October 10, 2024 • 45 mins
#123 - Beth Atencio didn't always love the outdoors, but a dark period in her life and a therapist's advice led her to find healing in nature. Her story of transformation from simple walks to epic hikes around Lake Tahoe is a testament to the power of stepping out of one's comfort zone. Discover how she took a leap during the COVID-19 pandemic by purchasing and converting a van, opening the door to the joys of life on the road.
Join us as Beth shares the heartfelt support she received from her family and friends, including her parents who even embarked on their own travel adventures inspired by her courage. You'll hear about the initial skepticism from her children and how they eventually came to appreciate the happiness this new lifestyle brings her. Beth offers practical insights into solo van life, underscoring the importance of flexibility and the thrill of taking risks to follow one's passions.
From the serene aquamarine waters of Diablo Lake to the awe-inspiring wildlife encounters in the Grand Tetons, Beth's adventures are nothing short of extraordinary. Balancing full-time work and a burgeoning passion for travel, she decided to embrace a more nomadic lifestyle supported by a close-knit work community. Don't miss her inspiring plans, including van expos, travels to Arkansas and Tennessee, and a highly-anticipated bucket-list trip to Canada and Alaska. Follow her ongoing journey on Instagram at @mid.lifeadventurer and on YouTube @mid.lifeadventurer.
Be sure and leave me a rating and review on Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcasts and give me a follow on Instagram @journeywithjakepodcast.
Visit LandPirate.com to get your gear that has you, the adventurer, in mind. Use the code "Journey with Jake" to get an additional 15% off at check out.
Visit geneticinsights.co and use the code "DISCOVER25" to enjoy a sweet 25% off your first purchase.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Samuel Smiles said hope is like the sun which, as
we journey toward it, cast theshadow of our burden behind us.
Beth Atencio is someone who iscasting her burdens and trauma
behind her, and she is doingthis by way of van life.
Beth is someone who, evenduring her hard times, still had
her faith and found somethingshe is passionate about and is
(00:22):
doing it for her.
Get ready to live here now aswe travel by van with Beth
Atencio.
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of life that come our
way.
While I expect you will learnsome things about different
adventures, this show willentertain you.
Each episode will feature adifferent guests or guests, as
(00:44):
they share experiences andstories from the different
adventures they have been on.
Not only will you beentertained, but you'll also
hear the failures and trialseach guest faces and what they
have done or are doing toovercome the hardships that come
their way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
(01:07):
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it is about
the journey.
Welcome back to another episode.
(01:29):
My name is Jake Bushman and Iam the host of Journey with Jake
.
Journey with Jake is thepodcast about overcoming
challenges through adventure,and it is also a place where my
guests have a chance to sharetheir story of who they are.
I was blessed to have theopportunity to meet with the
midlife adventure, beth Atencio.
Before we jump into myconversation with Beth, just a
few housekeeping items.
(01:50):
Number one if you like Journeywith Jake, tell your family and
friends or, better yet,subscribe to the show and leave
me a rating and review.
Number two Journey with Jake ison YouTube.
If you want to watch ourconversation instead of simply
listening to it, make your wayto YouTube and search Journey
with Jake podcast.
While you're there, pleasesubscribe to the show.
(02:10):
Number three check me out onInstagram at Journey with Jake
podcast.
This is a great way to get toknow me and my guests just a
little bit better.
So check me out on Instagram atJourney with Jake podcast.
My guest, beth Atencio, hasdealt with some trauma and
struggles.
She is overcoming thosechallenges through her faith in
(02:31):
finding joy by living in thepresent, which involves van life
.
Get ready to be immersed in theworld of van life with Beth
Atencio.
If you liked this episode, youwill also enjoy my episode with
the adventures of A Plus K.
Adam and Catherine Frazier weredream guests of mine and you
will love their adventure withvan life, and you can find their
story on episode 39.
(02:51):
Okay, let's get to it with themidlife adventure, beth Atencio.
I'm excited today.
I have Beth Atencio on the callwith me today.
Beth is someone who's outliving the van life, doing her
thing.
She's adventurous, so we'regoing to talk all about that.
Before we dive in, like Ialways do, beth, I want to know
a little bit about who you are,a little bit about your
background.
So tell us a little bit aboutwho Beth is.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Well, hi, yeah, it's good to be on the show.
Yeah, I started doing van lifeabout two and a half years ago.
I grew up camping a little bit.
I wasn't a big outdoors personas an adult.
I don't think I've ever gonecamping, maybe a handful of
times.
I was in a spot of life offeeling like hey, I need to do
some different things.
So I started following somepeople online that were doing
(03:36):
van life and I was like I reallyjust love that adventure side
and I got into hiking, starteddoing a lot of hikes around
Tahoe area in NorthernCalifornia and just really loved
it.
But I also knew I didn't wantto camp outside under the stars
in a tent.
I wanted to do more of aglamping style but also travel.
(03:56):
And so I kind of got into thevan scene and I bought a van,
sight unseen, right after COVIDor in the middle of COVID, I
should say.
I bought a van sight unseenright after COVID or in the
middle of COVID, I should saythat's when everybody started
doing that.
So just bought a van, had itshipped to Vegas to a company
who did the conversion for meand did like a custom build
inside, and then I flew to Vegas, picked it up, drove back and
(04:19):
ever since then I've beentraveling and just enjoying life
.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Wow, okay, so you say drove back.
Are you from Tahoe area?
Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, I'm from Northern California.
I live in a beautiful areawhere there's a lot of
opportunity to do outdoorsthings, but honestly, until
about two years ago I had nevereven hiked around Lake Tahoe or
anything, so all of that wasjust really new.
You know me, being an adult nowdoing that completely different
than anything I'm used to doing.
I'm just not a big outdoorsperson.
(04:48):
I didn't think that I wasanyways.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
What do you think it was?
Was it COVID?
What is it that made you say,hey, I'm going to do this thing
Because you're not you admittedit that you weren't much of an
outdoorsy person.
This sounds like it was a hugerisk, really.
I mean, it was a.
It was a definitely a jump outof your comfort zone.
What do you think it was thatkind of led you to this.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Definitely.
Well, I went through somereally hard things in 2019, went
through a rough divorce and didsome trauma counseling and my
therapist had recommendedgetting outdoors and so she
started me just with walking andso just something about that
outdoor movement like it justbecame a big healing process for
me.
