It’s taken me several months to come back to this blog. In some ways it just symbolizes this part of my life that is over now. I used to think that a life of travel was all I needed to be happy. I wanted to abandon the 9-5 and be an adventurer for life.

I loved the solo travel life for quite a while until I had a traumatic experience on a solo trip. Then I craved having someone to share my travels with. When I finally met him, I was torn between settling into a comfortable life together and that nagging feeling that the world was calling my name.

So, we took off almost a year ago on a 7 month adventure from Patagonia to Guatemala. Don’t get me wrong it was amazing sharing that experience of seeing the world together, but after the tenth hostel dorm, I started to feel over it. I felt disconnected from the backpacker lifestyle.

Somewhere along the way I had grown out of my desire to be constantly on the move. I also despised the heavy level of partying among backpackers. I was there to travel and explore and meet locals not get trashed with 18-25 years old and sleep all day. I once found this fun carefree style of traveling exciting and now I just found it indulgent and annoying.

I’m not trying to knock that young backpacker world, but at the age of 30, it just wasn’t fun for me anymore. I wanted something more from life. It was from this acknowledgment that I slowly lost my desire to be a full time traveler. I wanted a house, a baby, and a 9-5 job. My 22 year old self would slap me for uttering those words, but it was true. This big adventure made me crave stability more than ever.

I’ve been afraid to admit this to the travel world, but I am not interested in your schemes to quit society and live a life of full time travel. That constant movement takes the thrill out of it and when it’s all you know some of that thrill you got at the beginning fades. I am not saying I don’t want to travel anymore, I’m just saying that it loses its excitement after awhile if you do it for extended periods of time.

I started to feel like “oh yay another new city, another gorgeous beach, look another monkey,” and it wasn’t new and exciting anymore. I’m back in the US and I landed my dream job with an amazing nonprofit as a Corporate Engagement Officer, so I get paid to go to networking events and out for coffee and lunch with donors. I finally have a job I don’t want to quit.

My husband and I are finally living alone and turned our condo into a home we want to stay in. We are planning to try for children soon and to me that’s become the most exciting adventure. My friend said to me recently that her and her husband have always vowed to build a life they won’t want to escape from and I wholeheartedly agree. Of course we will take trips, but we will appreciate them more, because we will earn them. We will also live an exciting life at home and build a life we don’t want to give up.

My next adventure this fall will be cooking. I’ve never been a great cook. I know how to make simple dishes, but I want to learn a new recipe every week and add it to my repertoire. I want to be able to feed my family well. My husband supports this desire and is helping me improve my cooking skills, because I’m pretty helpless in the kitchen.

I am using Pinterest to find new fall recipes and will try a new one every Sunday night. I started last night with a Harvest Skillet of Chicken, Apple, Sweet Potato, and Brussel Sprouts with Bacon on top. Go to Harvest Chicken Recipe for the recipe.

My husband had to help me chop the vegetables since there was a lot of prep involved. We also argued over whether I should follow the recipe to the T or not. I’m all about following rules for some reason so I felt strongly about sticking to the recipe even though he felt he knew better.

I also normally make a huge mess when cooking and this was no exception, but the dish turned out delicious. It’s savory and sweet due to the cinnamon and thyme used for seasoning. Hopefully I will learn at least ten new recipes per season!

Here’s some photos of the meal: