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Puerto Rico

The Ultimate 10-Day Puerto Rico Road Trip Itinerary

everything-you-need-to-know-before-visiting-puerto-rico

How to Plan a Trip to Puerto Rico: Everything You Need to Know

20+ of The Best Things to Do in Puerto Rico

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Two travelers planning a destination wedding, how Two travelers planning a destination wedding, how crazy could it be?

We wanted to bring our stories, our favorite places, and our blended backgrounds together. It was important to me that we created a little bit of an itinerary, an experience, a world that we could invite our community into. Since we’ve been coming to Valle for years, it really wouldn’t have been “us” to do it any other way. 
We had a three-day springtime wedding Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico, influenced by Jacob’s Jaliscan background, my Filipina/Hawaiian background, and the beautiful Baja wine region we were in (yes, Mexico has a wine region!). We created travel newspapers with tips to visit the region, and a destination-focused scavenger hunt (which got heated in our wedding group chat) 🍷

Other ‘travel logistics,’ like getting 80 people across the US/Mexico land border, creating a poppin’ group chat for the whole wedding in WhatsApp, moving everyone around a remote region with no Ubers or taxis, doing things in both Spanish and English, and bringing different parts of Mexico – like Jalisco and Ensenada – to the Valle, were all part of the exciting challenge.

Maybe some of these little details that kept us up at night in all those months leading up to this weekend weren’t a big deal to anyone else. But it mattered to us, and we had so much fun planning our destination wedding, which felt more like a giant group trip for our favorite people. One year ago, this weekend 🤍 #multiculturalwedding #destinationwedding #valledeguadalupe

Our incredible team that helped us make it all happen is tagged in the comments. Later on, we had another, more intimate celebration in the Philippines 🤍 I’ll share that next once I emotionally recover from making this video 😅😭 Brides/married friends tell me your favorite memories from your wedding weekend!
Worked 9-to-5 for over a decade so I could spend m Worked 9-to-5 for over a decade so I could spend my 30s doing whatever this is: 

Success isn’t necessarily something you reach. It’s what you create. What you commit to. What you walk away from. And ultimately, what you choose to let grow. My 30s have been such a deep journey of rediscovery so far, genuinely learning, in some ways for the first time, who I am beyond the job title. 

What’s one hidden talent or passion you wouldn’t know by looking at your LinkedIn? 

(and p.s. fellow dive girlies please find this account 🙏🏽) #girlswhofreedive #careerbreak #gapyear
Hi, I’m Rachel. If you’re new to Team Off Duty, co Hi, I’m Rachel. If you’re new to Team Off Duty, consider this your onboarding 😉

And welcome to the team ❤️ If you’ve been here for a while, thank you.

I’ve grown and evolved so much since starting Rachel Off Duty nearly 10 years ago, but when I think of the pivotal moments that brought me here, it’s these. I was born in Hawai’i and grew up both endlessly curious and insatiable. I wanted to live in a big city, climb the corporate ladder, see the world, become famous, make all the money. But in my twenties, as my fascination with travel and personal development grew, and the higher I climbed on the corporate ladder, I found that I was constantly in a battle with my career. I started Rachel Off Duty as a simple travel blog, but it grew into a place that helped me, and eventually other women, navigate the fine line between work & play. I wanted to challenge the status quo, and make space for ambitious women with diverse interests to thrive, both in the workplace and beyond.

If you’ve found my page, it hopefully means that this resonates with you on some level.

As part of Team Off Duty, your ✨ benefits package ✨ includes: 

✈️ Travel stories with context and respect

💻 Different definitions of success, and tools to help you define your own

💪🏽 Empowerment & inspiration

🕚 A coworker bestie telling you to take the vacation

🤪 A safe place to not take ourselves too seriously

❤️ Occasional updates from an internet stranger reimaginging work & travel for herself, and showing you how you can, too 😊

Sound good? 

Comment ‘🌴’ if you’re aligned, and welcome onboard. I’m so glad you’re here! #RachelOffDuty #WorkAndTravel
Not enough people talk about the low points during Not enough people talk about the low points during a career break, or how to handle them when they come.

And let me tell you, they will come.

So far during my career break abroad, I’ve had some epic highs and some pretty ugly lows. After the initial thrill of finally taking the leap to quit my job and move abroad, there was a weekend, back in the early weeks that followed, where I cried day and night for four days straight. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and sob, wondering who the hell I was supposed to be now and whether I had made a mistake.

That wasn’t the only time I’ve felt crippling nerves or started spiraling about my decision, either.

But each time, as time passes, I’d be reminded once again that I am moving in the right direction. In fact, I’ve done things on this career break so far that have already exceeded my wildest dreams!

The emotions will come, the good and the bad, but if you move with intention and trust yourself to see it through, your career break will be exactly what you need it to be.

This is just one tactic I use to give myself perspective and help me navigate the emotional roller coaster of taking a career break. It’s become a simple but effective 5-minute journaling ritual I look forward to every week. 

if you have any other tips or tricks for navigating the emotions of doing things that scare you, share them below! 

👋🏽 New here? Hi! I’m rachel and I took a DIY sabbatical in my 30s to move from Los Angeles to Australia for a year. This is month 7 and I’m bringing you along with me every step of the way, so be sure to hit follow for more career break content!

#GoingForTheGap | Gap Year | Career Pivot | Career Break | Moving Abroad | Micro Retirement
Postcards from a week of diving in Coron, Philippi Postcards from a week of diving in Coron, Philippines.

7 days, 3+ hours of diving a day, workshops, lectures, meditation, yoga, and so much more. @deep.week, you were a surprise challenge, an emotional growth opportunity, and a blessing. Met so many amazing ocean lovers all over the world and expanded my dive community beyond my wildest expectations!

2 and a half years ago, I decided to give myself a month to try a new hobby as a way to counteract the work burnout I was feeling at the time. Freediving was that hobby I chose, completely on a whim with zero expectations.

And it’s harder than I imagined, but it stuck. I’m addicted. And I’m so grateful, because it’s led me here. 

📸 @domkoooo (slides 1, lower right slide 3)
@junchi.j (slide 6)
playing with @insta360 for the rest 

#freediving #comeseephilippines #girlswhofreedive #deepweekphilippines
And it only cost me my... 🙈 I’ve been living life And it only cost me my... 🙈

I’ve been living life outside of the 9-to-5 for over 6 months now. And in the process of letting go, I’ve actually ‘gained’ so much.

I’ve started exploring all my passions and interests with new eyes, and the time to actually pay attention to how they make me feel.

Not the squeezing in a yoga class on my lunch hour before anyone notices my slack bubble isn’t green. Not the waiting until burnout to finally book some time off. Not the letting months go by because I said I’d try that thing and then just didn’t because life got in the way.

In the past 6 months, I’ve fallen in love with the gym and started waking up wanting to move my body. I’ve dedicated hours, days, even weeks to going all in adding new depth to the hobbies I’ve loved my whole life, but never had time to fully take to the next level.

Like spending 200 hours becoming a certified yoga teacher in Bali! 🙏🏽

Or committing 10 days + countless late nights freediving and training to hold my breath 🤿

Or signing up for dance classes for the first time in years 💃

I’ve started called this my ‘chaos era,’ because it’s so opposite to what we’re told matters.

But how sad is it to think that we need to make such radical sacrifices in order to discover who else we are?

If you’ve ever felt pulled between career and personal fulfillment, if you’ve ever felt like you’re unsure about the way forward, you’re in the right place. Because I’m on a quest in my 30s to redefine work and life and play and all the messy AF in-betweens.

What’s one hobby or skill you’ve always wanted to commit more time to, if you could?
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