(05:29):
You kind of get bored walkingin your neighborhood in the same
old places, so then I starteddoing some trails and then from
there that just kind of advancedto doing some hikes and I was
like, wow, there's somethingjust really healing about being
in nature for me and help with alot of anxiety and just brought
so much peace in my life.
I just decided I wanted to keepdoing more of that.
(05:49):
From that, I started justwatching all these different
hikes and places to explorethrough social media and then
started watching peopletraveling and bands doing it.
I was like, wow, that's prettyamazing, I could not imagine
doing anything like that.
But I just came to that pointof like, hey, that's pretty
amazing, I could not imaginedoing anything like that.
But I just came to that pointof like, hey, I really think I
could do this.
At least I want to try it.
(06:10):
My dad highly recommended merenting a van versus just buying
one, and I'm like, no, I'm justbuying.
So I just literally bought a van, wow, and I'm like you know
what I need to just take a stepof faith of something that I
feel is right for me.
So I did that and flew back fromVegas or flew to Vegas, picked
up the van, drove it back toCalifornia and I had mapped out
(06:32):
a nine week trip that I wasgoing to do solo, by myself, and
go all over the PacificNorthwest and through Montana
and Wyoming and visit a bunch ofnational parks and see wildlife
.
So did that and then from there, like I just literally could
not get enough.
So every weekend, every time Ihave vacation time, I am doing
(06:56):
van life and I'm like I just cansee how much it's bringing me
peace in my life, definitelypushes me out of my comfort zone
to where it, in a healthy wayof like making you do something
scared, helps you buildconfidence and facing other hard
things.
Because you're like, if I can,if I can travel by myself for
nine weeks through all thesestates, then I can definitely
(07:18):
face you know, pretty muchanything.
So it was, yeah, justlife-changing for me let's go go
back for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
So 2019, I think you said 2019, you're struggling,
you're dealing with some stuff,you're dealing with some trauma,
going through a rough divorce.
And what stage of life are youin?
Because I think you have kids,but I don't think your kids are
at home anymore, right, is thatcorrect?
You're an empty nester.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, currently I'm an empty nester.
During then, both of my kidswere still living at home.
My daughter was getting readyto finish and graduate from high
school, so she graduated in2020, like in the height of all
the COVID stuff, missed her prom, just was in a funky stage and
going through this divorce.
It wasn't with my kid's dad, itwas their stepdad, and so it
(07:59):
just really affected all of ourlives in a really big way.
You know, I saw how it wasimpacting them and you know they
were going through their ownstruggles and figuring out
moving forward from that.
But then I also knew like, hey,in order for me to be my
healthiest version of myself andto take care of them and then
also to have some kind of afuture, I need to do something
(08:21):
different in my life.
Cause I just was feeling reallystuck with trying to live my
life how, like, still hold on tothe past and take those pieces
of me, when in reality I neededto just do a big shift of
something different.
Because I knew like I wouldjust stay in that stuck place if
I didn't make some majorchanges.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Why do you think it was van life?
Why wasn't it just, oh, let mejust, you know, hit some hikes
every weekend.
What was it about van life?
That really you know?
Because you think, oh, to beadventurous, you could have done
anything, but no, and you tooka.
I mean, that's a risk to sightunseen.
You're buying this thing,You're having someone fix it up
for you that you haven't seen,you don't know what they're
doing.
You did that, which is awesome.
You took a big step.
(09:01):
Why van life?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I know it sounds crazy when you say it like that.
I'm hearing you repeat thatback to me.
I don't know.
There's just something justseeing other people have a
freedom of you know.
A big part of who I was beforewas very much a type A
personality of you have to haveeverything a certain way and you
feel like you're in control ofyour life and all these things.
And then when you go throughlike a major life change or a
(09:25):
crisis, you realize, hey, we'renot actually in control of our
lives like we think that we are.
It allowed me to step back andlike look at, okay, actually
it's better if I walk in alittle bit more freedom of the
unknown, like that actuallymakes me a healthier person,
instead of like leaning intothat control side, I guess I
would say, of feeling like Ihave it all figured out.
(09:48):
You know, because when your lifedoes change of what it looked
like and you you're in this spotof thinking, I can't imagine my
life looking any different,because my whole, my whole life,
I had expected it to look oneway and then suddenly that
completely changes and shift.
Now I'm looking at okay, well,it's going to look different,
and then seeing these peopleliving this lifestyle of, you
(10:10):
know, not having to have it allfigured out but kind of just
taking a day at a time, justreally impacted my life and
where I was in my journey ofhealing.
Because, for me, trying tofigure out what my life was
going to look like five yearsdown the road felt super
overwhelming.
Even like a year down the road,that felt very overwhelming and
too much because so much hadchanged.
And so when I started lookingat, okay, well, you know,
(10:33):
they're trying to live life morein the moment and they're
finding joy and experiencing allthese new adventures and seeing
things that most people, youknow, most of us, you just see
it online and you're notactually doing it yourself.
And so seeing just kind of howit's like, oh yeah, we're gonna,
you know, stay here right nowbecause this is something that
(10:53):
we're, you know, having a goodtime and enjoying this
experience right now, but thennext week move on and go do
something else Just that kind offreedom felt like it gave me
permission to experience thatkind of freedom in my own life,
and I know that's probablyrambling in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
No, no, I appreciate you sharing that.
Why is it that you think thatit's so hard for people?
You know, I think I'm kind ofthe same way.
I'm kind of a planner type.
I like to plan things out andhave things dialed in, and
sometimes it's hard for me toget out of my comfort zone.
Why do you think it's so hardfor people like you to to do
that and take that step?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Well, for me it feels really hard because you are
kind of just grow up thinkingyou're supposed to go through
all these different stages oflife and like that society's
norm of what that looks like andthat's how you're successful
and you know that's what bringspurpose to your life.
But for me, when you really gothrough a place of losing most
everything except the mostimportant people, like your kids
(11:49):
in your life, you realizethat's where my priorities and
my values are is the people andthings can come and go.
It just really put life in adifferent perspective for me of
saying, okay, I can actuallygive myself permission and a non
selfish way to like say, hey,these are some things I want to
pursue and those are healthythings because they bring peace
(12:13):
in my life, they make me abetter person, it allows me more
time with my kids, like morequality time in a better way.
