California Bucket List

It's only fair, as I'm beginning to fondly remember all the great things about my three years living in Los Angeles, to pay a little homage to California with a reverse bucket list and a bit of a photo-dump. 

Following are the things which I loved the most, wanted to do the most, will remember best and surprised me for some reason. If you're really feeling like getting into the mood, play this song in the background (it's been on repeat in my car for the last 2 months or so).

So, basically in chronological order... kind of...

The Glendale Girls
This photo was (I believe) the second night I spent in Los Angeles and the first with the three women whom I'd live with for the remainder of the year in the Episcopal Urban Intern Program. Christina, Sarah Hannah and I will all readily admit that we probably wouldn't have become close if we'd just met out in the world, but living together taught us all a lot, and I love each of these women dearly.

EUIP Retreats in Santa Barbara
Because of the retreats at quiet monasteries built into the program I participated in my first year in LA, I have decided that going to a beautiful place, relaxing and processing what is happening around you should be required of everyone, three times a year. And paid work days should also be provided for this purpose.

Fancy Hollywood things like movie openings for your friend's films and getting to hold an Oscar

Frozen Bananas in Newport Beach

For all the other Arrested Development fans out there.

Friends In Deed

The organization I ran the Food Pantry for my first year in town. I was truly lucky to get this amazing internship experience, to work with great coworkers and clients, then to be offered a spot on the Board of Directors. This organization does so much for the Pasadena community, and I'm so glad I could learn with and from them. I chaired the Fall Fundraising event in 2013, and presented the award to our honorees (photo). 

Whale Watching

I was really lucky to see whales two of the times I went out, as well as once from the shore in Malibu. They are nearly impossible to snap a picture of, not to mention I prefer to enjoy the awe of seeing an animal that majestic in the wild, but I saw finbacks, grey and orca whales during my times out in the Channel Islands. Also, more dolphins than you can imagine, seals and plenty of birds.

Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks

The desert is not my favorite place. I come home feeling parched down to my soul, but being in landscapes that are so vividly not our own is important, and I'm glad to have gone.

Joshua Tree National Park, April 2013

Death Valley National Park, March 2012

The Grand Canyon
Labor Day 2012 was spent here. It was hot, the hiking was tough, the canyon is spectacular.

Heading North towards San Francisco
God, do I love this city. Every time I got north of Ventura I questioned all of my life decisions. Going to Monterrey, Carmel, Palo Alto and Napa should also be included here. I also was able to get to Portland and Seattle easily since I'm already on the west coast, and took advantage of those place as well.

Wine Tasting Weekends in Paso Robles

One of my favorite discoveries about myself and California is how much I love wine and wine tasting in the laid back town of Paso Robles, exactly half way between LA and San Francisco. The wine is good, the people are easy to talk to and the oak trees are spread throughout the rolling hills of the vineyards. Cambira, about a half hour away, is my favorite little town in the world, right on the coast.

Tide poolin' like masters!

My roommates at the Sout El Molino house
August 2012-June 2014 may have been the most fun I've ever had with roommates. The house flowed so smoothly, even in the transition between one year and the next when two girls moved in and out. We've spent many nights drinking wine, telling stories and laughing until all hours. They are rocket scientists, astronomers and bring other Cal Tech folks around the house for BBQs. They are from California, Russia, England, Japan, Texas and Boston. I have been so lucky to share my home with all of you: Anna, Melodie, Lauren, Masha, Hannah and Miki! (and Jezelle, our honorary roommate)

And I can't forget our dear Baby German (Greg), who lived with us both summers I was in Pasadena and smelled amazing. He apparently has no idea how he does it. 

Vegas
I went for one night, had a perfect combination of relaxing at the spa, drinking just enough, dancing just enough, gambling JUST a little and eating a huge breakfast with wonderful women before I came home. Never need to do this again, I imagine.

Cinespia

I'm gonna get really Los Angeleno on you, but going to a the Hollywood Forever cemetery, making a picnic along with your wine and beer and watching a movie as the sun sets is a pretty good way to spend a summer night.

