As we are making our way around SF and the North Bay we have found endless treasures!

Our treasures have been in the form of really wonderful people and magical sites. Brook and Leo do our best to find new trails every week – we have a few repeats that we love. Cody and I have found some really great fast friends. And these aren’t the types you have for the moment – these are the friends who you know will stay in your life.

It’s been a topic if conversation on the boat… There is something Magical about this place. Serious. North of the Gate has something in the air, something in the water, something in the people and something in us. Things grow here, things are found here!

… Yeah yeah! It’s a rip off from the RedBull tagline, but it’s true. Moving does give you wings.

We were just talking at breakfast that it is our belief that it takes 6months to get used to a new place. You know… have your favorite spots; the places you take out of town’ers, the “it’ll do” spots, the best Thai, or Mexican or cocktails or pizza, etc. All of it!

We have been in Sausalito for 2 months now, and have a pretty good jump on the place. It also helps that you can walk all of it in 7min tops. We will continue to explore all of Marin County, of which there seems to be all sorts if hidden gems. At the same time we continue to explore San Francisco and the Bay Area as a whole.

But. Back to the wings. It’s the setting up in a new spot that gives you a bit more color to your wings. A bit more soar to your step. When you move to a new place, (and we are not talking about just moving to the next city block), you have more story to your journey. It’s when your move produces a change in you. For some, it’s moving out on their own. For some, it’s across the country. For some, it’s moving for the first time. No matter what the circumstance, it takes 6months and personal growth.

Just so you are all in on the secret. We are already planning our next move Don’t worry this address will be good for at least 6months from our arrival.

Here’s to moving!
b.

Last week we celebrated 1 year of being “Californians”. As we ate our sushi and drank Sapporo from Cody’s new favorite restaurant, we laughed about the past year.

In one year, we left the “Lake House” and all that snow and traded it first for the ‘Oh So Nice Pool Place’ which of course was hosted by two of the most generous people on earth and their trusty friend, Bosco. We both got jobs. Bought another car. Started long commutes. Moved to “The Beach House”. Leo got himself kicked out of 3 or 4 doggie daycares. Made new friends. Hung out with the friends who made the gold rush before us. Ate great food. Ate bad food. Beached all our weekends. Hiked. Learned to surf. Spent holidays in new ways. Found our way around Long Beach and all over the HB dog park. Spent time with family in San Diego and Eureka. Hosted wonderful friends who came to visit. Belle came for the summer. Rang in the new year on the west coast. Cookie Bake. D&A House Parties. Tried the two best dirty chai lattes. Camped. Went home for dear friends weddings. Did the SoCal trifecta (beach, snow and desert) all in one day. Cody shot a few videos – edits too I assume. Brook quit her job. LBC (Leo, Brook, Cody) moved to San Francisco. Lived in the forest for a week. Lived with a new friend for a week. Began new commutes. Became live aboards on a 27ft sailboat. Hosted a friend here in Sausalito. Found the best cup of coffee North of the Golden Gate. Made new friends. Tested out “being with a member at vineyards”.

… The list goes on. It’s been a wild ride for us. It hasn’t been without its ups and downs, fights and make ups, chaos and connection. But hey! We like our life and have enjoyed this wild ride.

Here’s to hoping our next California year has just as much awesome, half the struggle and all the joy!

Until next time.
b.

This is a bit overdue. however it should answer any boat living questions you have and provide you a glimpse into our life these days.

Cody is still working in the FiDi which is an easy bus route or quick ferry ride from our boat. Makes it easy to get into or out of the city from our sleepy town of Sausalito , CA. It’s quite, but it’s home.

Our home is a 27ft Catalina sailboat. For those if you who know sailboats… This isn’t very big. It is by no means ‘small’ but every foot counts when your livable space is about 20sq feet.

This guy, is home. We eat, sleep and hang here. Because the livable space is limited we spend very little time “hanging out” here. A glimpse inside:

The galley. Where we cook, eat and magically transform the dining table into a very cozy bed for 2. (Sometimes 2+ pup).

We have the v-burth, which as you can see has been taken over by Leo… This is also the “guest room”. I’m told by our first boat guest; the wonderful Lindsey, that it does just fine.