Trying to let go of what youfeel other people's expectations
should be for you, I think isthe hardest thing.
But for my family and friendswho have seen me just like
living this kind of crazydifferent lifestyle, they see
how happy I am and like that Ifound a new purpose in life and
(12:36):
they're just so happy for me andso supportive, like it's.
It's actually really cute.
My parents are, I think, mybiggest number one fans.
Now it's fun.
They tell everybody they knowlike, oh yeah, she's on
Instagram and like does contentcreation and I'm all.
They've never like reallybragged about any of my other
jobs in life, but this onethey're very excited about,
(12:57):
which is fun to see, and so it'sreally cool, though is my
parents borrowed my van, did amonth long trip to the Grand
Canyon and they ended up buyingan RV after that like a camper
van and they're doing a bunch oftraveling and they're getting
ready to retire Like they loveit, like they've just seen how
much joy it's brought me, soit's fun to see that they get to
(13:17):
experience that too.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I think it's great because I look at your Instagram
and I read a little post abouthow you were dealing with the
pain and grief and things likethat.
But I can tell just from yourposts, just from who you are,
and I know sometimes people say,well, facebook, instagram, it's
fake, it's not who you reallyare.
But I definitely see, intalking to you now I can tell it
lights you up when you starttalking about this and what
you're doing, which is fantastic.
(13:40):
I want to ask about your kidsfor a minute, because, taking
this risk, what was theirreaction?
What were the kids thinkingwhen they're like mom is doing
what?
What were they thinking?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I think that they were pretty supportive in the
beginning.
They had a very hard time withme putting stuff on social media
.
At first they would say, oh mygosh, my mom is.
It's just cringy, it's horrible, like she's posting all these
things, and so at first theywere.
They were, I would say, on thefence with it.
Now, as time has gone on youknow it's been over two years
they are very happy for me, likethey can see that this has
(14:13):
brought a lot of happiness andjoy in my life and they had
really seen me just strugglingwith like grief and going
through so many things and thenseeing how I've worked through
that.
You know I'm still workingthrough a lot of that, but they
can see a lot of joy in my lifenow.
That has been something thatthey are now like support.
I would say they're proud of mewith my online stuff.
(14:36):
That's.
It's taken them a while andevery once in a while I'll get a
text to my daughter of like youneed to take that post down,
that was not good, or like astory, don't do that.
So I rely on her.
She's my coach, I would say.
I asked my son first of all howdo you feel about this Because
he had just moved out and hadgotten his own place.
(14:57):
I want to be supportive of him,but then being in this place of
like house is empty.
Now you know, I think I want todo this full time.
His reaction was I just wantyou to be safe, and he was real
quiet for a while and he's like,but I also want you to be happy
, and so he worries more aboutmy safety.
I always share my location withhim.
(15:21):
I let him know, like what mytravel plans are.
You know, that's just importantto him.
My daughter is more of my freespirit.
I would say she's very muchlike me.
She does a lot of traveling.
She lives in Hawaii.
When I asked her like hey, whatdo you think about me doing
this full time?
Is this crazy?
Her reaction was do you knowwho you're talking to?
Mom, like you know, I'm alwaysgone, I'm always traveling, so
you do what makes you happy,like I'm totally fine with that.
(15:42):
I think I was mainly concernedabout their reactions more than
anybody else.
I think enough time has gone onto where I've just learned,
don't you know?
You care about and you want thefeedback of the people in your
closest circle that you trustand want the best for you and
their opinion.
But it's your life that youlive.
Nobody else is living your life, and so it's important to to
take risks sometimes and do thethings that you you want to
(16:05):
pursue.
And and my whole thing is, youknow, if it doesn't work out,
then it doesn't work out, but Iwould totally regret not trying
it, and it's a uniqueopportunity that a lot of people
don't get that chance to have.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And you're taking advantage of it.
I think what's unique for youand for me, looking at it from
my perspective, I've had a fewvan life folks on the podcast
before, but it's always beenmarried couples or couples
traveling together.
You're doing this solo, which Ithink is incredible.
That in by itself okay, firstget in the van, just doing it is
a risk.
But then to do it by yourselfand I know you've you mapped out
(16:45):
a nine week trip, kind of rightoff the bat, Did you kind of
plan, plan it all kind of day byday or how did this happen, and
kind of tell me a little bitabout the trip and maybe some
experiences from this trip?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, so the the first trip that I did.
I really mapped it out Cause Ifelt like the planner in me was
like, okay, I better haveeverything you know I do where I
want to go.
And then you get in your van,you start traveling and realize
that's not how it works, likethings just happen.
I think it was the first couplenights automatic.
I was like wait, I need toswitch my campsite or like go
somewhere else.
(17:12):
And so you learn to be flexibleand that is not my strong suit.
I would say Like this is themost growing thing with van life
is flexibility and kind ofgoing with the flow, day by day,
versus planning it so far out.
The first two weeks of my tripmy son actually went with me.
He had just graduated highschool.
I begged him to come with mejust because I thought it would
(17:33):
be a cool experience and we hadsuch a fun time.
We saw different bears innational parks.
We went to a couple places.
That was right when there wasthat big the flooding and
Yellowstone happened.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yes, yep.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We had to reroute our trip and we went down to the
Grand Tetons together and then Idrove back to California,
dropped him off and then I wentfor the rest of the time on my
own.
I think my favorite experienceabout that was going up to
Washington.
I drove Highway 1 all along thecoast through all the beach
towns, which was amazing, and Ithink the best part about van
(18:06):
life is when you step back andyou realize it doesn't have to
all be planned out to the exactminute, have some flexibility.
You can stop where you wantwhenever you want, and I think
that's something I love aboutthe solo part of traveling is I
can stop where I want and stayhowever long I want, just
(18:27):
because I want to do it, whichsounds so selfish, but it is so
nice at the same time, likeyou're not with a group of
people and you're like on theirtimeline or something.
I just stopped wherever Iwanted.
It was really cool.
I put my van on a ferry for thefirst time up in Washington and
I went out to the San JuanIslands and saw like orca,
whales and just all these coolexperiences that I'm like.
(18:50):
Moments like that.
I was thinking, oh my gosh, I'mactually experiencing this
right now, like this is sofreaking cool and it's just
things that I have alwaysdreamed of.
