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Dadada Denver

What does make the Mile High City so unique, well i learned that there’s no air conditioning in some places because it never really gets too hot, there’s a lot more of a selection of guys #Menver and there’s these really awesome pianos on the 16th street mall open to the public to sit and and let your inner Mozart out!

Whenever i take a walk, especially in a new city i consciously don’t put headphones in my ears and i don’t like to talk on the phone because i want to hear and feel where I’m am so that’s why i got such a kick out of all the random pianos out on the street, these everyday people keep Denver sounding so lovely and its much appreciated.

Dun Dun DUN DUNNNN……

Street Art is just something that Ive accepted as a gift from the universe, it doesn’t matter where i am i will find it or it will find me but yarn bombs are kind of new to me. Like graffiti you wonder how? when? also how long it took? You don’t actually sit and knit it right there do you? ….right? Either way its adorbs!

I also ate at a pizza place that had some awesome graffiti as well. The Pie Hole is one of those places you go after the bar closes to get a slice or 2 and just hang out, its on South Broadway which is kind of like the east side of Austin.

I don’t care for sports at all but there’s something about a stadium that fascinates me. I was roaming by Coors Field taking pictures and saw that they had a home game that following evening! #takemeouttotheballgame

wearing a baseball shirt! it was fate!

Look how happy she is!

my husband

so this is actually a thing?

Later that night me and Amy got back to our hostel and hung out with a guy that was staying there named Chris, we hung out in the room for a little bit when we saw that the police were in the hallway, apparently this guy that was also staying there called them because his roommate was cleaning a gun and acting questionable. It blew over so Amy went to bed and me and Chris went out, we were on the hunt for a bar but ended up just walking around all night talking about traveling and drinking slurpees. We found our way back and as i was laying down i couldn’t stop thinking about how the past 2 days were so much fun, i also couldn’t stop coughing. I was drowning myself in water and nothing was working, i thought i was having an allergic reaction to the fabric on the sheets but whatever it was i just wanted it to let up so i could sleep, i could also hear someone else in the hallway coughing. The next morning me and Amy got up early to check out so we could head to Boulder when we saw Chris in the lobby and he told us that the crazy gun cleaning guy shot pepper spray in his roommates eyes in the middle of the night and everyone had to evacuate because the police came again! (Everyone except me and Amy who never heard the banging that allegedly took place on our door.) So yeah that happened, the whole night I’m thinking I’m allergic to some dust or something and its pepper spray from 4 doors down, if it affected me that much i can’t imagine someone spraying it right in my face. Must be a doozy, off to get affected by something else in the Centennial State. Deuces Denver, hey Boulder!

Dorothy Does Austin

Many moons ago in a land far far away i resided in not only the same state as my mother but the same city, and under the same roof for a time. Now that seems like light years ago but leave it to mommie dearest to never let you get too far away. My mom Dorothy came to visit Austin last month, this wasn’t her first visit but every time she comes she acts like it is, she’s so excited and happy to be somewhere new that it reassures my soul that not everyone is lame.

The first place we went to visit was one of my favorite places in Austin, the Hope Outdoor Gallery, or as its sometimes known as Castle Hill or Baylor Street Art Wall. I try to come here at least once a month if not more, i obviously love graffiti so this is like a little piece of heaven for me.

My mom throwing up a hand, so proud of her

To my surprise she actually seemed to like it!

After that we were starving so we went to the Lockhart,TX otherwise known as “The BBQ Capital of Texas”. Lockhart is such an adorable small town about 30 mins from Austin.

There’s 4 famous BBQ joints in Lockhart to choose from, my coworkers suggested Blacks.

The food was amazing, I always get more than i can eat so i can look forward to it later. My friend Shannon and her mom Estrella even came to join us! #momdate

One of my moms favorite places to go when she visits is by far Barton Springs, not only is it beautiful its really relaxing and its so freaking hot here that you have no choice but to love the water.

On our last evening we took a walk along Lady Bird Lake which is my #1 place to go in Austin. Its my favorite place because when i first moved here and didn’t have a lot going on i would come here all the time and sit and write A LOT. I never wrote outside of my bedroom before i moved here and i also never felt as lonely so Lady Bird Lake was a place for me to go and clear my head, it was literally and figuratively there for me. *cue Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge”*

We ended the night and her visit at The White Horse on the east side in my neck of the woods where my friend Claudia taught her how to two-step, it was adorbs, i still cant do it!

This visit was especially unique because i feel like for the first time i showed her my Austin, the first 2 visits we did the Soco things and 6th street, we saw a movie at Alamo, ate from food trucks, now i like doing those things but i don’t find myself doing those things all the time. I wanted to show her my real life here.

Although i was frustrated because that’s what she does to me i appreciate her coming here so much. I know that parents encouraging and loving their kids unconditionally seems so normal but its not, i am beyond words fortunate to have a mom that loves me and doesn’t push me to do or be any other way than myself, she is always supportive and so excited for any crazy thing I’m doing or any new place I’m going. We’ve def had our ups and downs, but i know that she really loves me because she is there for me, even though she isn’t here.

Creatively Constipated

I’ve been staring at this blinking line on my computer screen for almost 45 minutes, i keep backspacing every sentence i type and shaking my head about the denial that i may really be experiencing that dreadful grotesque illness called writers block. I’ve wondered before how with so much natural beauty and character everywhere how you couldn’t express yourself . I’ve always have a good immune system but i cant shake this. From my trip to Chicago to my moms visit to Austin to just me daydreaming all day there is no shortage of bizarre serendipitous experiences happening all the time, i should be overflowing and i am but they’re mostly just thoughts.There is so much in my head and in my heart.

