French Marie Claire Magazine Feature

I was honored to receive an email from a photographer researching women who travel the "American open road." He found me online and read my story and thought French women would be interested in an American who quits her job to wander around the country.  That pretty much sums up my life for the past few years.  At first, I thought it was a joke.  I researched the photographer to see if he was the real deal and then wondered why he would be looking for me instead of a writer?  I pushed the doubts aside and kept an open mind.  He asked me if I knew of other women doing similar things and I immediately thought of my friend, Kristiana Spaulding!  She designs beautiful jewelry and knows a thing or two about Airstream trailers.  In fact, she towed her trailer up this steep hill in Big Sur for this photo!

I don't know what the article says since it's in French, but I am sure it has something to do with women taking it upon themselves to travel solo.  For that, I am happy to participate to hopefully inspire other women to do the same!  The photographer and writer kept referring to Kristiana and I as "Thelma and Louise" so we started fighting on who was Thelma and who was Louise.  I suppose you can call us that without the breaking the law and suicide part.  I know... spoiler alert!  Because I love camping so much, I started a facebook camping page a while ago just for women who enjoy camping.  You can participate in the conversation HERE.

Kristiana and I met in Big Sur to camp three days before the actual photo shoot to give us time to hang out and relax.  Well, little did we know that there wouldn't be a shower in sight.  One night we drove for miles to find one with no luck.  So what you see here is the real deal... three days of camping with no shower.  Not the best way to get ready for a photo shoot but that's how we camping girls do it! 

If you are in France or by a fancy news stand that carries the French version of Marie Claire, it's out now...the August edition.  The image here is a screen shot of the website. There's a preview online but will not show the entire article and I have yet to figure out how to translate it.  You can see it HERE

I am honored to be featured in this article and it makes it even sweeter that I get to share it with my good friend, Kristiana!  She makes beautiful jewelry that you can buy on her website www.SilverTrailer.com

More photos I took during our Big Sur adventure can be found on my Big Sur blog post.

I hope you take the time to get out and explore, ladies!

It Doesn't Last Forever

Time.  Where does it go?  Sometimes I reflect back to when I quit my job to tour around the country to "find myself."  That was four years ago!  Sometimes it feels like just yesterday I headed out with "Trailie" and other days it feels like that trip was a long time ago.  Regardless, it doesn't last forever.

I adopted Max almost three years ago.  I found him at a farmer's market and adopted him through a rescue organization.  He's my best friend for life and I can't imagine being on the road without him.  Today, Women's Adventure Magazine reposted an article I wrote on the past three years and it got me thinking about the beginning and how I felt at the time.  The first year really was a blur and the past two years in a tent is what I remember most.  I adopted Max and about a month later, we hit the road together.  I was looking back at the photos from my point and shoot camera from that year and found a photo of Max on the first day out.  I paired it with a photo I took of him last year and this is what living on the road looks like for a dog.

Each time I look at it, I crack up.  Max had no idea what was in store for him.  He's circled the country for two years and now he's about to embark on another year of road travel.  However, I think he will enjoy the van much more.  

We are leaving for a trial run of campy in the next day so we'll see how that goes.  I will be sure to take lots of photos and share them with you here. I look forward to it!  If you would like to read the story in Women's Adventure Magazine, click HERE

Three Years Of Living Life Without Alcohol

Today marks three years of living life without alcohol.  To some, that doesn't seem like a big deal but for me three years ago, it was something I didn't think I could do.

In some ways, three years went by pretty quickly but there were days when it felt that time slowed down so much that I could hear the seconds tick in my head.  I am grateful for the life I have today and wouldn't trade it for anything.  I am very fortunate to be healthy and have friends and family that love and support me.  I wrote about why I quit in the first place on this blog which seems like such a long time ago.  Looking back, I do wish that I journaled more about how I was feeling and what thoughts popped in my head.  Mostly for me, drinking was a way to escape a problem or it was used as a reward that quickly turned into a habit.  What do you do when you get together with friends?  Drink.  How about when someone gets married, you land a promotion, or you get a divorce?  Most likely, there is drinking involved.  I would say that in my social circle, alcohol was included in every gathering.  I didn't have any friends who didn't drink.  I'm sure if I did, I would question why they weren't drinking.

