Atiliay | Notes
 
Atiliay noun, a play off the French word “atelier”; a workshop/studio, esp of an artist or designer; my creative space
Notes plural noun, a brief record of facts, topics, thoughts written down as an aid to memory; a short informal letter
 

How have I been on the road and doing this nomadic thing for 7 whole months already!!?? Sometimes it feels like a dream--was I really seeing those gorgeous sunsets in WA? Did I drive through all that snow? Was I just in TX for 2 months? The reality is that in the blink of an eye, in the midst of many miles and memories, here we are!
 
It's so hard to summarize all of it, but in this note I'm going to try to do a little bit of that! 
 
I don't think I would have ever thought to embark on this journey if other female solo travelers hadn't paved the way. I think that's why I want to share my own journey. I hope if you're interested or curious in doing something similar, reading about it encourages you to go for it, just like those other travelers had encouraged me.
 
Also, long note alert! If it helps, scan the headers to check out the parts you want to know more about.
 
The shares below are also travel inspired and include some of those inspiring solo travelers I mentioned above!
 
HERE'S A TIMELINE OF HOW THIS ADVENTURE CAME TO BE
  • Early 20's: Enjoyed traveling but viewed it only as vacations, things that happened a few times a year.
  • Mid 20's: Became a dog and cat mom to 3 dogs & 4 forever foster cats. This was the beginning of my pet parent era and the end of my traveling days lol. All were seniors except for Valentine! I knew if I was gone and something happened to any of them, I would regret it forever so I just didn't leave.
  • Then the pandemic happened: I started to watch travel YouTubers to live vicariously through them. I dreamed of where I'd want to go, what I'd want to do. The idea of nomadic traveling started to creep in. At this point, my 8 year relationship had ended, I had lost Lucci, Bernard, Bubba, and Jefrey :( and was living on my own with Valentine, Makani, and Samone. Traveling felt like it could be a reality since I had less and less things keeping me in one place.
  • During the pandemic: Sadly Makani and Samone passed away a month apart. While both were older, Makani's was totally unexpected and sudden and Samone had a mystery illness. It was heartbreaking. It really made me reevaluate my life because suddenly I only had Val to take care of.
  • Making a tiny home: The pandemic was still happening. I lost a my main income stream: in person workshops. I decided to move back home temporarily  and turn our guesthouse in the back into a tiny home. I went from a 3 bedroom condo to less than 300 sq ft. I got rid of probably 75% of my belongings and swore I never wanted to have to go through / get rid of so much stuff ever again! After this point I embraced minimalism as much as I could.
  • Tiny home living: I loved it! Having less space was fine and I adapted. Valentine didn't care lol I didn't know then but this really prepared me to live on the road and in different spaces.
  • Selling our home: The decision was made to sell our family home…where would I go from there? I had not felt tied to CA in a long time. The decision was made to move to Cincinnati with the person I was dating at the time. I was ready for a change, Valentine did great on the road trip there earlier that year, and the location felt like the perfect home base for exploring the midwest, south, east coast, and Canada!
  • Change of plans: That relationship ended a month before our last day at the house. Back to: where do I go from here? Decided I still wanted a change and would travel with Valentine. Picked the PNW as our first road trip adventure! Finished cleaning and emptying the house and going through so much stuff. For the second time I thought, I never want to have to deal with this much stuff ever again!
  • Sept 30th, 2023: One month into my 39th year, I left my childhood home, left 6 bins with friends, took 3 with me, said goodbye to my friends, wrapped up loose ends, and we began our journey to our first city, Bend, Oregon!
So many things had to have happened for me to be where I am today. Some were unexpected and out of my control, some I had been planning for years, knowingly and unknowingly. In my 20s I never would have imagined traveling alone and not having a home. It's funny how life unfolds sometimes. You never know when the opportunity will arise and until then, keep preparing (you can never start too early when it comes to getting rid of stuff lol) and keep dreaming until it becomes a reality.
 
CITIES & STATES WE'VE BEEN TO SO FAR
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Our route didn't take us through NV but that's OK because Val and I have actually already been there together--for a Backstreet Boys concert! lol
  1. Bend, Sunriver, Portland, OR
  2. Des Moines & Seattle, WA
  3. Boise, ID
  4. Salt Lake City & Kanab, UT
  5. Sedona, Phoenix, Tucson, AZ
  6. Santa Fe & Albuquerque, NM
  7. Lubbock, San Antonio, Boerne, Austin, Whimberley, Fredericksburg, Dallas, TX
  8. Shreveport, LA
  9. Jackson, MI (where I started this note)
  10. Birmingham, AL
  11. Atlanta, GA (I got here last night!)
 