From there we have a head (bathroom), which is used only in dire need. The marina has a bathroom and showers, no need to fill our tank. We also have quarter burths (one on each side) used for storage right now, but will be back up guest quarters should we find ourselves with a full house!

So. There you have it. That’s our living quarters. Yes, we cook on the boat. We have a one burner hot plate, so lots of ‘one pot’ meals (send suggestions!!!). What do we do on the boat? Lots of reading and currently we have a nightly ritual of watching episodes of The Wire. But, on a nice day if you find us at home… Which is rare, we are usually hiking, exploring or out for coffee… This about sums it up.

Come visit us on the water!

It’s strange Southern California has very few smokers, or at least as far as I could tell. There was ONE neighborhood that smoked… WeHo. But they also don’t eat there (hipster f**ks).

Now. To be clear I am talking about cigarettes. All over California they smoke the green stuff and regardless of your personal beliefs this is not my complaint. I’d like to point out the ratio of cigarette smokers in SoCal (almost none) to smokers in NorCal, which is a lot! I’m not saying everyone smokes, but you walk down the street and you’ll get a nicotine whiff.

This isn’t a public service announcement, just an observation.

So. We moved. You didn’t know that? Well, then you were living under a rock or we don’t talk enough.

In any event, it’s true. We moved to San Fran a week ago. We officially became homeless on Jan 15th at which point our various friends and family took us under their wing until we finally left SoCal on the the 21st of January. Our last goodbye, was actually a Hello to my wonderful cousin’s daughter, Sophia Luna (Raquel). That was a joy!

Of course in true lbc (Leo, Brook, Cody) fashion we went the wrong way, to go the right way. Remember when we left MN for Cali? Yeah, we drove east to Madison, WI first, before heading westward. This time it was south to San Diego to give the new babe a high five before pointing the cars north to SF.

The drive to San Fran was a trip. Only 7 hours, but man did it feel long. Oh wait. That’s because we stopped in Venice for the night. My spare tire was being replaced, thanks to Cody for his practicality! Of course the place was closed so we stayed the night. I had wanted so badly to live in Venice when we moved to Cali, and as luck would have it… I got my wish! One night in Venice. It was great! (If I told you how we lived, you’d never believe me).

The next day we were off to the races. We had planned on making it to Santa Cruz Sunday night, but the tire store not being open forces us to modify our plan.

So, we drove and drove. First pit stop… Ojai. Have you heard of it? I hadn’t. It’s a crazy hippie town at the base of the mountain. Lots of creative people and lots of “Ojai trips” – this had to be explained to me. Nonetheless we met a CRAZY guy who runs the only co-work environment and full edit studio there. His name, Johan. His company, intergalactic agency. He is awesome!

We bid him adue and went on our merry way to get some BBQ at some crazy lodge in the woods. Sounds like another Cody plan!?

Stop #2. San Lois Obispo. HOLY MOLY this places rocks!!! The town is surrounded by rolling green hills. And the downtown has every shop you could ever want. Leo was so good in town and at the pet store I thought for a second we had stepped into a parallel universe… Or there was some Ojai in his system??? Either way, we enjoyed the town and our quick coffee break.

Onward we drove.

Next up was San Fran. Yep folks! Not out typical adventure trip. Only a few quick stops on this one. We headed to a hotel near the airport for the night. Oh yes, you all know where we stayed. At the ‘oh so dog friendly’ La Quinta. It’s not the ritz, but they all take dogs, at no extra charge and with no special reservations.

Cody began work the next day! And so did Brook… sort of. It’s no secret that in any new city, day 1 is always a bit of a fumble. I think we spent a total of $40 on parking that day. Never, ever, for any reason park in the Financial District! Lesson learned. Cody has been working in the busy bustling city, while Brook has been driving, walking and cafe’ing around town with her trusty date Leo.

After the snafu with parking day 1 we had to make our way into the woods to set up camp. Oh yeah. You heard me. We camped for the first week in SF. Oh man did Cody love it!

We stayed out at China Camp State Park in San Rafael, CA. It was beautiful. And I was homeless, living in the woods. I’m sure it was everything my parents would have hoped my life would be. Cody tells me, he would have been happy to stay there forever. I am happy to be out! I love to camp, but I don’t love to live in a tent.

