rid of everything. Of course, this comes with its own emotional toll, but in the end, I am glad I decided what I did, as I feel like a lot of things I owned were owning me (name that movie!) and I really did not need (OR USE!) them (I am looking at you Nordstrom shoe closet). It was very freeing. 

I also took advantage of still living in the Bay Area and went on a run to the Golden Gate bridge, a walk with a friend around San Francisco and a trip to Big Sur with the girls. 

Selling crap, SF walks & runs, Monterey

Chapter Two – February: The Life Changing Event

Although I had been planning on quitting my job for a bit, I did not actually announce it until the last week of February, where I gave three weeks notice. I contemplated giving more, but in the end, I am glad that I didn't, as the last few days of work were a little slow, and I can't imagine what I would have done if I had to sit there for yet another week. Also, I did not announce anything to the Blogosphere for fear of being jinxed. 

I also spent more time walking around San Francisco, had my weekly time with the girls taking them back and forth to soccer, cooking dinner and playing with the Jelly-monster (the dog). I tried to squeeze in as much family time as possible, and went to Santa Barbara with the family for the long weekend and had a good mid-week ski with Dad. 

More walks around SF, Santa Barbara with the folks,
skiing with Dad & trying to drink all the sparkling wine in my fridge!

Chapter Three – March: A New Beginning

March was a dichotomy. The first thing I did was to finally tell you all about my plans! The first half consisted of wrapping things up at work, going away lunches and hikes and runs coupled with the frenetic pace of trying to sell or get rid of the last few things and trying to eat everything in my fridge, which culminated in some odd and not-so-healthy meals. I barely read any books because my mind was whirling with all of the things I needed to do and all of the things I wanted to do and all of the things I could do. It was a whirwind of stuff. 

Got the rack on the bike, emptied the house, took a run to the dump
and took one last hike in the redwoods

Then March 15th came, I had my last day at work, and my last trip to Goodwill and then my Dad came to get me and the two bikes and a few boxes and take them to their new home, my parent's basement. Yes, I am my meagre amount of stuff is basically "living" in my parent's basement. Just give me a gaming console and I will be good to go. Seriously though, a few books and a lot of backpacking and sports gear is apparently all that I need in life. I spent a week with the folks and had a great time wandering around, getting ready and playing games and then I was off! But only a week later, I was picked up by the girls and we headed to Oregon for some R&R. 

Sold the car, packed the bike, got on the road. 
Learned how to use my gear, hiked with the girls in OR.

Chapter Four – April: An Unquenched Hunger

After getting dropped back off in California by the girls, I started riding again, this time in earnest. Of course, the snow held me back a little at first and I had to figure out new routes a couple of times, and it was very cold. However, I made it through Califoria, Oregon and Washington and I even crossed the 1,000 mile mark and made it to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. I did take a break in Porland with a friend, but otherwise, I had a few times where I had ridden over two weeks in a row without breaks, and the result of this was a hunger that I could not quench! I ate and ate and ate, and even tried eating an entire half gallon of ice cream several times but I still was hungry! I found some new snacks, although sadly the TJ's mochi bites are seasonal and only can be found in April/May. If you are near a TJs during that time, you must try them! 

Riding in the snow, snacks, OR, CA, WA and Canada!

Chapter Five – May: The Next Province

I was in BC for a total of 32 days and I love it. It reminds me of home, of green trees and mountains and fresh pine air. It has oceans and bays and islands; it is just so peaceful and I could totally see myself living there. In May, my Dad came up to Vancouver to meet me, and I closed on my house, and set off through the moutains of BC. The great part is that finally I was out in the moutains again, although still there was snow in the high reaches and some passes could not be conquered. Note to self, start further south next time? However, at the end of May, I finally crossed over into my 2nd Canadian province, Alberta, and it was wonderful. Once again, I tried to go over the mountains, and once again, I was turned away by snow. But that did not stop me from having fun, riding on roads that were still closed to cars, and waving at no less than half a dozen bears as we passed each other! 

