Still Learning How

Being a restless soul I need daily reminders to appreciate the little things and embrace life. Of course I'm on a high right now because I'm about to embark on a month long trip to the UK and France. Travel, my favorite drug. 

Learning how to travel in everyday life is something I really want to master. I haven't done it yet. 

I'm restless because I'm constantly and astutely aware of death, every minute of every day. Exhausting, right? I'm always thinking to myself, could this day have been better? Did I appreciate it enough? Did I present the best Ashley? Did I give enough? Was I grumpy and a pain in the ass to others? 

I'm 33 and I'm not sure I've figured much out since I was 19 and started this blog. I mean, I know I have figured out a little. But. 

I'm still learning how to do life. 

Saturday, travel will fill my veins again, and I'll be embracing every single second like it was my last. Now to carry that on in non-travel periods. That is the ultimate task for the extreme wanderluster. 

2017: A Good Traveling Year

I can't move onto 2018 until I recap my 2017 year in TRAVEL!

It was a good year! I went to 3 new countries: Wales, the Netherlands, and a stop in Belgium, rounding out the number of countries I've visited to 20. 

I went to something like 10 new cities I had never seen before, including York, Newcastle, Cardiff, Amsterdam, and Cincinnati to name a few. I added a new state to my list: Ohiooooooo!

I rang in the New Year in Vegas. It was the second time I've spent a New Year's in Vegas.

Saw Yale for the first time (the prettiest Ivy League I've seen so far). 

Went to Boston in March (during a blizzard), decided I'd be moving here! 

Had an absolute blast in Miami for my dear friend's bachelorette. We then went to her wedding in April, in New Orleans (a city that never gets old). I also went on a swamp tour! 

Headed for a UK/Europe trip in May, and got to visit a lot of Northern UK for work. This included Chester, York, Newcastle, and the gorgeous Lake District: 

(the North is underrated) 

I also fell in love with Cardiff, Wales! 

Oh, and don't worry...I made a stop in London (always and forever): 

Then came the Europe part of the trip. First stop, Amsterdam! 

My good San Diego friend, Lainey, joined me. 

And then came Paris, always a favorite of mine (my third time going)...

After Paris, my good french friend, Solene, nicely drove me to Normandy: 

The Europe trip was something like 4 or 5 weeks, I think? Would I be Ashley without a long Europe trip because I can? I think not.

Next trip was a place that surprised me with how much I liked it: Cincinnati, Ohio. Who doesn't like good beer, nice people, and a decently built up downtown area? 

By the end of all this crazy travel, I was left with one more month in New York City. This was my view on one of my last days there: 

A beautiful goodbye, I think. 

***

Here's to another good year of travel in 2018! 

Niagara Falls, My Ultimate Retreat

Have you ever been to a place that instantly quiets all your fears, doubts, and anxieties so that they become white noise, and a rush of beauty and happiness hits your body so forcibly, your cells have no option but to dance in delight?

Yeah, that's Niagara Falls for me. 

I don't know what I was expecting when I decided to drive toward the falls to check yet another site off my list, but this ended up being much more than a checkmark. The water was SUCH a force that all I could do was stand in awe of it, mouth agape. It moved me. I heard the earth whisper in my ear, "it's going to be alright, Ash. Everything in your life is going to be alright." 

It's a reminder to surrender to nature more often. After all, it's where we come from, and it's where we  must retreat to. 

It's all going to be alright. 

Catch Me If You Can (Current Travels and Future Goals)

Good day, bloggers.

I've been a busy, busy lady. I've been traveling up a storm! I started with a week in London, and now I'm currently sitting in Derbyshire, pictured above. Not a bad view, eh? It could be worse (wink).