The Mumford and Sons Concert

I felt a 60's vibe out in the hot hot hills of San Bernadino where we sat for hours waiting for the band to finally make it's way on stage. The whole hillside was a fashion show, happy party and mad gathering of 20,000 people. I'm not huge on concerts, but this one was out of this world. 

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks

Zion National Park 

Bur Sur

You can read all about my dipping into my Papa's past in Big Sur here. I was lucky enough to go back 3 more times - twice camping in and once backpacking into the hills to secret hot springs.  Every time I'm there, I certainly feel like I'm intruding on his story and his past - there is something about the place that is not truly mine - but I'm glad I get to be a guest there from time to time.

Redwoods National Park

Finally Climbing Mount Lukens
My friend Joey and I tired to climb this mountain - the highest in LA City limits at an elevation of over 5,000 ft - in January of 2013 and failed miserably because of the heat, the altitude change and simple unpreparedness. We promised each other we'd do it by the end of the year, and in December we made it to the top, where you can see above the Verdugos, all the way from Malibu to San Perdo and across the San Gabriels. It was incredible. And really hard.

An earthquake! It didn't happen until I was nearly done with my time (March 2014). After years of saying wistfully "I only want one just big enough that I can feel it, not so big that anything actually happens." I got my earthquake early in the morning and had to sit for a minute, then log onto facebook to be sure that was actually what had woken me up. Before that happened, my coworkers got me a bottle of "Earthquake" wine for my 24th birthday, trying to get me to stop asking for a natural disaster to strike.

Which brings me to My coworkers at Mayfield. I have been blessed for the last two years with a truly fantastic work environment in the Development Office at Mayfield Senior School. I could not have asked for a better, harder working group of women who make me happy to be in the office every day, and from whom I learned so much. 

Mammoth Lakes
A skier's oasis in the Sierra Nevada mountains, this year was not a great winter for the slopes because of the drought and lack of snow across the state. We still rented a cabin, played lots of games, hiked up in the snow, felt a true chill in the air.

Yosemite
This one was a big one, but I couldn't only go for a single weekend, partly because it's so far from LA, and because I know the park shouldn't just be taken in within those few, short hours. I finally made it, with an awesome group of friends, in May 2014. I can't wait to go back and spend a week in the Valley, just relaxing and marveling!

That feels like so much... and there is obviously so much more in three years of life. I've been blessed to have my assumptions proven wrong about Los Angeles, my gateway to the rest of amazing California.

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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!

Sykes Hot Springs - Big Sur

There are very particular and special moments in this life, where we sit just where we are supposed to be sitting at any given time. Weary from carrying my pack into the woods, but clean from skinny dipping in the mountain creek with my friends, with my bare feet dug into the ground below the redwoods of Big Sur, I had one of those moments when I realized it:

I became the sort of woman I always wanted to be.

We planned a trip up north this weekend, to Big Sur, the little group of cabins and restaurants along Highway 1 as that road goes spinning along cliff sides overlooking the Pacific. It's my 3rd time there in 8 months, but it's the first time I've backpacked at all since I've moved to the West Coast. (One tends to forget how much more difficult covering ground can be when you have a 30 lb backpack on your hips!)

We went up into the hills, hiking along a ridge line of redwoods, descending towards the creeks that feed the Big Sur river, then moving up the hill again. Because it was Memorial Day weekend and there was talk of nearly 200 people at Sykes Hot Springs, our final destination, we camped 3 miles away, then finished the hike to the natural hot springs without our packs. We rinsed the sweat and dirt off in the chilly river, then dipped into the hot water. Once we were warm again, we took off our swimming suits and dove into the cold mountain streams.

This will be my last big California road trip. I'm officially leaving in less than a month. 

These friends of mine - the ones whom I've wrangled into weekend adventures and driven up and down this state, who have come with me into so many deserts and forests - well, as my Papa says, ten thousand words would be too few and one would be too many. The threads of our lives have moved so intimately together for the past few years and now they will drift apart, on to new and different parts of the tapestry. I see the beauty in this, and massage the sorrow as I think of all the others I have walked away from in this way. Today, our clothes hang together in the forest, flapping on the line like prayer flags, in just a few months, I'll be in a different bed, in a different country, winding my story around the lives of others.