Peter Lougheed PP, Banff NP, Bear Spray, Ice Cream

Chapter Six – June: From Freezing Snow to Burning Sunshine in Three Days

I rode the Icefields Parkway, and spent some time in Banff before the girls came to meet up with me in Canmore and we had a great time hiking, eating and hanging out. Then it was off to the races, and I started riding the Tour Divide, heading towards Mexico. I went through the provinces of Alberta and BC and the states of Montana, Idaho and into the state of Wyoming by the end of this month. 

I also ate a shitton of food, got massacred by mosquitoes in Wyoming, had my tent break in a thunderstorm and windstorm in Montana, and had a recurring flat tire issue. I sent my Mom a postcard from the Tetons, and even got to camp in the National Park, despite it being very close to a holiday weekend. It was also at this point when I was having breakfast with a racer who was going the opposite way, that I realized that the fun was just beginning, as he told me that NM was the hardest state. I had thought it was going to be the northern ones, or maybe CO, but nope! Yay. I also made some cycling friends! 

Icefields Parkway, Banff, Peter Lougheed PP, Idaho/MT line, grizzly

People I met on the road

Chapter Seven – July: The Path Less Taken

It was hot, I was tired. Haha! Actually at the very beginning of the month, I crossed the Great Basin of WY, which was a 100 mile stretch with no water, cars, or people. It was very dry and windy and dusty and it was quite the adventure. Afterward, I could barely talk, and had to eat a pint of ice cream and drink a Snapple to recover. Then I crossed into Colorado, and even went through Steamboat Springs on Independence Day weekend. I would not recommend it. After that, I got to climb Boreas Pass, which is over 11,000 feet, which was actually not too bad, and then I had to knock on the door of a firehouse and ask them if I could stay the night! It was an adventure. For the fourth of July, I was with a buddy, and we crashed a small town party and they gave us cold watermelon and ice cream! Thanks Savery, WY! After CO, there was hell NM, and then the Tour Divide was over. Yay. 

Hot, rainy, cloudy..but beautiful.

The second half of the month was a flurry of riding and visiting. I got to meet up with a few lovely ladies and even used Lisa's house as a home base to get some errands done before setting off again. Oh, did I mention that July was hot? No? Well it was over 100 and with one million percent humidity as I rode through Wisconsin, and I think I lost about 800 pounds of water weight. It also rained a lot, which is not my favorite combination. The Midwest: Love the People, Hate the Weather. 

Birchie was in September, but I am too lazy to edit this collage.

Chapter Eight – August: The Great Expanse

I left Lisa's house and I headed towards the Great Lakes. I had only ever been to Lake Michigan before and had actually never been there in the summer time, so had not touched it. In July, I did touch it, and in August, I touched Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Now I was four down, one to go! 

Lakes Huron & Superior, a mouse,
the forest of Michigan and the town of Kincardine

Chapter Nine – September: Taking A Step Back

After popping over to Buffalo to meet up with Birchie and try to figure out who has the best Buffalo wings (or ice cream), I rode to Toronto and spent some time with some friends, put my toes in my last lake (Ontario) and then headed to Portland for a week of petsitting and time visiting friends. It was a nice rest, and it was not boiling hot and humid, so it was nice to be back on the west coast again, let me tell you! I went back to Ontario from Oregon and set off again towards the east, or namely, Montreal, where I would spend two weeks petsitting before heading to Nova Scotia. 

Toronto, Lake Ontario, Portland & Buffalo

Chapter Ten – October: Unwinding

I had a great time petsitting in Montreal, getting in my 10 minutes of walking every day and getting some more downtime. By this time, I was getting a little decision fatigue from riding and I was kind of ready to have a break from that. My time in Montreal was the perfect opporunity to get into a bit of a routine, take a few runs, explore a new place, and spend time with a couple of buddies (furry ones). Then it was off again, through Quebec, for a visit to QC before heading to Nova Scotia on the train. Once I arrived, I took a few days to cycle around before meeting up with Elisabeth and hanging out with her and her family for a few days. Too soon, it was time to go, and I hopped on a plane for Bob's first plane ride. He was quite nervous, but I was totally calm. Luckily I had Elisabeth and her neighbor there, as her taking me to the airport was priceless and the neighbor had the perfect tools to take apart my bike (I actually ended up having the right ones too, but it was still nice to have his support!)

