Today marks the two year anniversary of my last day as a retail manager. Two years! It seems crazy to think of everything that has happened in the past two years since I left the store — crazy to think of how much I’ve grown as a person and how many amazing things we have…

I have figured it out… Minnesota is my home but California is my playground. There’s a reason I see the good and bad in both places — but through different lenses. I stepped off the airplane from Minnesota at noon on Monday. By 12:45 p.m., I was in my wet suit — snorkel gear in…

The second part of my Minnesota trip was spent mainly in Northern MN. My dad’s side of the family has some property up there in the middle of nowhere, a 160-acre plot of land. We used to go up here every fall just to get away. There is no cell service, no telephone, and you…

It has been nearly a year since I last went back to Minnesota for a visit. And going back after that long of an absence has opened my eyes to a few things. #1: The Minnesota accent. When I landed, I immediately noticed the accent. It was strong and obvious, taking me back a bit. If…

I remember the thrill of decorating our house in St. Paul, making each room different. I remember seeing things in stores or at garage sales and thinking about how perfect those items would be in our house. My first major eye-opener to the amount of “stuff” we had acquired over the years was when we…

Heat, ants, mice, water problems and more — nothing is truly avoidable when living in a motorhome. I must have jinxed us by saying that I was happy the worst part of summer was over. The past few days, and the next few, are well in the 100s. Yesterday’s high was 109 degrees. I’m kicking…

Overall, it was a pretty low-key week for the Wandering Dolphin crew. I hosted my first open mic poetry night at The Art Center in town.   We had 20 audience members and 7 readers. It was a fun night and was certainly a new thing for me that brought me out of my comfort…

Swimming, hiking, monkeys and more. Last week was certainly an interesting one! The adventures started on Wednesday, when a friend of ours set up a surprise for us. We were only given a time and place to meet, the rest was a secret. After driving to the secluded location, we found ourselves at a sanctuary…

I just wanted to share a quick update on the Wandering Dolphin crew. It has been hot and (surprisingly and unfortunately) humid here in normally beautiful SoCal. The weekend before this recent one, we combatted the heat with an evening of wine tasting. Gotta live it up while we can! We headed out to one…

This year’s fire season is just getting started, and we have already had too many for comfort. The rains over last winter encouraged a lot of plant growth – plants that are now dead, dried and perfect kindling for wildfires. Though I am slightly less terrified than last summer, I am still nervous to leave town…