When I was young, say 15 years old, staying up late on a cold winter night in Minnesota, I would imagine my life as a much cooler, wiser woman, there were two veins it would take. The first was towards a studio apartment in New York City where I would drink coffee at all hours and write and maybe waitress in my spare time and somehow I always afforded to live in this day dream (ah, the dreams of the young!). If I opened my mind a little wider, I would see something like the life I have now: men and women traveling with me, climbing hills, setting up tents, drinking wine barefoot and swimming in mountain creeks with me. Realizing that this is exactly who I am and those are the people I have found and whom I have been honored to share in so many journeys over the last few years, is something worth toasting to. 

As we were heading out of the woods, a few people stopped to sterilize water once more at a stream. With my heart rate already up and a rhythm in my steps, I decided to keep moving, and walked the seven miles back to the car in silence. I can feel myself winding up a little tighter these days, preparing for the move and naturally experiencing some elevated anxiety, as one does as they are about to move, then move again. 

I've felt my soul like a caged animal lately, thrashing and yelping for solitude. It terrifies me, but I can feel deep in these bones that there is a reason for it, I'm being called there to wring something out of me, to shift a looking glass.  Walking alone, I can't even say I was thinking anything. I felt my body, moving, breathing, lifting a pack full of  my belongings. I felt my ankles as they grew weary, and I watched the hills and flowers as they changed around me. I felt a song in my head, the old shaker song I remember singing with friends and neighbors: "Tis a gift to be simple".

It was very good to walk alone.

Read Masha's Blog for a closer play-by-play of the details of the trip - in case you are ever interested in doing Skyes Hot Springs yourself! I would highly recommend it. 



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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!

How I'm prepping #2

A continuation of my recent blog post about how one prepares for the sort of trip I've been planning for the coming summer and fall. 

I did my first trial run of my backpack today! (I couldn't wait any longer - I'm only a month out from leaving CA!) With all of my gear and clothing I'm about 5 pounds below the weight limit at which most budget airlines can change you HUGE bucks to check a bag (15 kg). There is even room for buying some things along the way! 

Clothing

For the first three months of the trip, I'll be in warm, Mediterranean climates, and doing a lot of work on farms, then my clothing needs will change dramatically. When I arrive in Northern Ireland in October, I'll have my mom send me a box of sweaters, socks and a coat. The last time I spent 3 weeks in Ireland it was July and I wore a sweater 2/3rds of the time, so I'm anticipating needing to change up my wardrobe for sure during the end of fall into winter!

I've been purchasing lots of light-weight, wrinkle resistant clothing, including Columbia and North Face brand t-shirts, tanks, dresses and pants. These are a little pricey but they are so easy to pull out of a bag and throw on, plus they are light-weight and will stand up during the work I'll be doing on the farms. 

I'm so glad that I started planning and buying my clothing and other gear a year in advance. It can be surprising how quickly all of these costs can add up (after rent, bills, food, my California trips, etc.)

The packing list includes, as of now:

6 underwear

4 travel underwear

2 sports bra

2 regular bra

7 socks

1 fleece jacket

1 rain jacket

2 pair jeans

1 pair shorts

2 hiking/work pants

4 tanks/tshirts

2 long sleeve shirt

2 shawls (for chilly nights or when I go into temples/mosques as I move eastward)

1 sleeping t-shirt/1 pj pants

2 dresses

1 infinity skirt

1 swimming suit

A lot of this packing list was developed based on research from herpackinglist.com, which is full of great tips from many real women out in the world, as well as of advice for how a woman can meet all of her hygiene needs on a long trip.

Laundry?

With a mesh bag to throw my dirty clothes in and keep them separate as they accumulate, I'm hoping to have early access to laundry facilities of some kind about every 2-3 weeks. This is where the quick dry/travel underwear come in handy. I used them on the Inca Trail and all you would do is wash them out the night before, leave them hang for the night (or 20 minutes if you are in a warm place) and they would be perfectly dry and ready to wear in the morning. A pinch of Broner's Magical Soap and a sink stopper in a hostel will also do just fine, along with a braided laundry line. I've got some Tide-To-Go sticks in my purse as well. 