Then I was in Vancouver, on the last long ride of the month, to Burlington Washington! Halloween was in full force and it was nice to wander around the PNW again in the fall. 

Ice cream, Bellingham, Quebec City, Montreal
Last camping of the fall, Burlington WA Halloween

Chapter Eleven – November: Tides, Tasks and Trails in the Emerald City

After Burlington, I went to Seattle and spent the majority of the month of November there. I got to stay in two different neighborhoods, and I liked both of them (NE and SW). I also met up with my cousin a few times for lunch and for a Seahawks game, and he took me on a tour of his Navy ship. I walked the dog a lot, and spent a lot of time exploring. I even took at 10 mile run, my longest run for the year! 

Frankie, the Navy ship, Seattle, Fremont Brewery
Seahawks game, US Customs

Chapter Twelve – December: West Coast Whirlwind

I ate, I visited, I scanned photos, I took hikes! I left Seattle and took the Amtrak to Oakland, where I met up with G-money for lunch. Then I stayed with K for a few days, spent some time hiking and eating with friends, and then headed to my parent's house for Christmas. That time went very fast, but we had a great time playing games, taking hikes (my brother even walked in the rain with me, and our hike went longer than planned; oops!) and cooking and eating! We went to a Christmas market, and I got to see several family memebers and friends before getting everything packed up again (but first, unpacked!) and getting back in the car and heading to the airport! Then it was NYE in Germany and the year was over. PS the Germans all set off fireworks and it is loud, but in typical German fashion, there must be a curfew, as the noise basically stopped abruptly around 1 am! It was great. 

Seattle, home, Germany

And...that is a wrap! Just like I thought when I read everyone else's wraps, when you lay it all out, it does seem like a lot of stuff, even though sometimes when you are in it, you don't realize all that is going on. 

Did you participate in the Chapter a Month this year? If not, what would a few of your monhtly chapter names be, or what would your 2024 book be titled? 

Looking Back: 2024 Money Pie

If you are a long time reader, you know that every year I reveal my spending for the year in the form of my favorite kind of pie, a money pie. Okay, not really; I actually prefer apple with a side of vanilla ice cream, but as I have mentioned in my Money Monday posts, I do think the number one step to financial freedom is tracking your expenses so that you know (a) where your money is going and (b) how much you would need when you retire or (c) what you would need in an emergency if you lost your job or something like that. Knowledge is power. 

Luckily now there are many different ways to do this, the easiest probably would be by putting everything on one credit card and then just looking at their breakdown at the end of each month, quarter or year. However, I love Excel and pivot tables and so I continue to do my recap by using Fidelity Full View to aggregate my spending, downloading that to Excel and then playing around with it in Excel a bit. You could just use Fidelity alone, but I like having some extra info, like what country I was in and whether my meals were breakfast or lunch. That is just me though and most people don't need this level of detail. 

2024 was a strange year for me though, as I was only in a permanent place for the first three months of the year, and then I sold my house, which cost me an arm and a leg, and also made this the year that I spent the most in one year that I have ever spent before. This was despite the fact that once I started traveling, my average spend per month was about $2,600 a month. So this year's recap will be a little different; first I will show you the pie with the home costs included. Ridiculous, right? 

Also, here is a chart showing month by month. As you can see, I sold my house in May, and also had to pay for an (expensive) plumbing job in October. 

Next, I will talk about the costs excluding the home costs, since when I have them in, they make all the other slices way too tiny and skew the data too much. 

From most to least, excluding the home category, here is where my money went: 

Accommodation: 32.31%. This includes Airbnb, motels, hotels, camping, a subscription to the Warmshowers (cycling accommodation swap) network and a subscription to the Trusted Housesitters (pet sitting) network. 

