The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

How on earth had I never been to San Diego? Every wonderful thing I heard about this city is true. I would love to live there (although I don't think I'm glamorous enough). Since my time in Phoenix is limited, I created an AZ bucket list, and Cabrillo National Monument was on there. I really couldn't afford this trip, but Amanda said she would cover hotel if I drove and paid for gas. So sweet of her! Finding a good travel partner is not easy, and I am so lucky to have Amanda in my life. I was recently told by a friend that I was being "too perky" and needed to "take it down a notch." And I was holding back! With Amanda, I can be as loud and bubbly as I want because she is just right there with me. For example, I was really excited about all the wildflowers we saw on the drive out there. When I exclaimed that, "These flowers are blowing my mind!" Amanda wholeheartedly agreed. We arrived on Friday night and had dinner at Godfather's resta

So, one time I was having a bad day, and I mentioned something about being replaced, and my friend Ann responded with this text, and I just never want to forget what she said.

Nina came to visit Rachel and me this weekend. We ate at Mellow Mushroom and saw Zoolander 2. (That was actually the whole reason for the trip. Not the best movie, but lots of good one-liners.) We went to the Grand Canyon and hiked down to Ooh Aah Point and took a million pictures. (Blue Steel, because we are all really, really ridiculously good looking.) I think my favorite part of this Grand Canyon trip was the Geology Museum; the views from there was spectacular, and it was so interesting to learn about the geology of this place. The girls came over on Sunday, and I made playdough with Carmen. We went hiking to Badger Springs on Monday. There were petroglyphs, and we spent some time sunbathing by the Agua Fria River. The weekend ended with dinner and dessert at Green and Nami with Kristin and Hannah.

Social media is a funny thing. People post things that represent the story they want to tell, which may differ from reality. As a result, I often hear people say that they are "taking a break from social media" because they feel like their lives are just so boring compared to the glamorous things they see on Facebook.  The trip I took to the Mojave Desert with Amanda is the perfect example of this. I forgot to look at the directions before we left. We enjoyed a late breakfast at a cute Route 66 diner west of Flagstaff and checked the GPS to see how much longer the drive would be. 4.5 hours? WTF??? I had taken us the wrong way. We were supposed to take the 10 west to California, then go north. So, we basically spent about 11 hours in the car that day and did a huge loop around Arizona. Truth be told, neither of us minded. We talked nonstop that whole time.  When we arrived, I got my stamp and we did a one mile hike through Banshee Canyon. I chose this hike because it is

Being outside is a priority for me. It's so easy to get caught up in activities here in town and neglect that, but after a while I get restless and anxious and it just feels like something is not right. And that's when I know I need to get outside.  My new friend Kelly and I headed out to the eastern Superstitions to explore the Rogers Canyon ruins. It was an 8.2 mile hike, and we were outside most of the day; it was exactly what I needed. Hiking through the canyon: There was a beautiful stream running through the canyon; our hike was accompanied by the constant sound of running water.  View of the dwellings from across the canyon. What a perfect spot to make your home! The first two levels were not too exciting. But the third level was pretty amazing! It also required a teeny tiny climb to get to. There was one exposed move that made me nervous, and I almost didn't go up there. (We were like, "We're canyoneers! How do we not have webbing with us??") But it tu