Shoes

Chacos - my favorite shoes. Certain to be
unfashionable in Europe

As I've mentioned before, I've decided I'm not giving a damn about how fashionable I look. I've had Chaco's for a year and if the Californians don't get or like them, I'm fairly sure the Europeans won't either, but I've decided not to care. When you know you're going to be walking around all day every day in a pair of sandals and you have high arches like me, you certainly want good foot support. 

I also purchased a new pair of hiking boots, for long days on the farm, actually getting from place to place and for any hiking I may end up getting the opportunity to do. The ones which took me through many mountains in California and throughout the Andes in Venezuela and Peru were falling apart to rapidly to trust them abroad. 

The last shoes I have, since both of the above pairs are pretty basic and outdoorsy, are a pair of slip-on black flats, which roll up into each other then into a nice little case and can be stowed away into a corner of my backpack for any fancy occasions I may encounter. They were cheap and the plether is thin, so they are a once in a great while sort of wear.

Organization in the bag

Underwear, socks/bras, tshirts, dresses and cloth pants, easily sorted

I came across these Eagle Creek brand super light traveling cubes recently, and I'm SO glad I invested in them. When I first opened the box, I was skeptical, thinking, how will I actually USE these? Now I see how great it can be: socks and underwear in their own, t-shirts in another - no shifting through all of your clothes to get to the clean sleep sack and messing up all the careful packing you've just done. I am so excited to use these on an upcoming back packing trip, as well as while I'm abroad. 

Questions about other packing, items I'm buying? Problems I'm trying to solve in advance? Comment and I'll do my best to answer - or I'll throw you a more educated answer on the road! 

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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!

How I'm prepping #1

Logistically, a lot of people wonder how in the world one can prep for a 6-7 month trip where you live out of a backpack. I'm not sure I have the answers yet, but with a little research and my previous experiences of long trips, I'm beginning to come up with my own plan. 

I've been being thoughtful about the types of clothing I've been purchasing and I've already started making changes to my personal beauty regimen (not that I've ever really been that high maintenance, let's be honest) to prep myself, including...

Shampoo Bars:

Easier to carry, able to pass through airport security without a plastic baggie, less wasteful and SLS-free, shampoo bars are just like bars of soap that you lather into your hair then rinse out with water (and once every three weeks or so after the transition period, I use a rinse of diluted apple cider vinegar to cleanse the whole head. Shockingly, this doesn't even smell like vinegar once it's dried.)

From my understanding (and I am NO expert), Sodium Laruryl Sulfate is in most liquid shampoos, conditioners and soaps. It's a detergent and an irritant. I'm not someone who is going to get all preachy about what we're putting on our bodies, but this to me is just a plus of this switch over. 

The way normal liquid shampoos and conditioners work is they coat your hair to get rid of the natural oils to make it silky, untangled and smooth. That's why our hair gets SO greasy not long after washing it: our scalp is fighting back against the shampoo. A SLS-free shampoo will not rid your scalp of all it's natural goodness than coat it with something else, it will get rid of the gross stuff and allow your natural oils to do their work and make your hair healthy and grease-less. It takes a few weeks  (and lots of vinegar rinses) for your hair to regulate, but once you're there, it's great! I've had many compliments on my hair and love that it takes less time in the shower (A+ in SoCal where we're in a major drought), and I need to wash my hair less often. My first bar lasted me about 2.5 months with a shower every 2-3 days, which is comparable to regular shampoo. Plus it'll be SO much easier than buying, storing and carrying on the road, partly because of the handy little travel carrier I got as a part of the deal.

My hair remains luscious, soft and beautiful,
even after 4 months with only bar shampoo! 

I use J.R. Liggett's Coconut & Argan Oil Bar and after using their "original" bar for the first few months, I must say I'm very happy with this product (the other one was great, too, for the record). I'm surprised, with my long, wavy-curly hair, that I'm not missing conditioner. Especially with this coconut oil-based bar, I've never had trouble brushing the tangles out of my hair and it still feels silky and smooth. This is a small vanity which I was admittedly worried about giving up. 

