When Michael & I started daydreaming 🤩 about our Sabbatical, we only spoke of living abroad.
What had always attracted us to traveling abroad, was the ability to engulf ourselves in other cultures, to meet people that think differently than us; to gain fresh perspectives. 🧐
Staying in the United States, felt like a compromise to me.
Even though I knew it would still be an adventure, it just wasn’t as grandiose as the idea of living in South East Asia. But, I was determined to go with the flow. 🤗
We must emphasize, once again, that the ♥️ support of our family and friends has been paramount throughout this journey.
Being able to crash with them — for much longer than your typical family visit — gave us the time we needed to plan, work, regroup and finally… to breathe. 😌
So, let’s rewind a bit… Texas was the next stop in the Sabbatical and it gave us a taste of the unexpected.
Michael’s dad and belle-mère live in West Texas — I guess they have the best BBQ there 🤠
They warmly welcomed us and our pups, as well as my vegetarian cooking (👉🏽disclaimer- I’m not fully vegetarian, but do choose to cook this way for the most part).
Our nights were filled with good food, great wine 🍷 and mildly heated, yet constructive discussions on the state of the union. 😉 Our weekends were mostly spent exploring and discovering the great state of Texas.
Our favorite destination had to be Austin, an artsy city nestled along the Colorado River that is surrounded by lush parks and beautiful lakes.
Proud of the slogan “Keep Austin Weird,” which you’ll see sprinkled all around the city, street art is rampant and it highlights the diversity of the city’s residents. 👍🏽
In my opinion, Hope Outdoor Gallery is a must see; the juxtaposition of the graffiti park on Castle Hill gives a very unique vibe.
On the other hand, lookout point above PennyBacker bridge, could be the antithesis to the man-made art in this city. Absolutely breathtaking and totally worth the trek from the highway for a memorable sunset. 😎
Part of the reason we decided to visit Texas next, was because our research deemed it one of the best places to buy and start your RV journey. 🤨
Our search for the perfect RV was extensive, I mean, we were planning to live in this thing full time… for an entire year, so… yeah.
The search landed us in beautiful San Antonio, where we met the most wonderful family. 👨👩👧👦 These guys had been seasonal RV’ers who went on fantastic family adventures every summer, but then their kids grew up and moved away to do amazing things of their own. ☺️
So here we are now, planning our West Coast adventure, hoping to get our startup off the ground, and trying to fit all my clothes into a closet a fraction of the size of any closet I’ve ever owned! 🤣
I guess, I now know, if you set your mind to it, you can do anything! 🤯
The Sabbatical 