I am a few years out of my "firsts" and I have to say that I've changed a lot since then.  It's not just about having soda or water instead of a cocktail.  It's an entirely different thought process you have and one that doesn't change quickly.  I used to plan my life around alcohol.  Meaning, I would be sure that I wasn't driving or that I was staying the night if I planned to have cocktails.  It might seem hard to believe but I am a shy person.  A lot of the drinking was to have a couple of glasses of wine to take the social anxiety edge off so I wouldn't be so nervous and afraid to make chit chat because of my insecurities.  My brain thought that I would be boring or not fun to be around if I wasn't laughing and cracking jokes all of the time and being the one who entertained.

To me, life is so much more fulfilling when you're not spending most of your time drinking, thinking of when you are going to drink or numbing out in some fashion.  When I first quit drinking, I had to figure out what to do with all of the time I spent during happy hour or the hours the next morning trying to forget the pain, or trying to remember conversations.  It was during this time when I picked up a camera and I haven't looked back since.  Now it's a rare occasion when a day passes by when I don't take a photograph.  I am still a bit hard on myself and my personality is still the same, it's just that my head is clear now. I am not perfect, it's just that I am now living life the best I know how while working on being a better person in the process.

I write about my experiences with photography, travel and even alcohol because it's just my story.  Everyone has their own path and I wanted to be honest about mine so people understand that things can be possible if you want to make a change in your life, no matter what it is.  Sometimes with great challenges come great rewards.  I dont want to sound corny, but I know that to be true for me.

If you are searching, I hope you make a change or a decision that will change your life for the better.  It might not feel like it right away, or even for months but small steps do count.  If you stick with it (whatever it is) long enough the rewards will come.  For me, that decision I made for myself was 1,096 days ago and each day I am thankful that I made it.

Earlier blogs about what it was like to quit:
The first 150 days
One year of living life without alcohol

Getting Ready To Live On The Road Again, For the 4th Year...

It's the time of year where I start thinking about goals and what I want to do when I grow up.  I just had a birthday and now I'm diving into my (cough) um, later years and I think  time, all of a sudden started going by faster.  Like, really fast.

This past year I decided to stay in one place and go to school.  My year is up soon so now it's time to get out and see the country again.  I toured around the first year in a teardrop trailer, the next two years in a tent and now I am going to roam around in a van.  I am pretty excited about it.  It's really the little things like waking up and making coffee without anyone seeing me. What a luxury! Usually it's me slowly getting off of the ground in the tent to an upright position and walking in slow motion to a bench to put water in a pot to boil for coffee.  I can barely see out of my eyes and during this time you will usually see an early morning camper already cooking breakfast after their morning run waving to me across the way yelling, "good morning."  Thank god I will escape that torture in the future by not being seen.  Ok, I am really not that groggy in the morning but sometimes this is how I feel in the morning when I try to sleep cozy in a tent in 28 degree weather.

The other luxury is saving money by sneak parking to sleep somewhere and not having to pay the hefty fees some campsites are charging these days. Needless to say, I am looking forward to the adventure.

As with years past, I plan to document my travels here and write about the people and places I come across, including any tips that I might have to share.  I hope to capture even more people in photographs than I have in the past.  I don't know how long I will be living in the van, but it will be a while since I can go pretty much anywhere with it in about any weather.

If you are new to the blog, below are some links to topics that might be of interest to you about my travels.  I can't wait to get going and I will be sure to let you know when I do!  As always, any suggestions of places or people to meet are appreciated.

I wasn't sure what to name the van.  My teardrop was named "trailie" and for some reason, "Campy" came to mind so it's going to be me, max and Campy!

xo Alison and Max

Click on topic to learn more about:

My story on quitting my job to live on the road that was published on Salon.com
How you can do it too!
What I did in 2009
What I did in 2010
What I did in 2011
Tips on Traveling with your Dog