The Diva Cup (For the ladies only):

I have transitioned from tampons to using the Diva Cup and I can report after 4 cycles that everyone, and I mean everyone, who can wrap her mind around using a tampon can and should use the Diva Cup. It saves money, you don't need to think about it during the day, no need to carry anything extra in your purse and with my experiences being abroad and not being able to find the personal products I'm used to and comfortable with (most tampons outside of the US don't necessarily come with applicators, if you can even find tampons for sale, for example) I'm happy to have something that will take up much less space, as well as be usable the whole trip. Their website is great for answering all questions and calming all uncertainties. 

Seriously, ladies, just get over the mental block and try it.

(I also use a couple Party in Your Pants Pads for night times or end of cycle times. I've got 2 on rotation and they feel clean and usable with a quick scrub and air dry.)

What's in my medicine bag?

I purchased a new medicine bag with a small mirror attached, for putting in contacts, as well as a hook on top so that I'll be able to hang it in crowded or sparse hostel bathrooms. Besides the normal medicine bag stuff (toothpaste, deodorant, contacts and prescription meds for 8 months - because who knows? - Advil, etc) I've been collecting a small batch of things specific to traveling which will be easier to use on the road or needed for those just in case situations.

Ta-Da! Earring Magic!

Small hair brush
Earring magic is the term I've coined to describe the genius way to keep your pairs of earrings together while traveling - put each pair through a button! I'll be able to keep everything in one little bag and not worry about too much tangling to loosing each morning while getting ready!
A used tic-tac box for bobby pins
Travel clock with an alarm and a light
Power adapter
Ear plugs for, you know, super crowded hostels or loud buses
Sea bands wrist bands with pressure points which help with motion sickness but don't make you sleep for 2 hours like Dramamine does. I'll also probably stock up on a bit of ginger, which I dislike the taste of, but also helps with seasickness.

Imodium my stomach is my least favorite part of traveling.

Tide-to-Go sticks

Sink stopper for doing my laundry (probably mostly underwear) in hostels.

Dr. Bronners Magic Pure-Castile Soap which will clean anything, like my body or my clothes, depending on the need. I use the eucalyptus scent at home, but I'll have peppermint on the road since I anticipate more clothes washing with this.
Quick Drying Towel and Washcloth
Bar soap in a plastic tub
Aroamas I just discovered these excellent hard perfume sticks which are great for traveling because they have no liquids so no spills or TSA issues, and much like a chapstick, they last forever. I ordered a sample pack and liked Parisian the best.
Neosporin, Bandaids and Moleskin for cuts and blisters (read about my shoe options in a follow-up planning post).

What kind of purse will I use?

This won't be the first time I say it: I'm not going to give a damn about how fashionable I look, which may not be very common for Europe. I've simply given up. I believe that in some ways and on some days I will be very fashionable, but in others, like my purse, it's just a battle I'm letting go of now.

My purse is a little shoulder satchel I got from my sister for Christmas which I was inspired to ask for after meeting a Canadian teacher in Peru who spends 6 weeks of every summer in some awesome foreign country and had something very similar. I like that it includes pockets for cash, cards and a hiding space for my passport. Inside, I'll have:

My Kindle the sort of device I was against for a while, on principal as a writer who loves used book stores and the idea that one day I will be able to hold my own published book in my hands, see it on a few shelves and sign it for others. However, after living in Venezuela where getting a book in English was very expensive and before my move to LA I realized that carrying books around the world with me is not actually that smart. And I have grown to love my device, with it's pretty leather case with which I'm admittedly trying to disguise it a little bit. 
A new notebook I am very very picky about what I write in and on, and I recently purchased a new notebook that would suit my needs for this trip - small lines, large pages, but it fits into my not-sexy purse. There will be a lot of note taking a'comin'. 
Passport protector that little notebook with the maps on it? That's actually my passport. I love the holder because I can be carrying it or flash it around and it doesn't look like the most important document I have on my person at any given time.