Maybe, like that would beamazing, and then actually just
getting to do them is a wholenother experience.
So that, and then I lovemeeting people on the road.
That's.
My other big thing is I lovebeing able to stop wherever you
(19:11):
want, but I would love havingconversations with people on the
road and just sharing about mytraveling and you just meet all
kinds of really cool peoplealong the way.
So I've really enjoyed thatpart of it.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Where are you meeting these people?
Are they in, like, coffee shops?
Is it in stores, like?
Where are you meeting peopleand talking to them when you're
on the road?
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Usually it will be like in restaurants or if I'm
like at a, I would say, innational parks, like on a hike,
I meet a lot of people whilehiking.
I've met up with some peoplethat I've become like friends
with online through Instagramwho are also travelers or do
hiking or van life, and thensometimes somebody will see, hey
, you're traveling somewhere andso you'll make plans to meet up
(19:50):
with them and go do some hikes.
I've met a lot of people likejust out in the hot springs.
When you're out there, just youkind of just chat with people
wherever you're at.
When I did a bunch of the hotsprings in Northern California,
I met couples from all over theplace.
I mean because a lot of othercountries they do the holidays
where they travel a lot, and Ithink that's something very
(20:10):
different that Americans don'tdo as often, like we do vacation
down to Disneyland, somethinglike that, where other countries
they do a lot of out of countrytravels, and so it's just fun
hearing their experiences,getting recommendations on where
to visit from them and stuff.
So I love gettingrecommendations from locals when
I'm in a coffee shop orrestaurant, just you know,
(20:32):
because I'll just share, yeah,or people will ask, because
they'll see my van and ask if Ido van travel.
And so we'll just startchatting and they're like,
because they'll see my van andask if I do van travel.
And so we'll just startchatting and they're like, oh,
you should go here or there.
And so I get a lot of likeinsider tips, which I love, on
all the places to go and see.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
So this nine week trip that you did, was there any
particular place that justreally sticks out to you that
maybe you didn't think would,but really had an impact on you?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, I would say North Cascade National Park.
I don't think I'd even reallyheard of it before.
Like you hear of all the bigones Yosemite, yellowstone, and
really since COVID, a lot moreof those places have become
popular, but North Cascades, Ifeel, gets not a lot of
attention and it's superunderrated.
Like it is an amazing park.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
And North Cascades.
Let's give me a littlebackground on it.
Is that Washington?
Where's North Cascades?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah, it's in northern Washington, pretty
close to the Canadian border.
It's the most northern nationalpark up there, so I had done
Mount Rainier and OlympicNational Park and then I went up
to North Cascades and I almostskipped it just because I
thought it was going to be thissmall park and maybe not a big
deal.
It ended up being one of myfavorites.
(21:43):
I loved to paddleboard and so Ibrought my paddleboard with me
in my van.
There's a lake there calledDiablo Lake and it's literally
like the most aquamarine water.
Like you try to get picturesand video and it just does not
do it justice.
It was just, I mean, you'refloating and there's like
glaciers around you and you'relike, is this real life right
now?
Like it was just amazing.
That was a really fun park.
(22:03):
I did a lot of hikes up tolakes there and that one I
really enjoyed because it wassuch a surprise Like I was just
not expecting it to be thatgreat and there wasn't a ton of
people.
So that was the other nicething.
Even though I love people, Ilike when I'm hiking to have
quiet, I don't want to be in aline of people to get somewhere.
Yeah, that was probably one ofmy favorite ones.
(22:24):
The other one would be theGrand Tetons, which I know is so
popular right now.
I went there so I did that parktwice, once with my son, dropped
him off, and then I went backat the end of my nine weeks
because I just loved it.
The wildlife there was insane.
I got to see bull, moose and acow and that was so cool, just
(22:47):
to sit there and watch them justlike eating in the pond.
And I'd never been that closeto a moose before and I'll just
say they're so much bigger inperson.
I fully understand why they'reone of the most dangerous
animals, but I saw grizzly andthe tetons, a lot of bears.
Yeah, I just I love seeing allthe wildlife.
Like that's one of my favoritethings.
(23:08):
So that was probably betweenthose two parks.
It's really hard.
Those are my top two for sure.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Yeah, and I'm with you there.
I love seeing wildlife when Igo to national parks.
That's what I really love iswhen you get to see that
wildlife, so that's awesome thatyou got to experience that.
Now, while you're doing this,you're still working full-time.
So you took time off, did thevan life and then you're still
working full-time.
I know that's about to change,Kind of what's the story there
(23:35):
with what you've got going on.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Yeah, so the last two years, you know, my son was had
just finished high school andhe was doing first years of
college and still living at home, and so I still needed to have
a home base for him to be at andI wasn't planning on staying in
this area for long just because, you know, having gone through
the things I had in my past, Ireally just wanted a fresh start
(23:57):
, somewhere without all thosememories.
But I really wanted to havesome stability and a place for
my son and being here was whatwas best during that time.
I love my job.
They've been so supportive ofme traveling.
It's family and friends there.
I love them so much.
But been with my son now moving.
He's a video game developer andthey launched their first game
(24:19):
and that went crazy, and so he'sin a spot where he can move out
and have his own place now,which is awesome because I'm a
super proud mom of him, but also, at the same time, very sad he
moved out.
It's so quiet here now.
So I was like you know what I'mjust in this position of I've
saved my money.
I love traveling.
It's cheaper for me to travelthan to afford rent and do what
I'm doing where I'm just in thisposition of I've saved.
I've saved my money, I'm I lovetraveling.
(24:40):
It's cheaper for me to travelthan to afford rent and do what
I'm doing where I'm at.
Also, with my social mediastuff, having built up more, I
also have been, you know,offered some different contracts
with companies to do posts forthem and to do some
collaborations, and so I've done, you know, a little bit of that
.
But trying to balance that anda full time job is hard with all
(25:01):
the travel.
So now that my son's moved out,I'm just like you know what I
want to be able to say yes tothose opportunities, even if
it's for a year or whatever thatlooks like.
I just want to try to say yesto some of those things now.
Try to see what you know.
(25:21):
Say yes to some of those thingsnow.
So I yeah, I came back from mylast month trip.
I went all the way to NorthCarolina and back, which was my
longest trip I've ever done.
