Grab a Beer and Go Somewhere

Sometimes life sucks. 
People break your heart, people die, friends come and go, money gets tight, work gets stressful, family can be a pain in the ass...etc, etc, etc. The list goes on. We can always find something to bitch about, to wonder "why me" about, to worry about and over-analyze. 
But here's the thing, if you look...really open your eyes and look...there's always something positive and beautiful to be seen. 

It's in our darkest times that we tend to learn the most about ourselves, as well as who and what in our lives we can always rely on to lift us back up when we feel like we can't be knocked down any harder. Maybe that's a couple of people that happen to come into your life at exactly the right time, a life-long friend that's seen you through your darkest times and never left, a friend that is always exactly the person you need to help you blow off some steam, the unconditional love of a pet, a long drive on dirt road at night, getting lost in a good book or just getting out of town for a weekend. It's important to take a look around and realize what is important and what's around us that makes life not suck. Because those are the things that pull us out of those dark times. 

All of the things mentioned above happened recently, and all within a very short period of time: A life-long family friend died, a guy I was dating completely broke my heart, multiple family members were sick with unknown or terminal illnesses, I could barely breathe at work...it went on and on. 

For me, when life makes me feel like I'm drowning, the way I try and catch my breath is to get out of town for a few days. I love to travel and I love to do it as often as I can afford to. Whether that's just a day hike, a weekend camping trip or hopping on a plane to meet up with friends for a few days. So when I was at the end of what was one of the more difficult times in my recent memory, I planned a trip to meet up with one of my closet friends to spend a few days blowing off steam in one of my favorite places to clear my head: Austin, TX. Just before I left town a friend suggested I start documenting some my escapades. And so that's where this blog comes in. 
Oh yeah, and I also like beer.