Plus I just really love maps.



There's (always) more for me to talk about when it comes to planning! Follow up post about clothing and packing in my big pack to come!


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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!

This is a Sacred Space: A Letter About Leaving

I was asked to write to the current class of Episcopal Urban Interns, the program I participated in the first year in lived in California. The program director wanted us alumni to share insights with those who are nearing the end of their time in the program, and for most of them, in Los Angeles. These are things I've been thinking about, considering my own current circumstances. Here are my thoughts on the matter, less than two months out from the Great California Escape, as it's been named.

Hello Current EUIs! 

My name is Katy Cashman and I came to Los Angeles from Minnesota to participate in the program in 2011-12. I lived in the Glendale House and worked at a food pantry in Pasadena, and I have ended up staying here in Los Angeles for 2 more years since finishing the Episcopal Service Corps. I remember well the time in which I was about to leave the program, especially because I am also currently going through the transition of leaving: I'm moving back to Minnesota at the end of June, so I am also in a stage of reflection, reassessing, anticipating and beginning the process of saying goodbye while also trying to remain present.

Leaving is one of the strangest, saddest things. Even when we are happy or ready to go. Especially when we do not feel like an experience is quite over. These are sacred and emotion-filled times, when we are forced into reflection of what has been good, and bad, and are contending with the fact that all at once we are in control but completely out of control of our own lives. We celebrate, mourn and praise God for what we are leaving. Here we all stand on the precipice of another great adventure and another great leaving and it's different for everyone, but I encourage us all to be quiet for a moment, love what has been and what will be. The challenge can be to accept and honor the beauty of what an experience has been, whether awful, lovely, boring or transcendent. Whether we feel we have done everything we wanted or could. We are leaving something, even if we are staying in town.

I do admit that I always ached to get away from where I was. I have lived in a lot of different cities, traveled through more countries and I'm now backpacking through Europe for the next 7 months to finish my book. I'm a wanderer, but this space of change is not one I can say I enjoy at all, though I am learning to appreciate it. 

For a long time, when approaching the end of an experience, I would try my best to run backwards, push time aside and recreate all of the moments I was heartbroken to leave behind.  I would stand at the end of something, holding my empty hands opened and shuddering with all of the things that I felt rushing from me, never to be felt again. Now I worry that I’m beginning to get really good at leaving. 

When ending important things I’ve scared people I love with my supposed distance. I’m usually so emotional, they feel cheated by my acceptance of the fact that all good things pass from us at some point only to transform into other good and bad things. There was a day, right before I left Yellowstone National Park, where I waitressed for a summer and met one of my best friends who at the time I was convinced I’d never see again, that Lauren and I snuck into the closed side of the Yellowstone Canyon and at the top of the lower falls we lay on the ground, our feet suspended thousands of feet in the air. We were 19, and felt the weight of the entire world upon us, all the sorrows and joys and experiences that were to come to us looked down from the sky that day and winked as the sun set. I’ve never felt so ready to take on the world, and so scared to leave a meaningful experience all at once.

As for today, I trust that I can leave the relationships I’ve formed and honor them by knowing the blessing they have been, whether or not I ever see some of my favorite people here again. I’ve learned to trust that this is alright – that there is nothing wrong with moving beyond one part of your life and into another and that sometimes it is important to feel the whole weight of the world fall on you, while you cling to the hands of your best friends, kissing them goodbye.

Love and blessings to all of you during this time of transition. I'll be thinking of you, and I hope you will do the same for me. 

- Katy

The wish lantern Sarah, Hannah, Christina and I released at the end of our intern year to
celebrate all that had we had experienced together and all that was coming to us. 

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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!

Poetry Month #5

Sorry - It's May 1. And I can't even say I wrote it on April 30 and was just late posting it. I've decided I don't care. 

May 1, 2014

I've come here to untie the ribbons
which knotted round my ribs
holding all the different lights
tight against my spine.

And now these lungs are sails
gasping and flapping with hot air
Pulling the ship out of port
into the morning light, 
now that Orion, that winter watcher
is gone from the sky.

