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Hotel Reviews

Postcard Cabins Review (Formerly Getaway House): A Tiny Cabin For Urban Dwellers

Camp Olowalu Tentalows

My Review of Camp Olowalu: Glamping in Maui

Where to Stay in Vancouver WA: The AC Hotel Vancouver Waterfront

Where to Stay in Miami Beach: The Balfour Hotel

Rachel Off Duty - The Surfjack Hotel and Swim Club Waikiki

Where to Stay in Waikiki: The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club

Where to Stay in Park City: The Lodges at Deer Valley

Where to Stay in Phoenix: Cambria Hotel Downtown Phoenix Convention Center

Where to Stay in Boston: Studio Allston Hotel

Where to Stay in Long Beach: The Hotel Royal

Where to Stay in Santa Barbara: The Goodland

Where to Stay in Tempe: The Graduate Tempe

Where to Stay in Seattle: The Hotel Ändra

Where to Stay in Alaska: The Alyeska Resort

Where to Stay in Glacier National Park: 3 Options for Any Budget

Where to Stay in Manhattan: The Roger Smith Hotel

Where to Stay in Salt Lake City: The Kimpton Hotel Monaco

Where to Stay in Waikiki: The Laylow

Where Traveling for Work Meets Actually Enjoying Yourself: How Cambria Hotels Cater to Business Travelers

Where to Stay in Palos Verdes: Terranea Resort

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Today is my birthday. This is 33! 12 months ago, Today is my birthday. This is 33! 

12 months ago, on my 32nd birthday, I gave myself the gift of a full 365 days “off duty.”

This is the anniversary of the week I quit my job, or at least, turned in my notice, and the week it all finally felt “real” what I was about to attempt... a full year off from the 9-to-5, from expectations or requirements, to just explore myself and let curiosity lead the way. At 32 years old. 

I’ve learnt a lot in this chapter of my life, enough to reflect on more in another post, but for now, I’m just grateful to be here and to share my little corner of the internet, and my weird little life, with you :) Thank you for being here! 🤍

These photos are from a strange little beach in Australia called Shell Beach, where millions of little cockle shells form the coastline instead of sand. Just down the shore from where I’m laying here, the oldest living fossil on the planet, the stromatolite, can be seen. It’s made of calcified shells like these. Each year I feel this nagging fear of aging and the passing of time. And then I’m reminded how every little shell is a part of something much bigger, more ephemeral. In other words, there’s so damn much more to come. 

Happy Virgo season, crew!
The most transformative 4 months of my 32nd year o The most transformative 4 months of my 32nd year of life were spent right here.

Byron Bay is a divisive place, one that everyone knows and has an emotional reaction to. It’s creative, quirky, alternative, bohemian, beautiful. It’s also expensive, ‘overrated,’ and too weird. Despite that, it’s on everyone’s lists to visit.

We didn’t plan to live here for 1/3 of my career break, but we ended up getting lucky and finding sublets with two different local families who took us in. The place we lived for 3 of those 4 months felt like a true home away from home. 

Over time, I felt myself stop worrying (being on a career break is both liberating and terrifying 😅) and it was here that I truly felt like I “shed” my corporate identity for something new. Someone that could finally play and rest and try new things without needing to justify or quantify or productivity-maxx.

So here’s a mini travel guide and ode to one of my favorite places and what it gave me. If you visit, or if you come to live here for a little while, I hope these tips help give you what it gave me. Let me know what your ideal home away from home would feel like in the comments 🫶🏽 #OffDutyinByronBay #LivinginAustralia #ByronBay #CareerBreakDiaries

[career break, career break in your 30s, gap year, Australia, working holiday, working holiday visa, Australia road trip, Byron Bay, new South wales]
300 miles down, 9,700ish to go. This is part one. 300 miles down, 9,700ish to go. This is part one. 

If you missed the last video, Jacob and I are on a 3-month drive to complete Australia’s biggest road trip, aka Big Lap of Australia. Here’s how it all started and how it’s going on the first stretch! 

Part One: ~300 miles
Byron 
Noosa
Bundaberg 

Highlights: 
- the Noosa Coastal Trail
- snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Elliot Island (day trip from Bundy!) 
- Bundaberg Rum (a Queensland staple) 
- camping at Splitters Farm
- the best strawberry ice cream at TinaBerries 

I never expected my career break abroad to turn into a giant cross-country road trip but life is full of surprises and the longer we lived here, the more curious we became. We want to see it all, and I want to bring you along for the ride, because this is the first time in our adult lives we’ve been able to travel without limited PTO (vacation days) or time constraints!!

