Hi, I'm Cristina Marie

I graduated college and was working as a nurse at the time, in Brain Injury and Spinal Cord. Between our two jobs, we would line up as much time as we could to explore. We would take advantage of each pocket of time off to go somewhere new and far.

Our focus became honing in on those activities or things that brought us joy and choosing places based on that. We would take notes of what we liked, of what stuck out to us.

We arrived at each place with the intention of learning and growing. We wanted to absorb the culture, the people and the places we were in as much as possible.

Although today it’s easy to say that we find the most joy exploring in the outdoors, we didn’t always know this.

We had traveled quite bit together at this point, mostly traveling between major cities. We had experienced Oktoberfest in Munich and St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin. We picnicked under the Eiffel Tower, drove the Ring Road in Iceland, and even saw the Queen herself in London.

As we continued visiting major cities, we started realizing that it wasn’t filling our cup as much. Each city started feeling the same. A desire to get deeper into each place began growing inside us.

It was in California where we were presented a glimpse of what “getting deeper” into a place looked like.

We were in the Redwoods National Forest, walking along the paved path, when a group passed by us. Each person in the group was oozing light and happiness from every pore. They each were suited up with large backpacks and were all wearing hiking shoes. They were hiking past the park to reach their sleeping spot for the night – somewhere deep in the forest.

As we stood there in jeans and chucks, we knew what our next challenge was. We were going to make our next trip “outdoorsy”.

Neither of us had grown up “outdoorsy”.

We both grew up in the city – cities that were not near the great outdoors. We had very limited knowledge on what being “outdoorsy” meant.

But, the joy of the group was so infectious that we knew we had to buy some gear and just rip the bandaid. We were committed to learning as we went.

I bought a proper jacket and assembled as much “outdoorsy” clothing that I had. We then both went to REI and bought some hiking boots.

We packed our bags from our high rise in the big city and headed to Colorado for 10 days.

When I say this trip changed our lives, it really changed our lives – more than we expected.

That feeling of freedom, of feeling alive that I felt in New York, was amplified in Colorado – by a million percent.

The colors seemed more vivid, the food seemed richer, the people seemed brighter.

After that trip, we knew we were on to something. We were now on a mission to find all of those places that made us feel that way around the world, and eventually move to one.

For the next 3 years, we prioritized getting deeper into the outdoors, in different parts of the world. 

Being a nurse is one of the most emotionally and physically taxing jobs that truly does not get enough pay nor credit. My body was starting to take on the stress, finally bubbling over into full body stress hives, extreme inflammation and endless restless nights. 

I found healing being in the outdoors. Like my body was put to rest and I could simply breathe. With each trip, we started taking note of what quality of life meant for people around the world. Was all of this stress, so early in my career something that was going to lead to a long, healthy life?

We followed Colorado with California (in a more “outdoorsy” way this time) and then Arizona. We then stayed in Western Europe, where we spent months on end exploring. From Italy to the Nordics and everything in between. We went winter skiing in the Alps, and spent long summers in the Rivieras.

We spent a month and a half in New Zealand.

It was in New Zealand where my husband and I both decided that something needed to change.

Having been exposed to and studying what true quality of life was, learning about wellness and longevity, about the importance of nurturing both the mind and the body, we couldn’t ignore the reality. My body was already screaming at us at the top of its lungs, and being so far removed from the everyday made it even more obvious that this was just not a way to live.

Were we really going to let a job take away from my actual life? 

So, from our campervan in Queenstown, New Zealand, on my 5th year as a nurse, I put in my 2 weeks. We immediately got out of the van, ran to the side of the road and screamed with joy!

Prioritizing our life and our story has been the best decision we’ve ever made. 

We then continued traveling throughout Europe- we rented a campervan in Iceland for a few weeks, spent an extended time in Austria (one of our favorite countries), roadtripped Normandy, France, and car-camped throughout the Norwegian Fjords.

During this time of travel, we made our first big move to a small mountain town. This town was just a few hours from family. With our extensive travel, though, we calculated having been abroad more than in our home.

So, after 2 years, we decided to pack everything up, put all of our belongings in storage, and live on the road full time.

We then lived out of Colorado for some months to bounce back and forth while the Schengen visa would reset.

The beautiful people we met, the foods that we ate, the languages we began learning. The cultures we immersed ourselves in, the concerts and symphonies that we attended. All of the museums that we spent hours roaming in, the traditions and the customs.

Each location expanded our minds and changed our perspectives in monumental ways.

This exciting 3 year stint took a pause on our last 3 month stay in Europe.