It was 68, 6,850 miles and itwas so fun and I saw so many
places.
But it was the first timecoming back that I was like you
know what?
I'm not ready to come back LikeI can see myself doing this so
(25:42):
much longer.
It wasn't like when you comeback from a vacation or
something where you're like, oh,it's so nice to be home.
It was the opposite, where youknow, I love seeing everybody
that I had been away from.
But I was like, and I'm glad Isaid hi to everybody.
Now I'm ready to turn aroundand go back.
Yeah, I just decided now's thisopportunity where I'm going to
just start saying yes to some ofthose, to that, and that's kind
(26:04):
of what, yeah, launched thatall I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
What kind of professional background do you
have?
Like?
What kind of work was it?
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Yeah, I work at a church.
I've done that for eight and ahalf years.
The first five years I wasworking as a director for a
women's shelter for single momsof kids who were homeless or
experiencing homelessness, andso our church had a ministry for
that and I ran that for fiveyears until COVID hit and then
we had to make some changesbased on California funding with
(26:33):
that, and so I still had a rolein the church overseeing some
support groups and classes thatwe do.
But yeah, I've been there eightand a half years and loved it.
So it's hard to yeah, it's hardto leave a job that you've
really enjoyed.
I would say it's the hardestthing.
So it's not like it's a jobwhere you know I'm like, oh, I'm
done, I want to just dosomething completely different.
But I think it's been reallyhealthy in that because I've
(26:56):
loved it.
And then, knowing that I wantto take this next step, I know
I'm like making a good decisionbecause I've had so much support
from them too.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
This trip you took to North Carolina.
I don't know if this was partof the trip, but I saw some
posts on Instagram from you thatkind of struck me because I
thought it was.
It was pretty unique andinteresting that you kind of
went back to some of yourfamily's roots, I think.
Was it this trip or was that adifferent trip?
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yeah, it was this last trip, so I circled back and
went through Arkansas.
I have always heard about mygrandparents growing up there.
It was really important to meto go visit those areas and what
I didn't realize is there'sstill so much family that
actually lives back there Likeit's.
I feel like everybody's alittle bit related in that area.
But it was really fun becauseyou know my I was very close
(27:42):
with my grandparents.
My granddad has passed away.
My grandma is still living.
She has dementia and is in amemory care facility.
Things have changed with herbut growing up very close to
both of them, they just sharedstories about their life growing
up.
Arkansas there's beautiful areasand there's really hard areas
(28:03):
and with them growing up therethere was a lot of poverty and
it just was definitely adifferent lifestyle than what
they've built here in California.
They met as teenagers.
My grandma just fell in lovewith the dark haired guy with
the fast car that would comevisit her and he lived 12 miles
across the border in Missouriand she was on the Arkansas side
(28:26):
.
When I went back there it wasjust incredible to like I had a
family member that I met out,that lives out there, currently
met me, drove me around andshowed me all the family homes
where my grandma had grown up.
I saw on the side of the housewhere her mom had like actually
written her name in the concretewith the year and it still was
(28:47):
there and just like actuallygetting to see all the places
that they had told stories about, it just kind of made that come
to life in such a different wayand I was just absolutely blown
away.
Seeing that history come tolife for me was really
incredible and just really mademe have a lot of respect for my
(29:07):
grandparents, because seeingeven the lifestyle that's there
now is so different than how welive here.
I just had a whole differentappreciation, respect for what
kind of guts that must havetaken for them to be like us
teenagers.
They were moving cross countryand they did a lot of really
hard jobs like working on afactory line and different
(29:29):
things, coming into Californiaand then built their own
business.
My dad and my granddad ran abusiness for many years together
and so that was just reallyimportant for them to.
For my grandparents they reallywanted to have a different life
built for their kids.
Kind of seeing how that allcame about was just so fun for
me to see the little church thatthey went to.
(29:52):
I mean they had men's outhouseand women's outhouse on opposite
sides of the churchyard, whichwas crazy.
Like all these things that werejust very normal even until not
that long ago out there justshowed me like how much my
grandparents overcame and likewhat a change in their life they
made by, you know, leaving andstarting something completely
(30:15):
different.
I was like, wow, I just as akid, you have no idea what kind
of sacrifice that is.
So it was really fun for me tosee those spots and to just
those stories come to life.
You know hearing how they grewup and just even seeing the
creek I saw a snapping turtle inthe creek there and I was like,
oh my gosh, my grandma playedin this creek that's crazy when
she was a little girl.
(30:35):
It just made me love mygrandparents even more.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I love that because I think sometimes we don't
appreciate that and who knowswho's to say.
You may have gotten back thereeven without the van life, but I
think the van life situationthat you're in allowed you to do
it.
It gave you that opportunitybecause you're like you know,
hey, traveling by van.
Let me check this out and Ithink that was good for you and
it felt like it was just hearingyou talk about how the
(31:01):
appreciation you gain for thosewho came before you.
So I think that's awesome andI'm glad you're able to do that.
One thing, too, that you kindof talk about every so often in
some of your posts is theimportance of God in your life.
Do you mind kind of sharing alittle bit about that and what
that means to you?
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, definitely.
Like I said, I work at a churchand faith is a big part of my
background.
But for me, just personally,until I really went through
those hard things in 2019, Ididn't realize how much of a
core value that was in my life,even though I said I was a
Christian, I believed in God.
Just being in a spot ofeverything you kind of know
(31:37):
being turned upside down, youreally look at what are the
things you value the most inyour life and what are the
things that are your foundation.
I would say, for me, thatdefinitely is God, and just when
everything else felt so out ofmy control, he was like the one
thing that just felt steadfastand really gave me peace in life
(31:58):
.
And I think too, because I dowork at a church, a big part of
balancing like my spiritual lifeand then my work life is by
going outdoors and having timeaway, because on Sundays you're
in ministry mode if you arethere for church but at the same
time I still am working.
Being able to be outside andspend time in nature just really
makes me feel closest to God.
(32:19):
It's amazing just for me to seejust all the things that have
been created and how it's justthis divine plan of how he
created life to look like andpurpose.
It just reprioritizes, like thetrue meaning of life for me
when I'm outside, and just howhe designed our life to look
With my faith.