We had our first visitor. Caleb and his sidekick, Max came to spend a few days with us last week. Of course the good hosts we are, we set out an extra sleeping bag in the tent for him.

Our current home is with a friend until our new place is ready in a few days…

Are you ready for this…? We will be living aboard a sailboat in 3 short days. I’ll leave that post in Cody’s capable hands. He is over the moon with joy!

Here’s to the adventure, kids!

What do we do for our first Christmas in California? Do the one thing, you can only do in SoCal… Put our toes in the ocean, throw a snow ball and kick desert dirt – all in one day.

Christmas Eve. Cody cooked a feast. (I’ll say no more). It was OUTstanding!

We then watched Christmas movies and laughed the night away. Christmas morning was full of cheer; as we opened gifts, ate more great food, chatted with family and prepared for the SoCal Christmas Road Trip 2012!

It began at the beach… Toes in the sand. Leo with his wubby.

We then headed west to the mountains. The San Bernardino Mountains are home to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake, to name the popular. As we climbed the “hill” – sea level to 7,000ft, the air became crisp and fresh. We threw snowballs and I was overjoyed with the sight of snow. SNOW! I had snow on Christmas… best gift ever!

We rounded out our day, full circle further southwest into the desert… Nearly made it all the way to Palm Springs. Ate Pho for Christmas Day dinner. We kicked the desert dirt and headed on our way.

All in all. We enjoyed our holiday. Missed family a bit, but enjoyed the adventure.

Merry Christmas to All! And to all a Good Night.

While I Love that Cody loves his job and many people do have a lifestyle similar to that… I want to point out that not ALL people bring their awesome puppies to work in their super cool loft like open air spaces. It’s great that people do have this, and it’s great that He has that. Some people live in what i like to call – “personal hells”. Where the corporate BS sometimes suffocates you.

Beyond the work week, we make it a point to really live for the weekends. I don’t love the politics of my job, but I do love the rewards. I also leave everything at the door. Don’t worry and don’t think about it after 5pm on Friday. Helps to enjoy the weekends more.

This is what ALL Californians have in common. No matter if you love your job, hate your job, just have a job or need a job… All Californians really do know how to take advantage of their time off. They DO stuff, GO places, SEE things. It’s rare that they stay indoors. This part of being a Californian, I love!

With our new adventure on the rise we are making MORE of an effort to explore and do new things. Today is a Malibu adventure. It’s a fun one too, because for most of the day we are going to explore in our own – coming back together later on.

Updates soon.

It’s been a little over 9 months since we landed in California.

I finally became “official” the other day when I received my CADL in the mail. It’s funny to me, it’s my 3rd state to have a DL in, and for some reason, that seems low to me.

And everything they say about this place is true. All the bad, and all the good. The weather is usually amazing. (Although today, it’s raining…again…and it’s somewhat infuriating, as it is not as much fun to surf in the rain.) And then there’s the people. “Californians.” Yes. There are plenty of douchebags and plastics out here, but have you ever been on the roof at Seven? Or been in any “Crave?” (That’s for my Minneapeeps.) So, there are dummies everywhere. But there are also tons and tons of great people I’ve met so far, and, yes, besides the traffic…I really love it out here. (Although to be fair, I like to point out…it used to take me an hour to get home from work by the Hennipen/Larpenter switch to Uptown, 10 miles…and now it takes me about that to go 30, so who’s got worse traffic?) (And drivers.)

There’s plenty I miss about Minneapolis, #1 thing being the food, they just don’t do it as well out here. Plenty of good spots, but pound for pound, Minneapolis still kicks the shit out of anywhere I’ve been here. Also, hey, California, Sea Salt…a tiny stand in a park in South Minneapolis…still has the best fish tacos in the world. I miss the city, there’s lots of great stuff here, pockets of awesome…all 30 miles from each other. It’s hard to go out, unless you only go out right where you live.