What would you do with your time if you had 3 months ahead and nothing holding you back?

In part two we’re heading to the outback! 

#CareerBreakDiaries #LapofAustralia #CareerBreak #gapyear
SOLD!!! Selling our adventure car after a year dri SOLD!!! Selling our adventure car after a year driving around Australia 🚗 

He’s a Toyota RAV4 V6 and he’s completely kitted out for camping and overlanding. 

Swipe through for everything you need to know, and share this with your friends to help me find a new adventure for Gary 🫶🏽

As I write this, we’re almost at the end of our lap of this massive country and it’s been a journey I am still finding the words to express. I never expected to spend my career break camping by the beach or learning how to fill a jerrycan but quite honestly it’s been the experience of a lifetime. And this car definitely has many miles / kms left to go. 

📍 Melbourne area (or Sydney for the right buyer) 
☑️ $8,500 AUD OBO 
☑️ Must sell in September!

Message me with serious inquiries or to set up an inspection!!! 🙏🏽

If you’re not in the market for a new car, comment your favorite road trip memory and I’ll share mine below too! 

#workingholidayaustralia #lapofaustralia #australiaroadtrip #careerbreak
So many reasons!! But here’s why I fell in love wi So many reasons!! But here’s why I fell in love with life in Australia (keep reading 👉🏽) 

Red deserts, ancient river deltas, sandstone cliffs, bright pink lakes, dense rainforests, 100-foot yarri trees, limestone pinnacles... this country is absolutely massive and there’s so much landscape diversity it’ll make your head spin. 

Definitely makes the long drives worth it! 

Pictured: 
Karijini National Park
Hutt Lagoon
12 Apostles
Karlu-Karlu

Australia is notoriously laidback. 

It’s one of the top 10 countries in the world for work-life balance, and as an American, you really notice this once you’re here. Restaurants shut their doors the very minute they say they will. Coffee shops will close earlier on the weekends, not later. People take their full vacation time (which starts at 20 days. that’s a whole month of annual leave!!). And above all else, Aussies find time to prioritize an outdoorsy, active, social lifestyle every single day. Not just on the weekends.

Pictured:
Kalbarri National Park

I’m from Hawaii but I have to give it to the Aussies. The beaches here are absolutely stunning, so distinct, and so... clean?? Truly some of the cleanest sand and beach facilities I’ve ever experienced. Also, I’ve never lived anywhere else in the world where your odds of having the beach all to yourself are as high.

Pictured:
Shark Bay
Rottnest Island
Dalmeny
Byron Bay

People joke about the spiders and the snakes and all of the animals that can kill you. But the truth? Aussies are so lucky to have so many of these “locals.” I love seeing kangaroos and wallabies at campsites, as nosy as they are. I love waking up to the sounds of a dozen different species of birds singing outside. I may not love the bugs, but I mean, I love what they represent?

Australia has taught me a different way of coexisting with so many creatures. And I wish more places could be like this.

Australia is surrounded by 3 distinct oceans, several intersecting ocean currents, and a variety of climates from tropical to arctic, making this one of the most marine-diverse countries in the world. And Aussies are so proud of this.

On multiple occasions, I have found myself in a town by the ocean over
Welcome to my career break road trip diaries! But Welcome to my career break road trip diaries! But before deciding to hit the road, I was living out an alternate version of my life in a little beach town called Byron Bay 📍

I had so many competing dreams for my 12 month break from corporate life. And I think that sheer amount of possibility can be both liberating and overwhelming. 

But that’s the gift of giving yourself a career break after all. To let it be uncomfortable and messy and nonlinear and find the beauty that unfolds in a version of you you’ve not yet met or allowed yourself to explore.

And so, I lived many lives in Byron. 

And what was supposed to be just 3 weeks here on my year-long tour of Australia turned into 4 beautiful months of becoming. And being horribly basic at surfing. And finding my rhythm again. And realizing I can be a less stressed, more alive version of me.

Sometimes, all you need is change of scenery to ease yourself into uncharted territory.

With that in mind, after 4 months in Byron Jacob and I decided to leave and see the rest of Australia with the rest of the time we have left before our year is up! 

We have 3 months to see as much as we can. New video ft week one on the road coming next. #CareerBreakDiaries #LapofAustralia #CareerBreak #gapyear
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