It talks a lot about just howwe're supposed to balance life
(32:42):
of work and rest, and so that'sa big thing I've been trying to
achieve with some of this isjust those healthy rhythms of
you work hard, yes, but you alsotake that rest to enjoy your
life and like to stay close toGod and to make sure that you're
focusing first on Him in yourlife and then the people and
(33:02):
then the things are just thethings Like those can change and
come, but those are temporary.
So I've always had faith, but Iwould say I really firmly
believe in my faith now.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
And when you were going through those tough times
where it is a struggle and it'shard to see the way out, a lot
of people that's when theyreally question it and they're
like, eh, maybe it's not there,maybe it's not happening.
It sounds like for you, maybethat was the opposite.
You relied on that as kind ofyour, your source, like how was
that?
I mean, when you were actuallyin those depths of despair, when
you were struggling, what is itthat kept you?
(33:35):
You know the what was it aboutfaith that really just helped
you through that.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Don't get me wrong.
Like I definitely struggled too, like there were times where
I'm like okay, why God Likecould?
you have this lesson in adifferent way.
Did it have to happen this wayor look like this and I think
going back to that it's not myplan or my is from him seeing
everything and understandingeverything and it being filtered
down to me, but because I couldfeel his presence which is the
(34:15):
only way how I know to explainit like I just felt everything
else around me was uncertain andhe was the one thing that just
that I felt was like a rock andan anchor in my life, and so it
felt like everything else was astorm around me, but I still was
being securely anchored to thisone truth of he is good, he
(34:38):
faithful, and he does see me.
Even though I didn't understandthe rest of it, it was almost
like this point, especially mytherapy when I did my trauma
therapy.
It was almost like this point,especially in my therapy when I
did my trauma therapy.
It was this point of letting goand realizing I don't have to
understand all the whys and Idon't need to know all the
reasons why, but I can stilltrust that I have a God who does
(34:58):
see me and that does know.
The rest of that I can let gowith, because a lot of it.
I was just clinging to like Ihave to have all these answers
in order to move on or I have toknow these reasons to be okay.
And I think that there was justa point of acceptance for me
personally, just saying I caneither like hold on to feeling I
need to know the why toeverything and I'm going to stay
(35:20):
stuck, or I can let go and sayI don't understand it all and
that still is okay, and once Ilike turn that corner, that
really just helped me inunderstanding that I can be okay
without needing to know all thewhys and I can still move
forward in life in a better way.
(35:42):
Cause for you know, in the verybeginning of things it's almost
like you didn't even want to getbetter.
You were just so overcome withhurt and pain you couldn't see
and you couldn't even imaginelife being different or good
again.
Looking back now it's like, wow, I could never have even told
the person I was then that Iwould be okay, because I
(36:03):
couldn't even hear in thatmoment.
But it was just taking a stepevery single day forward, even
some days where it just feltlike you're still just staying
in that same spot when people gothrough grief now.
I just always encourage themjust breathe where you're at,
just stay in this moment anddon't even think about what the
next hour looks like, becausesometimes you just aren't even
(36:24):
capable of doing that.
But it was just knowing thatGod was there.
I think that was the momentthat I just knew inside my soul
of like he is real and he seesme and he's with me through this
all.
Even though I can't imaginegetting through this, just
having him, just knowing that hewas there with me, helped me.
(36:44):
Just be evil, you know, beingable to function through it.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Thank you so much for sharing that, because I agree
with you.
I think sometimes when we're inthose moments, it is so hard
and you know people have saidyou're going to look back and
you'll be grateful for in it.
But it's hard when you're inthat moment it's, and so I liked
the fact that you shared that.
Hey, live in it now and justlive in it now and just you know
, even if it's just a minute,you know, don't, don't worry
about the next hour, like, let'sjust get through this, cause it
(37:07):
is, it's challenging.
I appreciate you beingvulnerable and sharing that with
me.
Thank you so much for that.
As you move forward now, by thetime this episode comes out,
you are going to be doing thisfull time.
It's what you're doing.
What are some of the challengesthat that you face?
Speaker 2 (37:20):
I think some of the challenges are understanding
that this is full time and notlike, oh, this long trip or
something where it's like youhave somewhere to go back to.
I think I've realized theimportance of making sure you
touch base with the people inyour life that mean the most
Because, like I said, people areirreplaceable.
They really mean a lot.
(37:42):
Making sure that I'mintentional in like planning out
my stops, where I'm checking inand staying with family,
friends, which I am superblessed, like I have different
people that I know in severaldifferent States, and so many
people now that know that I'mdoing this full time have
offered yeah, come stay with usfor like a week or something.
And so just being intentionaland mapping out where I'm going
to be, to make sure that I'mchecking in with um, with those,
(38:11):
is really important Becausewith my kids and my best friend,
who I'm very close with, thoseare people that I value those
relationships so much.
So I just want to make surethat I'm intentionally investing
in them, even while I'm doingthis full-time thing, and then
just being good with learning tobe flexible still, because I
think it's different doingsomething for a short time
versus doing it for a long time,like some of the things that
I'm looking at.
So I'm going to be starting aYouTube channel in September,
(38:34):
just like as I have a lot ofpeople asking me like, hey,
share more about van life andespecially being a solo female
traveler.
But that looks like I actuallyhate being in front of the
camera, like that is somethingthat sounds so weird, but I
absolutely hate it.
Like I just that's justsomething I have to personally
get over and just do some of.
And so I'm pushing myself out ofmy comfort zone, trying to do
(38:54):
some of those things, because Iknow, even when I started, I
watched a lot of people livingthat kind of lifestyle.
I just really want to beinspiring, encouraging to others
.
Just a lot of people havereached out just saying how they
really want to do this.
They just don't think that theycan.
I always say, if I can do itbecause I know myself, then I
definitely know you can do it,because it's nothing that would
(39:17):
have been a strength of mine atall, but it's something that I
can't imagine not being a partof my life now.
Yeah, just trying some newthings coming up and continuing
to push myself in making this afull-time venture for me is
gonna be a challenge and alsoit's like nervous, scary,
exciting, I would say, all atthe same time.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Everything.
Yeah, wrapped up, everythingwrapped up.
What are some of the plans?
Can you give us any sneak peekinto where you're gonna be going
?
Some of the things Can you giveus any sneak peek into where?
Speaker 2 (39:45):
you're going to be going and some of the things you
have planned.
