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Part-Time Traveler

Find your balance of travel and home.

Home » About » About Me

About Me

“I should like to spend the whole of my life traveling abroad, if I could
 anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home.” — William Hazlitt

<< about me >>

Sari
I’m just a small-town girl who discovered the rest of the world.

Perfectly content in Smallville, USA (a tiny Northern California gold rush town), I left at eighteen for one of the world’s biggest cities and the world’s biggest universities.   After four years (and a short stint living in Barcelona) and I moved to the next stage of life, if you will, with an insatiable thirst to see the world.

Despite vowing to be nomadic all over the globe and remain a permanent explorer for life…I became drawn to building a life that included a career, a significant other, a community, a home.  Yet I found myself spending hundreds of hours of spare time talking, reading, and dreaming about travel. Still, I learned I wasn’t quite ready to give those pursuits up to carry a backpack for months at a time.

As time passed and I found myself in a life that didn’t quite fit — I found myself through spurts of travel.  I visited friends in London, Shanghai, Rome, and Sydney.  I applied for (and got) the company-sponsored volunteer opportunity abroad.

I taught third grade in India. I traveled solo through Nepal, climbed the Great Wall of China. I road-tripped New Zealand, attempted to conquer my fear of heights (and failed!), and fell in love…with foods and cultures I never even knew to dream about.  I did all of this…while holding a full-time job. 

When the time came for that job and I to go our separate ways, I took the opportunity and ran with it (flew with it? train-ed with it? rode with it?) and found myself halfway across the world. The longest I’ve traveled continuously was five months of full-time travel through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.  (Read more about my longest journey here and here.) I passionately believe you don’t have to change the life you’re living to see the world. But if you want to…you can, and it most certainly will change your life.

I returned home thinking (but maybe not believing…) that I could pick up where I left off.  As, piece by piece, the rest of my life as I knew it fell apart — I found myself free to create my life (this time) exactly as I want it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from travel, it’s that it’s really never too late to change the road we’re on.  And we’re truly lucky if we are in the position to do so.

After spending this year in the world, I insisted on building a life at home I loved as much as I love travel. The result was a move to San Francisco, which I affectionately call my“soul city.”  Though I my work is 100% remote and I can choose to be anywhere, I am committed to keeping a home base. I strive for and believe in the connection between and balance of travel and home.

With this newfound freedom comes much musing on a life well-lived, a few personal stories on my efforts to do so, but most of all…my commitment to helping you get out into the world and traveling.  It has made all the difference in my journey, and I’m confident it will in yours, too.

You don’t have to give up the life you’re already living to see the world. anne headshot

Whether you’re lost as to where to go next in your life, or you simply want to find a new place to energize your life for a few weeks…I want to help you get there.
As for me? There’s still a lot I don’t know.  One thing I know I still want to be…a part-time traveler.

I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Eat well, travel well, live well, be well.

Anne Signature

Still curious?  Here are 65 Things About Me.

My aim is to help you prioritize seeing the world and feel empowered to travel internationally, even (especially) if you feel limited by 2-4 weeks of vacation time per year.  How can I help you?

Like what you’re reading?  Don’t miss a post via RSS or email.

P.S. I take photos in the phone booths of every country I visit.

All of the following photos are proud moments of travel achieved by goals I set for seeing the world within only 2-4 weeks of vacation per year.  (You can, too!)



Fox Glacier Anne

golden gate bridge reflection
…and there are more not displayed here.  …and there are many more to come!

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I’m Anne! I spend part of my time traveling the world and the other part living in my soul city, San Francisco.

I have a love for all things travel. I also have a love for nesting. I do NOT believe the two have to be mutually exclusive. If you seek that balance…you’ve come to the right place.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Where Am I?

Last: Greece (Santorini, Milos, Crete) and Northern Italy (Piemonte, Lombardia, and Emilia Romagna.)

Next: Michigan lake summer

Now: At home in San Francisco

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“If travel is like love, it is mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.” – Pico Iyer

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Find your balance between home and travel.

Summer in Montana and Wyoming is just…*chef’s Summer in Montana and Wyoming is just…*chef’s kiss*. Still one of my very favorite places in the USA.
—
#parttimetraveler #montanamoment #explorewyoming
Yellowstone magic ✨ We’re road-tripping from Yellowstone magic ✨ 
We’re road-tripping from California to Michigan with a baby and a dog. Send help/snacks.
—
#parttimetraveler #summertravels #yellowstonenationalpark
Factoring in a little one has both changed and rei Factoring in a little one has both changed and reinforced how I travel. For so long accommodations have been “just a place to sleep” for me, so I could prioritize my time and money elsewhere.

Now, whether it’s nap schedules or simply the ability for my husband and I to relax longer on a given afternoon, it’s great to be able to experience a destination right from the front step (or even better, from bed.) 🌄

What’s stayed the same, of course, is that a change of place and pace is incredibly restorative and energizing — and you don’t have to go far to get that.

Thank you to @innabovetide for the perfect weekend stay right on the bay. It was just what our family needed 🤍 #parttimetraveler #sausalito #besthotels
Thinking back to my last trip before taking my nex Thinking back to my last trip before taking my next one (with baby!) and wishing I could transport here for a cornetto and cappuccino ☕️

Meanwhile, please send any and all tips for traveling with a five-month-old. (Also, send coffee. All the coffee.)
—
 #parttimetraveler #piedmonte #italianlife #caffè #pasticeria
After the rain. 🌁 #alwaysSF #goldengatebridge After the rain.
🌁 

#alwaysSF #goldengatebridge
Walks around the city look a bit different these d Walks around the city look a bit different these days 🤍

It’s been three months now since I became a mama. It’s the single greatest life transition I’ve ever undergone.

The amount of love I have for my son is immeasurable. But being a new mother is not easy — no matter how well you heal, how much (or really, how little) you sleep, or how much you love your babe. For me it is humbling how challenging it can be and, at the same time, how happy it can make you.

Mamas, I see you. What a profound thing it is to care for a new life.
—
#citybaby #fourthtrimester #newmama
Mendocino moments ✨ Just a few hours drive up t Mendocino moments ✨

Just a few hours drive up the coast from SF, being here always feels like a breath of fresh air (maybe because it is?) The redwood-lined drive in alone puts me instantly at ease. (Balm for this tired new mama’s soul.) 

Even better we were able to visit with baby and dog in tow 🤍 Have you been? 

Don’t miss walking the trail along the headlands, hiking, biking, or canoeing Big River, and the wonderfully fresh seafood and/or produce.

 #parttimetraveler #mendocino #weekendgetaway #dogfriendly
Introducing my son, Luca. He entered this world a Introducing my son, Luca. He entered this world a mere six weeks ago and he is everything 🤍

His name means “bringer of light” and he is the light of our lives. And while we are currently cocooning in the comfort of our family and our home, I can’t wait to take him on adventures and show him the beauty of this world.
One year as man and wife 🤍 highly recommend bot One year as man and wife 🤍 highly recommend both city hall weddings and marrying your favorite person. 15/10, would marry again (I’d choose you over and over and over.)
📷: @amandaweiphoto 

#happyanniversary #myperson #weddingday #sfcityhallwedding
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