Shopping: 15.85%. This category includes toiletries, clothing, misc. home items & appliances, electronics and books. I also put any cycling related items in this category, which is why it is so high. I spent a lot of money on bike maintenance, bike accessories and gear, and I also got a new laptop. I probably should have put the bike mainenance in the transportation category, but...I didn't, and in 2025 I won't really have to worry about that as much. 

Dining Out: 11.86%. This category includes eating out, coffee, booze and ice cream. This one is crazy, and way higher than normal for me, probably because I had 19 breakfasts, 43 lunches, 42 dinners, 48 coffees and 10 ice creams out, plus various drinks and snacks, bringing my total number of times dining out in 2024 to 192 times or basically once every two days! Yikes!! As a comparison, in 2023, this number was 52 (6 breakfasts, 16 lunches, 12 dinners, 16 drinks including coffee and 2 desserts), so I nearly quadrupled my normal amount. 

When I stayed with or met up with people I often bought them a meal, so the dollar amount is a little higher than it would be otherwise. However, time spent with friends is priceless and so many of them (you!) were willing to put me up, and I appreciate that! 

Groceries: 10.05%. Despite being on the road for much of the year and therefore having to buy groceries in smaller (more expensive) quantities, and more often (I went to the grocery store 162 times in 2024!), I only spent about $700 (or $58 per month) more in 2024 than I did in 2023. Go figure! I would have assumed it would have been a lot higher. I guess only being able to carry so much on the bike kept me from overbuying! Also I definitely dined out more than I normally do, so much of my food cost probably went to that.

Utilities: 8.95%. This cateogry is a new one for me, as I was putting some of these items in the Home category before, or the Misc. category, but now they bascially cover most of my fixed costs, aka non travel costs, such as computer security, credit card fees, phone, computer software, cloud storage, and subscriptions. I do pay a lot in credit card fees, but I used the bonus points from these to pay for four tickets to Germany, so I think it is worth it for the time being. I will reevaluate at the end of 2025 and will cancel any that are not worth paying for anymore. 

Health: 8.59%. This category includes health insurance, out of pocket costs, massages, medicines and vitamins etc. I did most of my medcial stuff before I quit my job, which did cost me a little bit out of pocket, but the bulk of this is from my monthly insurance premium. 

Transportation: 7.40%. This includes airfare, Lyft/Uber, public transportation, car insurance, maintenance, registration, gas, tolls, car rental & parking. Most of the cost here was gas, trains (I took Amtrak three times and Via Rail Canada once) and ride share, because when we were done riding from Canada to Mexico, we were in the middle of nowhere and it cost $250 to have someone pick me up and take me and my bike to El Paso. 

Misc.: 4.83%. This category includes gifts, haircuts, legal fees, tax prep software and education expenses. I had to pay some taxes out of pocket. The biggest expense here was gifts by far; the second biggest was my CFA yearly fees, which cost about $300 per year. 

Entertainment: 0.16%. This category includes music, theater, sporting events, museums, tours etc. However, the only thing I did was one "free" walking tour in Seattle, but otherwise, my entertainment in 2024 was mostly riding through or past places, walking around in towns, or eating, which is covered in a different category.  

So, 2024 was a little unconventional and I am looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings. Just for fun, if I took what I spent for the year minus the home category and prorated it then adjusted it to be over a year again, I would have spent about 67% of my normal spending for the year at home in the Bay Area. This seems a little high so I am wondering if I will spend less for a year of international slow travel than I did for a year of moving every day but camping sometimes. 

What do you think? Do you think I will spend less or more in 2025 than I did in 2024?

In 2025, I will give actual dollar amounts per month and will also break down which country I am in so that I can compare these at the end of the year. I know that some places I plan on being are known for being cheaper, but I am also curious to find out if some of the places that we (I) assume are more expensive end up being cheaper than I thought. 

Do you track your spending? What was your highest spending category? How many times do you think you went to the grocery store and/or dined out last year?