But, all that said, while I loved Minneapolis, I was never “from” there. I’m not “from” South Dakota either. Those are places I’ve lived. I’m from Montana. And since “no one is from here” in CA (Not remotely true.) everyone “becomes” Californian, right? So, just for you, I wanted to show you the typical day in the life of my California. Some of it’s silly cliché  turned day to daily expectation. Some of it’s stuff that you’d expect. And maybe some if it is not.

So, for the purpose of comedy and ease, I’ll say “Californians” for this, because of course we don’t all do this stuff. But lots do.

First, Californians like to eat breakfast. There’s a donut stand every 2 blocks. If you’re making your own breakfast, it should have kale or spinach in it. You cook it with California Olive Oil, because of course there’s no better oil, from anywhere, because everything from California is better, because, duh, California.

Also, you put avocado on everything, and you also switch hot sauces. No Franks (hey Chi) or Tabasco. Tapatio or Cholula. I keep a little midwest flavor on my eggs with some smoked gouda, because frankly, I can’t eat goat cheese on everything, which most Californians CAN.

Then, it’s time to go surfing. Californian’s love to tell you that “everyone in California doesn’t surf.” That is, of course, true. But surfing is amazing, and probably one of the Top 2 reasons I moved out here, so I surf. You go when it’s shitty outside you like it so much. Or at least I do, and I feel like that’s Californian. NOT Californian is that I am still surfing a learner board, but I’ll change that soon enough.

You definitely go surfing when there’s 10ft waves at the Manhattan Beach Pier. Even though you’re still a rank amateur and only get one wave in before you come to your senses.

After surfing you get coffee. I know, everyone get’s coffee everywhere. But if you’re California, you get it at The Coffee Bean, Peets, or some little local shop. Or maybe Intelligentsia if you’re in Venice. Starbucks is for tourists.

Also you take your dog. Californian’s take their dog everywhere. Mine is the devil, but I still take him with me, because I can have him in the office and not have to worry about getting home to him when you’re living Cali style all day.

Then you get ready for work. Usually under a towel by your car, if you’ve been surfing. Then…here’s the thing that was strangest for me to get used to. You put on your funny shoes. Californians don’t wear sandals like you’d think. They wear funny shoes made of canvas or hemp or some such shit. Most Californians wear slippers called “Tøms,” or “Tóms”  or something like that. These are my funny shoes. You do not wear socks.

Then you go to work in your workplace that is open air, skylights, and has fruit in the kitchen all the time. You walk to food trucks for lunch and eat tacos made with Korean Galbi. You work on a Mac. You hang cool stuff on your movable gatorboard wall. (You might think I’m joking here, but honestly, this is SO many places.)

You may also do some work. California was built for creative companies, and work environments here are extremely laid back and results focused, which is, of course, perfect for me.

Then, at the end of the day, you go out with your coworkers to a cool dive bar for craft beer and food trucks. You do this because…holy shit, you like your co-workers a bunch, because one thing about California is there’s a lot of emphasis put on being happy. So you’re often working with happy people that like their job.

Then, you drive home. Windows open because it’s 65 at 10pm. Which is Reason #1 for moving here.

I want to live all over the world. Always have. And living in California has always been on the list. Now that I’m doing/have been doing just that…I see how people come and don’t leave. The sun and the surf called me, and they’re going to do a fine job of keeping me.

So. You know. Come visit.

Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday. It is true. I was a slight bit tearful on my first, favorite holiday away from home. I had received some prepared insight from a woman, I more or less recently met. A transplant from New England, she said it’s taken her 15 years to get used to Thanksgiving Cali style.

In Minnesota the holiday is marked by the passing of one season and the beginning of the next. White tipped grass is normal. Crisp air and hot cider are key to the festivities.

Here. Well here you eat outside and the seasons are all the same. There is still turkey. And the tables are lined with stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans. And of course there is no shortage of pie!

We spent our day with a hodge podge of new friends and fast becoming good friends. There was family there, just not mine. I was drawn to the lady in red, the Grandma of the bunch! In this state of transient people, you celebrate by making new friends and a new family. You celebrate by eating outside and with doors wide open for the dogs to roam. Fires are still crackling, just from the chiminea outside.

So this year, I am thankful for all my past thanksgivings with family and thankful for all my future ones with friends and family alike.