I really enjoy my life. I enjoy where I live. I enjoy the people I surround myself with. I enjoy what I do for “work.” I enjoy the off season when I get a chance to step away, decompress and remember all that I am blessed with.
April 10th, I pushed out of Park City. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I had one of the best powder days of the season the day before so I felt I had it out of my system. My car was loaded. I had a little bit of everything I may potentially need for the upcoming adventure either in or on my Subaru Outback. I had my snowboard, my splitboard, my road bike, camping gear, wetsuit and booties, trail running gear, crafting stuff, apparel for the woods as well as the city and lots of snacks!!! I headed out of Park City with a pretty loose plan. Take a left on I-80 and head west. I evaded a potential speeding ticket in Nevada (81 in a 75). Seriously? I think the guy was just curious what kind of crazy girl was driving this rig. Got out of the one and felt a bout of “drowsy driving” coming on. SO… I did what any normal person would do. I found an exit that had a dirt road off of it, drove down the dirt road, threw my yoga mat down and did some sun salutations. It was invigorating and helped me push on to Lake Tahoe. That’s where the trip started. 
Throughout my three weeks on the road I was able to snowboard, do a few amazing road rides, splitboard around Mt. Shasta, camp on the beach, trail run above the beach with some sweet views, hike in the Redwoods, hike in the East Bay with college girlfriends, hike outside of San Fran with my high school bestie and her beautiful daughters, hike in San Diego with my sis and then take my lovely niece and nephew to the beach, got to go to a Girl Scout party, and elementary school dance (and we ROCKED it!). Oh and did I mention that I got destroyed in a friendly game of Scrabble? (That was definitely the low point of the trip!)
One of my last days I did a sweet urban run through San Fran along the water and it was amazing! My trip was coming to an end and I just felt the beat! I felt the beat of the city, I felt the beat of my heart, my independence, my FREEdom and I felt the beat of Blackalicious through my headphones (love them!). Finished up the trip where I started, Lake Tahoe. Got to spend my last day sailing on that beautiful drop of water! It was lovely. I re-connected with so many people during this journey. There was so much laughter, amazing conversation, amazing food, great wine and just that feeling you get when you know you are loved. Met some new people as well which was just a full on BONUS! Possibly the best connection made though was with myself. I re-connected with me. That was pretty special.
I also had a few really special SOUL-O Happy Hours (as you can see by the image). Very enjoyable. However, I was reminded time after time on this trip that happy is not just an hour. Happy is a choice. We can choice any and every minute of the day. Choose it!
