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. The…

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. …