Yeah, so the first part of well, in September I'm doing some
van expos September and Octoberwith my van company.
I'm an ambassador for them andso I travel to some of the big
van expos that are happening onthe Pacific Northwest, which I
love, because I'm not you know,I'm not an employee of theirs.
So they have been very openwith like, just share with
(40:06):
people.
Like what are the things youlike, what you don't like, just
be yourself, share yourexperiences.
And so it's really fun to talkto people about traveling,
especially couples or singlepeople that are really looking
into it and considering it,because I'm so passionate about
it, because it's brought so muchjoy in my life, and so I'm just
so excited for them to, youknow, to get to try it for them.
(40:29):
I'm going to be doing some ofthat and then I'm probably going
to go back out to Arkansasagain.
I'm really looking for a placeto be a home base at some point
I'm going to do.
I've looked at Tennessee,arkansas, love those areas.
My parents are thinking aboutdoing a trip, maybe, back there
to check out some of those spotstoo.
So I'd love to caravan withthem.
And then my big trip will be ina year from now.
I'm going to be doing Alaska,like Canada and Alaska for a few
(40:51):
months, which is a huge numberone bucket list item for me.
So I'm missing the window of itthis year just with the weather
, but I'm planning that out fornext year, so that's going to be
my big one.
That I'm really, really excitedabout.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
That's awesome.
You got some great plans.
I love it.
I'm excited to follow you andsee what's going on.
Speaking of that, where canpeople find you?
Do you know the name of yourYouTube channel?
Because by the time this comesout, it sounds like your YouTube
channel will be up.
So if you don't mind sharingyour socials with us, so we know
where to find you.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Yeah, so my Instagram is just at midlifeadventures is
just at midlifeadventures.
I call it my midlife adventureinstead of my midlife crisis.
I know it sounds kind of cliche, but it is true Because I want
people to know this is somethingI'm choosing to bring me joy,
not just because I'm goingthrough, I don't know what I
want in life.
I actually know my YouTubechannel.
I'm working on that, but it'sgoing to be something about it
(41:46):
will be something with Beth'smid Beth Midlife Adventure.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
So, beth, this has been fun.
I've learned a lot from you.
I love just the aura you haveabout you.
I can tell it really lights youup.
When you talk about this.
I can tell you're definitely ina happy place compared to where
you were, so that's fantastic.
When you think of the wordadventure, what does adventure
mean to you?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
For me it just means enjoying life now and, I think,
just not getting stuck in mypast and not being so concerned
about my future, but justenjoying life now.
And that doesn't mean beirresponsible and like not care
about planning for your future,but I think you can get so over
concerned about future that youstop living in the present at
(42:20):
times, and so adventure for meis just being open to what
tomorrow is going to bring andrealizing I don't have to have
it all figured out, I know Godalready does.
Living life in the moment,right now, is important.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Beth, thank you so much for coming on Journey with
Jake.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
All right, well, thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
Special thanks to Beth Atencio, the midlife
adventure, for coming on theshow and sharing her journey
with all of us.
Adventure for coming on theshow and sharing her journey
with all of us.
Be sure and check out herInstagram account at
midlifeadventure and check herout on YouTube by searching
Beth's Midlife Adventure.
Once again, I have grown andgained something from my guests,
which I really appreciate andI'm grateful for.
(42:59):
Thanks to each one of you fortuning in and listening to
Journey with Jake.
That means the world to me.
I would love to hear from you.
Give me a follow on Instagramat journeywithjakepodcast and
share your thoughts on Instagram, or send me an email to jake at
journeywithjakenet.
Next week, I am joined by PeterCordova, who took a sabbatical
to travel the world and sharesan amazing experience about
(43:20):
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Be sure and tune in next week.
Just remember, it's not alwaysabout the destination as it is
about the journey.
Take care everybody.
Samuel Smiles said hope is like the sun which, as
we journey toward it, cast theshadow of our burden behind us.
Beth Atencio is someone who iscasting her burdens and trauma
behind her, and she is doingthis by way of van life.
Beth is someone who, evenduring her hard times, still had
her faith and found somethingshe is passionate about and is
(00:22):
doing it for her.
Get ready to live here now aswe travel by van with Beth
Atencio.
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of life that come our
way.
While I expect you will learnsome things about different
adventures, this show willentertain you.
Each episode will feature adifferent guests or guests, as
(00:44):
they share experiences andstories from the different
adventures they have been on.
Not only will you beentertained, but you'll also
hear the failures and trialseach guest faces and what they
have done or are doing toovercome the hardships that come
their way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
(01:07):
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it is about
the journey.
Welcome back to another episode.
(01:29):
My name is Jake Bushman and Iam the host of Journey with Jake
.
Journey with Jake is thepodcast about overcoming
challenges through adventure,and it is also a place where my
guests have a chance to sharetheir story of who they are.
I was blessed to have theopportunity to meet with the
midlife adventure, beth Atencio.
Before we jump into myconversation with Beth, just a
few housekeeping items.
(01:50):
Number one if you like Journeywith Jake, tell your family and
friends or, better yet,subscribe to the show and leave
me a rating and review.
Number two Journey with Jake ison YouTube.
If you want to watch ourconversation instead of simply
listening to it, make your wayto YouTube and search Journey
with Jake podcast.
While you're there, pleasesubscribe to the show.
(02:10):
Number three check me out onInstagram at Journey with Jake
podcast.
This is a great way to get toknow me and my guests just a
little bit better.
So check me out on Instagram atJourney with Jake podcast.
My guest, beth Atencio, hasdealt with some trauma and
struggles.
She is overcoming thosechallenges through her faith in
(02:31):
finding joy by living in thepresent, which involves van life
.
Get ready to be immersed in theworld of van life with Beth
Atencio.
If you liked this episode, youwill also enjoy my episode with
the adventures of A Plus K.
Adam and Catherine Frazier weredream guests of mine and you
will love their adventure withvan life, and you can find their
story on episode 39.
(02:51):
Okay, let's get to it with themidlife adventure, beth Atencio.
I'm excited today.
I have Beth Atencio on the callwith me today.
Beth is someone who's outliving the van life, doing her
thing.
She's adventurous, so we'regoing to talk all about that.
Before we dive in, like Ialways do, beth, I want to know
a little bit about who you are,a little bit about your
background.