Heart on the Highway

Its been a few days, i drove a few hundred miles, and Ive somewhat been able to clean the dirt off my feet. The last few nights of my trip i didn’t post because well i had to sleep in my car one night and the other 2 nights i was too exhausted to even ask for the wifi password. The night that i had to sleep in my car i was completely terrified. I thought that if i was going to have to sleep in my car I’d pull into a gas station parking lot or something and curl up in a ball and wait for daylight but on these desert mountain roads you’re lucky to see any sign of civilization. When i realized there wasn’t anything around me i simply pulled over and listened to my heart beat out of my chest (i also peed in my tupperware because i was too afraid to get out of the car). All i wanted was daylight but it was so far from it, the way it looked and felt you would’ve thought it was 3:00 am but it was only 10:30pm! I was in and out of sleep throughout the night because my mind wouldn’t relax also the zoom of Mack trucks slightly pushing my car was king of disturbing. A knock on my window at 7:27 am by a police officer woke me up, he had seen my car the night before and was wondering if i was okay, he was nice and looked more like a park ranger because he had a beige uniform on and one of those big safari hats. Even though my slumber was interrupted seeing daylight totally raised my morale and i was off to Four Corners National Monument!

Farting in 4 states at once!! #bucketlist jk jk

The night that i had to sleep in my car was the first time i ever tried to use Siri, i asked her to find me a hotel and she replied “Sorry i cannot help you” because my phone had absolutely no service so the next day when trying to make it from Four Corners to my next destination i had to rely on a good ol’ fashion map! Yes ladies and gentleman, the map i brought along with me just to give me a visual was my saving grace and made me even more proud of myself! Once again proving that technology can literally only take us so far.

Monument Valley

Of course the day after sleeping in my car 6 French photographers decide to ask if i could model for them right here in this spot, it was like paparazzi! I told them i wanted to take them with me everywhere i go…… they couldn’t understand me!

I did a tour that takes you down through the trails and to some amazingly beautiful natural arches!

petroglyphs

I have this tapestry on my wall of Monument Valley so to see it in person is beyond breathtaking, there are no words….but a girl can try.

My last stop was in my now home state of Texas, although it was still very far from where i live (because this state is freaking HUGE) i still had to make the trip. 2 years ago when i was working as a flight attendant i would watch random shows because i was always in different places and the channels were different and i came across a show called Fast and Loud about an auto body shop in Dallas that restores old cars. Hot rods are cool and all but the owner of the shop is pretty hot so i watched a whole marathon. In one episode the hot owner went to a place in Amarillo, TX called Cadillac Ranch where there’s 11 different Cadillacs sticking out of the ground covered in graffiti, i thought that was so cool and never forgot about it and told myself that if i ever went on a road trip id have to visit! And so…..

I did!

well looky here #roamifshewantsto splats again

It feels incredibly satisfying to know that i did this, even though i knew i could it just reassures me that i can do anything. Initially i didn’t want to take this journey alone, i asked someone to go because “who goes on a road trip by themselves?” i wondered, but when i realized i was going to it was in the afternoon a few weeks before the trip, i had my face mask on and was about to rinse it off and as i leaned over the sink i thought to myself “am i really going to cry about this?”. I was upset and nervous and terrified but it was what my heart was telling me to do. If someone asked me what it was that i thought about everyday it was getting in my car and driving to the desert, so why not do what i want? I reminded myself that i named this blog “Roam if she wants to” not them or her or him, its me, I’m the only one who is responsible for doing what i want to do and making myself happy. If i had taken this trip with anyone else its almost a guarantee that i wouldn’t of been able to see all the places i wanted to and have such a unique experience. As much as i wanted to share this experience doing my own this is something i do well. So cheers to solidarity and being alone with yourself and being independent, there’s no telling what you might find and see. I, personally cant believe i only saw 4 dead armadillos on the side of the road. #heartonthehighway

She’s so high

Serene. Peaceful. Relaxed. That is exactly how i feel right now, i haven’t truly relaxed in a long time, life on the road is fun but its so hard on your body. The heel on my right foot, my lower back and also my neck were hurting so badly that i had no choice but to book a spa day at the Santa Fe Nirvana Spa, i mean what else is a girl to do?!

This morning i packed my things and headed out of Albuquerque to the Sandia Peak Tramway. Although i am a little afraid of heights i still wanted to check out the amazing view from the top, its like a cable car that goes up the side of the Cibola National Forest.

There’s plenty of observation decks at the top and many trails for all those hot bearded wilderness guys that like to hike and stuff.

i love this, let everything be

Walking along the side of a mountain ahhh!!

‘She who sees from up high smiles and surely sings’

looks like 2 elephants

After getting high on the tram i made my way to Santa Fe, a much anticipated destination on my trip. As soon as i arrived at the bed and breakfast i unloaded my bags and headed over to the spa across the street.

The Hacienda Nicholas

my massage table

rose petal bath

Why don’t i do this more often?!

The spa was obviously luxuriating and amazing but i absolutely loved the woman who treated me! She was so genuine and soothing and we had such a good conversation about how important it is to be free and happy, talking with her was definitely a highlight of the trip, she even packaged the rose petals for me to take home!

After being so zen and one with the universe i headed out to roam around cause i want to!

A friend told me not long ago that she was in Santa Fe and it reminded her of me and that i should retire there, as i was walking through this beautiful town i couldn’t help but to think how right she was. Santa Fe is so peaceful and lovely, quaint and quiet. It ‘s a timeless haven for people that need to be surrounded by beauty and inspired even if its just by watching the clouds move. I dont want to leave but alas….#heartonthehighway