Why I Need an Adventure, Not a Vacation

A weird thing happens when you become a twenty-something. So many exciting events you've always imagined start to become real possibilities: graduating college, unknowingly bumping into your soulmate at Starbucks, interviewing for your dream career, or finally realizing what your dream career actually is. All of that settling down, light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel stuff is finally here! The moment that realization hits you is the beginning of the most restless, untethered feeling you've ever had.

What in the world qualified me to make any of the decisions I'm about to have to make? How am I supposed to know where I want to work? How could anyone my age know where they want to live? How could anyone in the world know the one place where they want to have a family?! That's making a decision for people who don't even exist yet! No, this is insane. I refuse to make all of these choices with the limited scope I've always had.

I became a different person when I started living and working in San Francisco. It's difficult to imagine sticking with the same options I had before now that I'm finally in my own skin. I might finally be the person I'm supposed to be, but this person feels at lot less at home here. Most people assume this restlessness can be solved by temporary escape. They'll prescribe a vacation and tell me to go lay on a beach and relax for a couple of days. The sentiment is nice, but the end game is wrong. I don't need to know where to be for the weekend, I need to know where to be for the rest of my life. My kids won't be raised at a resort in Cabo, and my career won't peak at a poolside bar. Home will be where my whole heart feels like it's on an adventure - invigorated, on fire, and at ease all at the same time. I'm not expecting to get it right on the first try, but I have a feeling New York City is a good place to start the hunt...

Follow my adventure with #NewYearNewYork! It'll be well-documented, I promise.

[To be clear, I do have awesome friends who are getting married and having kids right now. They are the bravest and most prepared people I know, and I firmly believe that they already know who they are. They didn't need any extra time or help and for that I will always be proud of them. <3]

Embarcadero, Ferry Building, & Pier 39

Ended up slacking on this yet again! Time to play catch up with some thank you's and a mini tour of my recent city slickin' activities.

First off, thank you guys for such a big response to my post on the 3-Day Detox! It's so cool to hear that it's working for so many different people. Thanks for working your magic, Dr. Oz!

The past couple weeks have been full of San Francisco adventures. I've been realizing how much I'm going to miss living here and that I haven't been taking full advantage of all the unique things to see and do. To fix that, I'll be trying to knock as many things off my San Francisco checklist as possible, from "touristy" trips to visiting local haunts.

Andrew isn't a huge fan of the hustle & bustle of the city, so I try to think of things that replicate what we'd do on weekends in our hometown when he visits. He also rarely came to the city as a kid, which makes me want to show him the more touristy/gimmicky stuff. That combo turned into an awesome day along the Embarcadero!

On Saturday morning we took the light rail over to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, which is easily one of the best farmer's markets you'll ever go to. We decided to start off with this because it's something he loves to do in our little hometown, too. I'm kicking myself for not taking more pictures there, but I was too busy falling in love with everything!

Being around all that amazing food had both of our mouths watering, and if there's one thing Andrew and I can agree on it's a good old-fashioned American meal. Gott's Roadside is a great burger joint in the Ferry Building with tons of outdoor seating - what's better than garlic fries and people-watching? Garlic fries and dog-watching of course!

Andrew ordered the cheeseburger with everything, I got the classic hamburger (I'm boring, sorry I'm not sorry), and for our healthy option we went with garlic fries - hey, they're green right? I'll take what I can get. Whoever you are, whatever diet you're on, get these garlic fires. Just do it and thank me later. As for the burgers, Gott's uses 100% farm-raised Niman Ranch beef, veggies grown on their own farm, and the most delicious toasted egg buns. The fresh ingredients make all the difference!

After stuffing our faces casually enjoying our awesome meal, we started walking down the Embarcadero to Pier 39. I hadn't spent much time down there in forever, so it was nice to soak it all in and make mental notes of other places to try (hello, Slanted Door and Plant Cafe).

The Pier was full of happy tourists and kids with ice cream cones! We took our sweet time walking around looking at the little shops and kiosks, then we watched the sea lions act out a melodramatic soap opera on the docks. Still can't figure out what they were all blubbering about (I really couldn't help myself with that one, sorry).

My favorite part was seeing my 21-year-old boyfriend get all excited about the magic show being performed on the Pier. Mission "Act Like a Kid Again": Accomplished!