SOME STATS

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  • Miles driven: Approx 6,256
  • AirBnBs booked: 20
  • Trolls found: 12
  • Visits from friends: 4
  • Instagram friends met: 4
  • New Instagram friends made: 3
  • Lowest gas price: $2.599 in NM
  • Best vegan cookie: Campfire cookie (chocolate chip with vegan marshmallows) from Midtown Vegan Deli & Marketplace--it was the perfect texture, softness from the marshmallow, not too sweet--so good!
  • Number of Items lost: 4. My mini cooler bag--I left it in OR, Val's water bowl with cucumber water in it--I have NO idea where this went, and 2 socks--not a pair but 2 different single socks. How does this happen!? lol)
  • Scariest moment: Realizing I would have to put snow chains on and drive through pretty bad weather. But it all worked out!
  • Number of bug bites: 4. (All while in Austin. So far so good in Atlanta, fingers crossed!)
  • Favorite place so far: WA! (Followed by Bend, OR. I've only been in GA for a day and a half but this neighborhood is so cute it's making me think I want to live here lol I also really enjoyed San Antonio and think it's so underrated!)
  • Favorite part: Having conversations with random strangers because of Val! Esp if they have a cute dog or the dog has a cute owner :)
 
WHAT'S NEXT?

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This is gonna be me and Val!

The next leg of this trip is pretty much solidified: Next week I'll be heading to Charlotte, NC, then to the NRG area in West VA, followed by VA where the highlight will be the dog friendly wild pony boat tour at Chincoteague Island (see pic above)!!! I'll head to DC and Baltimore next with stops in Philly and Pittsburgh on my way to MI.
 
After that I'm hoping to cross into Canada and go to Toronto, Ottawa, & Montreal! Still working this out but determined to make it happen! 
 
Then I will spend Sept & Oct in the New England area.
 
Originally my plan was to try to leave the east coast by end of October and drive back to WA by Thanksgiving before the weather gets bad. But I'm realizing this is going to make for a rushed and stressful trip and I don't want to encounter winter driving conditions! So instead, I'm thinking of sticking around, going to Charleston and FL and maybe even back to Atlanta. That way I can take my time to see everything in this part of the US before leaving and not have to rush or get caught driving in snow again! (Can you tell I have been trying to avoid that all costs since the tire chain incident lol)
 
TRAVEL (NEAR OR FAR) SHARES

  • Solo female travelers who inspire me:
    • Jessica Nabongo is the 1st black woman to visit every country, continent, and state! She was the first traveler to make me think about traveling solo. Read more about her adventures in this National Geographic article and follow her on Instagram.
    • Loni James is a traveler, writer, and storyteller. She quit her job to travel the world full-time with plans to go on a date and a hike in every country along the way. She was featured on CNN Travel for going on 34 first dates in 19 countries and you can follow her on Instagram. (I think it's so brave that she would go on dates with random people in different countries--I'm wary of going on dates with people from this country lol. Right now I'm good with having Val as my travel buddy!l)
    • Julie Brose has been traveling solo full time for the past 3.5 years. She sold most of her belongings and has a dog (!) so when I came across her on Instagram (I think that's how I discovered her) I was super interested in her journey and current travels!
    • Hannah Brown I recently discovered her on Instagram where she did a very informative Q&A on how she solo travels (for example she works remotely via Data Annotation Tech)
    • Eva zu Beck Her adventure riding horses in Mongolia caught my eye on YouTube! She is definitely more extreme and hardcore about where she goes and what she does and even though some of the things aren't my cup of tea, I really admire her courage!
  • Maybe traveling isn't an option for you right now (that was the case for me for many years) and you're feeling a little FOMO. For me, it helped to vicariously travel though other people because it kept me inspired and thinking about all the places I would go when I could! YouTube was my go to--you can pretty much find someone going somewhere you'd like to go to / travel the way you'd want to travel.
  • Another way to travel without going far is exploring something nearby but new. Melissa and I were talking about how even going to a different grocery store can give you the same feelings as traveling: noticing what's different and paying closer attention to things, not being in auto pilot, nervous excitement about not knowing what to expect. And don't forget to be a tourist in your own city--I feel like it's so easy to take it for granted but there's a lot of cool stuff in our own neck of the woods.
  • It doesn't have to cost $$$ There are lots of free places you can go (parks, hiking trails, etc.) and make sure to keep an eye out for free museum days / events!

Do you have any travel dreams? While it may not seem like a possibility right this second, keep in mind that things may be working in the background to make it a reality!
 
If you've made it here, thank you for reading and letting me share with you--I know this was a long one! :)

Take care and talk to you soon,

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PS: San Antonio & Austin recap coming soon! 
PPS: I love these snaps of Val at our Atlanta AirBnB--she was hyped!!

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