End of AmeriCorps NCCC year, Circa 2015 — I come back for a nap, get under the covers, and M and J run in two minutes later. “Do you have any antibac soap? I always use boiling water on the needle first, but I don’t have any of that. …

Trigger Warning: Death and suicide Hey friend, just wanted to detail in one place the different ways I want to celebrate you, and tell you thank you for being in my life. Apologies for the details I might get wrong. …

Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee in One Week — I did zero planning or even looking at a map of the route I would be taking, just a rough estimate of hours in each day, making sure they were under eight. I did draw a tarot card for the trip though, and it was nice and ominous- speaking to…

Camping in Arkansas and Missouri — By this point in the trip, I had started to find my groove. I was feeling a lot more confident, and while I was craving homemade foods and lots of vegetables (eating vegetarian is hard on the road, especially in the midwest and south) — I was also proud to…

Part 1 Basics: Peeing outside, vibes and preparation — Sleeping Alone Take precautions, but don’t get too much in your head about it. Trust your ability to respond if necessary and keep pepper spray, a bat, a knife close if you want, but thinking more about what happens while I sleep just freaks me out and I try to…

The Oldest Reserved Area in the National Park System — I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I had a bad start to my time there (new OCD triggers exposed, nbd). The next morning however, I woke up refreshed and went to a cafe and got a beautiful breakfast. While I was confused by the fusion of Indian and Mexican…

Why Hosteling is better, and HI Hostels never disappoint — I am consistently surprised at how many things hostels think of to prepare for you, and Hostel International (HI) does a great job of making all of their hostels unique and applicable to the local area while also keeping consistent and standardized essentials for sleeping, bathrooms and communal spaces. …

French Quarter, Mississippi River, City Park — No panic attacks yet today, doing much better than yesterday. There is still time (haha…?) but also I’m feeling like I hit a travel groove. On another note, New Orleans is about to go into a coastal flood warning and it looks like I’ll hopefully get out just in time…

Or: Buckle up for a dark night of the soul in New Orleans — Man, my sea legs must have floated away sometime during the pandemic. I realize this is my first time traveling alone since 2020, and also the (embarrassingly) under 5 times I’ve traveled alone since meeting my partner, Carp, in 2014. Travel is inherently alienating. …