Hi Reader!

It is officially fall and I'm experiencing some appropriately moody weather in the PNW this week. I have a few days of this road trip left before getting back to Los Angeles, so I'm taking full advantage of the autumn vibes.

I hope life is treating you well this week 🫶🏻 Let's get into the newsletter!

Adventures

We've made it through the coast of Washington state and are spending our second night in Portland, Oregon as I type this. Driving the Pacific Coast Highway takes much longer than doing a straight shot down I-5, so the driving time plus stopping for sight-seeing requires several days of travel.

We did a quick tour of the Washington coast and Olympic peninsula, spending one full day on this drive before spending the night in Ocean Shores. I would have given us another day to explore if we could have; it's definitely worth the extra time!

If you're on a time crunch like we were, these are some spots I would recommend finding time for in your itinerary:

🌊 Rialto Beach - One of my favorite beaches on the north part of the WA coast with a gorgeous group of haystacks, usually shrouded in mist.
🍄 Hall of Mosses Trail - The one spot I never miss in Olympic National Park. This trail is about a mile and relatively flat, but packed with trees covered so heavily in moss you'll feel like you're walking through another world.
💎 Ruby Beach - Possibly my favorite beach in WA. A short walk down from the parking lot, Ruby Beach has many of the iconic haystacks (including one that looks like a giant, stone nose 👃) and is super fun to explore.
🌳 Kalaloch Beach & The Tree of Life - This stunning tree makes for the perfect photo opportunity on the beach. Several beaches dot this section of the coast, with Kalaloch being one of the most scenic.
⚓️ Deadman’s Cove & Cape Disappointment Lighthouse - The southernmost point along the WA coast, this stop has a short hike to the beautiful sandy cove and an old lighthouse. Stop to stretch your legs after a long day of driving.

This will already be a packed day, but I have a hard time skipping any of these stops on a visit to this area. Make sure to start early and enjoy those breathtaking ocean views!

Shoutouts

My shoutout this week goes to Haleigh of @wherewewentnext, who shares tons of outdoor adventures and gear reviews. I especially love seeing her group trips; her recent one to Annapurna looked incredible. Plus, she just announced this week that she and her husband are expecting! 👶

She's always a joy to see pop up on my feed and I definitely recommend her page to anyone looking for inspiration for getting outdoors, especially women looking for other outdoorsy women. 👯‍♀️

Munchies

Ordered 6 donuts from Pip's and they gave us one free! 🫶🏻

Seattle is known to be a foodie city, but I always found the restaurants and food trucks in Portland to be way more fun to explore. Here are a few of my favorites from this most recent visit:

🥗 Rangoon Bistro: Wow. If you've never tried Burmese food, you have to. It's like a combination of Thai, Indian, Chinese and other cuisines. Everything here was insane and I’ll be dreaming of their tea leaf salad and noodles.
🍛 Eem: No trip to Portland is complete without stopping at this classic Thai restaurant. They have a small menu they’ve perfected and are most known for their white curry, fried rice, and fried chicken.
🍩 Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai: Some of the best chai and mini donuts you can find. Each chai blend is a secret family recipe they make in small batches. Perfect for fall.
🥞 Bing Mi: I think I've made a stop at this food truck every single time I've been to Portland, which is saying a lot. They solely serve jianbing, which is a savory crepe that brings me back to my childhood wandering the street markets in China with my mom.

On My Mind

Being on the road these past couple weeks has made me appreciate the mental lift required to live a nomadic lifestyle. It has been extra crazy since we’re on a tight schedule, have to book hotels last minute, and need to account for pet-friendly locations along the way. Normally, I'd spend most nights in campgrounds or dispersed campsites, but my boyfriend has back injuries that make spending too many nights in a tent impossible for us.

Being on the road has made Pico extra tired too! 😴

I look forward to the day when I reach a chapter of life that allows for a period of slower travel on the road, spending several days or even weeks in one spot. For now, I’m making use of the pockets of time I can use to hit the road.

I’ve been eager to get more use out of my van as well. There’s a lot of work I’d like to do on it, which is tricky while it’s parked on the streets of LA. If I’m being honest, there have been times I’ve thought about selling the van and waiting to buy one again in the future when I have more time to travel in it and a space to work on it at home.

Reading

I only finished one book this week and I’m really looking forward to getting back into my regular reading after this road trip is complete!

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks is a guide to leveling up in life by removing your limiting beliefs, which he refers to as the "upper limit problem." Hendricks suggests people can drastically improve their lives by giving themselves permission to receive everything they desire, instead of pushing goodness away when it feels undeserved.

There's a lot of helpful mindset info in this book, but some sections were more wishy-washy. Overall, I give it 4 stars out of 5. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check out all my book reviews on Goodreads if you want to see what else I've been reading!

Everything Else

I appreciate your patience the past couple weeks as my newsletters have gone out a day late! Writing this weekly email is one of the highlights of my work, but getting it done while on the road has been an unexpected challenge.

Next week, I'm going to be testing out a switcheroo for issue #25 and sharing 25 fun facts about myself! I'd love to read any interesting tidbits or stories you'd like to share about yourself. Let's get to know each other a little better, then we'll be back to our regular programming the following week. 😊

Thank you for reading and I'll catch you in the next one ✌🏻

Happy adventuring,

💚A