These boards are creaking, 
my neck needs cracking. 
My belly is rumbling, reaching,
out to the thing upon which 
These fingers will find traction.


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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!

Rough Itinerary

First of all, one thing I learned in Peru that I'm trying my best to remind myself daily (when I'm getting lost in guidebooks late at night, highlighting roads and railways) is that though you can plan everything out for a major, multi-city trip to a new country, you really should not. (It can also be argued that you can not, either, but that's another blog post.)

This is very hard for me because I am a proud planner of epic proportions. It not only makes me feel more ready to take on the trip I'm going on, but I simply I love to do it. My friends will tell you (and I hope most will say they appreciate) that  before a camping or road trip, I will make a color-coded googledoc for the group, assigning the food and gear, offering suggestions for hikes and activities. And for the record, this method has not yet failed us: there's always plenty of food and hardly ever two of the same thing.

When I got to Peru, I'll admit I was very happy to be in Lima with a sense of what I wanted to do and see. It did help to drive me towards the things I found most interesting. However, in retrospect, I could have allowed the last week of my trip to be free and opened, rather than planning out time back in Lima. I met so many people on the road who were coming from the jungle, or on their way to Lake Titicaca or Arequipa and a myriad of other amazing places and I found myself wishing I could follow in their tracks, rather than heading back to that big dirty city.

I'm trying to take this lesson with me and not actually plan all the details of the upcoming adventure. God, does that make me sad... I recognize the value in the unexpected, though, and know I will be pulled to much more exciting and worthy adventures along the way. All that being said, and to appease myself a little, honestly, a rough foundation of a plan seems like it will serve me well, not to mention there are some places I need to be at during a given time. For example, my WWOOFing sites (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and I have arranged a specific arrival and departure date for my volunteering and my GAdventures tour is set in stone. Between all of that, though, there is plenty of room for changes and movement, and I'm using all of my effort not to hold too tightly to any one plan at this time.

So all of those disclaimers being put out there, the plan for the big trip is, for now:

July 7th (aka my 25th birthday): fly out from Minneapolis
July 8th-10th Iceland
July 11th - 14th Amsterdam
July 14th - 25th WWOOFing in Bavaria on a goat farm which specializes in goat cheese. They have gardens and orchards as well, along with horses they offer up for riding through the nearby national park.
July 26th - August 10th
Meeting Jezelle and my good friend Greg in Munich, and going through some semblance of Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade and Sofia
August 11th - 19th WWOOFing in Bulgaria in a small eco-community up the mountains from Sofia. In their description of how to get there, they suggest being prepared to hike up, but if you need it and they find time they'll come get you on a donkey.
I'll then make my way down to Greece and visit Athens before heading to the island of Lipsi.
August 25th - September 5th WWOOFing on a vineyard on the island of Lipsi. This very small island is where Odysseus was held for 7 years under the spell of Calypso and is said to be quiet and off the beaten path. The vineyard I'm volunteering at is just 150 meters from the sea and the end of August will be harvest season, so I'll be busy picking grapes, then dipping into the Aegean Sea to wash off the day's work (if you can't tell, I think I'm MOST excited about this part of the trip).
September 12th - 26th Tour through all of Turkey. I'm going with the same group that provided my Inca Trail adventure, GAdventures, a group which I truly cannot recommend enough to the adventurous traveler. I'll be doing their Turkey on a Budget trip, which will take me all over the country, from Istanbul to a few home stays to a night on a sailboat to Troy, among other things.
October - Mid January Northern Ireland. This part of the trip is a bit up in the air. I'm working on volunteering locations which will fit into my research needs for the book, and won't announce anything there until it is arranged. No matter what, I'll be staying somewhere, doing research, working feverishly on the book and enjoying my family's homeland.

I still don't have a plane ticket home. I'm waiting for some more things to materialize and come together before I make any decisions there, but my little planner mind has several flights on a tracker, just because it makes me feel good.

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Help fund my artistic journey through Northern Ireland where I will be researching and finishing my book, working title Dear Bird for 3-4 months. Learn more about my campaign and donate here. Thank you!