I've not just been traveling, I have been work traveling. This is just as exhausting as it is exciting, but it's so worth it. Somedays I pinch myself to make sure it's all real. I remember when I used to sit in an office, day after day, bored out of my mind, wishing I could literally jump on any plane I saw flying overhead. Now I'm actually sitting on said planes. While I often miss the camaraderie found in the office environment, I wouldn't trade my jet-setting, train-hopping ways for anything.

I revel in the realization that the things you really want from life will come to you if you work hard enough and you believe it will actually happen.

The next chapter of my life will soon find me in Boston, where I finally feel open and ready to finding a true partner in travel (a.k.a. Ashley's ultimate love interest). I don't talk about love often on this blog, but I feel the stars aligning in a way that tells me I'm ready for a certain stage in my life. I think timing plays a huge role in a good love story, so I feel happy writing these words out loud: for the first time in my life, I feel completely open, ready, and willing to go for love. Meaning, like all good things, I'm ready to put in the work towards this goal, and I believe it exists. That's a lot to say for the latest of bloomers!

But you better believe, he's got to be just as much of a traveler as me :)

For now, you'll catch me in the Lake District, Wales, Amsterdam, and France, if you can even catch me at all.

2016: A Good Traveling Year (and Looking to New Things in 2017)

My most prized accomplishment in life is travel, so of course I had to put together my favorite end of the year post (it's coming a little late).

In an effort to ignore the fact a crazed megalomanic is taking office, let's talk about escapism!

In 2016, I did a lot of US travel, with a sprinkle of international travel. I went to one new country, one new city, and lots of new little towns thanks to driving through Upstate New York and Western Mass.

Here's the breakdown month by month (in case you are REMOTELY interested):

Janaury: Came back from a trip from San Diego over the holidays. Stayed in NYC for most of cold, snowy, slushy January. I experienced my first blizzard this month!!

February - March: Work travel to Upstate/Western Massachusetts/New Jersey...lots of hopping on trains! Below is a view I've seen numerous times taking the train back and forth from Albany.

April: Back to San Diego for work (two week trip!).

May: I had to slip in an international trip, because if I didn't, WHO AM I? London and Berlin is where I took off to with two of my close NYC pals.

June: I was off to Turkey for my cousin's wedding. I have a lot to write about Turkey here on this blog, but the words are not quite coming to me just yet. What you do need to know is that Turkish people are still the loveliest people on the planet, and somehow, they are also the strongest. I think back to how great my visit was in June, and I know that someday I will have more trips to Turkey.

July: Stayed in NYC (in that SWELTERING city heat). Yes, I jump in fountains when it's too hot.

August: Short weekend trip to The Hamptons

September: Upstate New York, Virginia, and Washington DC (I'm really getting used to driving around the East Coast!).

October: BACK to San Diego/Orange County for work (3 week trip!)

November: Berkshires, Massachusetts for work (it's seriously gorgeous up there).

December: Back to San Diego for healing an almost broken ankle and overburdened heart. And what a healing month and a half it's been in California (not to mention a cheeky New Year's Eve trip to Vegas).

***

2016 KICKED MY ASS. It was a year of tears, busy work schedules, discomfort, heartbreak...and yet, I am so thankful for it! It's not enjoyable going through one of the hardest years of your life, but what comes out of it is such intense clarity on where you want your life to go.

2017, I have some plans for you! I'll be in Miami and New Orleans for a second time (my friend's bachelorette and wedding). I'm also taking a long trip to the UK/France come May. I have some more travel up my sleeve, but I'm just plotting it out right now.

Most importantly, August is my NYC expiration date and I am planning my next move. I do have one city in mind above the rest, but I will announce my new city when it's official (don't want to go announcing things on the internet before they are set in stone).

YES, I AM A NOMAD/JETSETTER/WANDERLUSTER (or whatever you wanna call me) AND I AM PROUD OF IT.

Here's to life in all its forms. I welcome the sadness, I welcome the happiness, I welcome everything that makes me a strong, beautiful, fearless woman. I have not felt more independent than this moment, knowing that I can take it all and still stay standing.