So tell us a little bit aboutwho Beth is.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Well, hi, yeah, it's good to be on the show.
Yeah, I started doing van lifeabout two and a half years ago.
I grew up camping a little bit.
I wasn't a big outdoors personas an adult.
I don't think I've ever gonecamping, maybe a handful of
times.
I was in a spot of life offeeling like hey, I need to do
some different things.
So I started following somepeople online that were doing
(03:36):
van life and I was like I reallyjust love that adventure side
and I got into hiking, starteddoing a lot of hikes around
Tahoe area in NorthernCalifornia and just really loved
it.
But I also knew I didn't wantto camp outside under the stars
in a tent.
I wanted to do more of aglamping style but also travel.
(03:56):
And so I kind of got into thevan scene and I bought a van,
sight unseen, right after COVIDor in the middle of COVID, I
should say.
I bought a van sight unseenright after COVID or in the
middle of COVID, I should saythat's when everybody started
doing that.
So just bought a van, had itshipped to Vegas to a company
who did the conversion for meand did like a custom build
inside, and then I flew to Vegas, picked it up, drove back and
(04:19):
ever since then I've beentraveling and just enjoying life
.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Wow, okay, so you say drove back.
Are you from Tahoe area?
Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, I'm from Northern California.
I live in a beautiful areawhere there's a lot of
opportunity to do outdoorsthings, but honestly, until
about two years ago I had nevereven hiked around Lake Tahoe or
anything, so all of that wasjust really new.
You know me, being an adult nowdoing that completely different
than anything I'm used to doing.
I'm just not a big outdoorsperson.
(04:48):
I didn't think that I wasanyways.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
What do you think it was?
Was it COVID?
What is it that made you say,hey, I'm going to do this thing
Because you're not you admittedit that you weren't much of an
outdoorsy person.
This sounds like it was a hugerisk, really.
I mean, it was a.
It was a definitely a jump outof your comfort zone.
What do you think it was thatkind of led you to this.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Definitely.
Well, I went through somereally hard things in 2019, went
through a rough divorce and didsome trauma counseling and my
therapist had recommendedgetting outdoors and so she
started me just with walking andso just something about that
outdoor movement like it justbecame a big healing process for
me.
(05:29):
You kind of get bored walkingin your neighborhood in the same
old places, so then I starteddoing some trails and then from
there that just kind of advancedto doing some hikes and I was
like, wow, there's somethingjust really healing about being
in nature for me and help with alot of anxiety and just brought
so much peace in my life.
I just decided I wanted to keepdoing more of that.
(05:49):
From that, I started justwatching all these different
hikes and places to explorethrough social media and then
started watching peopletraveling and bands doing it.
I was like, wow, that's prettyamazing, I could not imagine
doing anything like that.
But I just came to that pointof like, hey, that's pretty
amazing, I could not imaginedoing anything like that.
But I just came to that pointof like, hey, I really think I
could do this.
At least I want to try it.
(06:10):
My dad highly recommended merenting a van versus just buying
one, and I'm like, no, I'm justbuying.
So I just literally bought a van, wow, and I'm like you know
what I need to just take a stepof faith of something that I
feel is right for me.
So I did that and flew back fromVegas or flew to Vegas, picked
up the van, drove it back toCalifornia and I had mapped out
(06:32):
a nine week trip that I wasgoing to do solo, by myself, and
go all over the PacificNorthwest and through Montana
and Wyoming and visit a bunch ofnational parks and see wildlife
.
So did that and then from there, like I just literally could
not get enough.
So every weekend, every time Ihave vacation time, I am doing
(06:56):
van life and I'm like I just cansee how much it's bringing me
peace in my life, definitelypushes me out of my comfort zone
to where it, in a healthy wayof like making you do something
scared, helps you buildconfidence and facing other hard
things.
Because you're like, if I can,if I can travel by myself for
nine weeks through all thesestates, then I can definitely
(07:18):
face you know, pretty muchanything.
So it was, yeah, justlife-changing for me let's go go
back for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
So 2019, I think you said 2019, you're struggling,
you're dealing with some stuff,you're dealing with some trauma,
going through a rough divorce.
And what stage of life are youin?
Because I think you have kids,but I don't think your kids are
at home anymore, right, is thatcorrect?
You're an empty nester.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, currently I'm an empty nester.
During then, both of my kidswere still living at home.
My daughter was getting readyto finish and graduate from high
school, so she graduated in2020, like in the height of all
the COVID stuff, missed her prom, just was in a funky stage and
going through this divorce.
It wasn't with my kid's dad, itwas their stepdad, and so it
(07:59):
just really affected all of ourlives in a really big way.
You know, I saw how it wasimpacting them and you know they
were going through their ownstruggles and figuring out
moving forward from that.
But then I also knew like, hey,in order for me to be my
healthiest version of myself andto take care of them and then
also to have some kind of afuture, I need to do something
(08:21):
different in my life.
Cause I just was feeling reallystuck with trying to live my
life how, like, still hold on tothe past and take those pieces
of me, when in reality I neededto just do a big shift of
something different.
Because I knew like I wouldjust stay in that stuck place if
I didn't make some majorchanges.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Why do you think it was van life?
Why wasn't it just, oh, let mejust, you know, hit some hikes
every weekend.
What was it about van life?
That really you know?
Because you think, oh, to beadventurous, you could have done
anything, but no, and you tooka.
I mean, that's a risk to sightunseen.
You're buying this thing,You're having someone fix it up
for you that you haven't seen,you don't know what they're
doing.
You did that, which is awesome.
You took a big step.
(09:01):
Why van life?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I know it sounds crazy when you say it like that.
I'm hearing you repeat thatback to me.
I don't know.
There's just something justseeing other people have a
freedom of you know.
A big part of who I was beforewas very much a type A
personality of you have to haveeverything a certain way and you
feel like you're in control ofyour life and all these things.
And then when you go throughlike a major life change or a
(09:25):
crisis, you realize, hey, we'renot actually in control of our
lives like we think that we are.
It allowed me to step back andlike look at, okay, actually
it's better if I walk in alittle bit more freedom of the
unknown, like that actuallymakes me a healthier person,
instead of like leaning intothat control side, I guess I
would say, of feeling like Ihave it all figured out.
(09:48):
You know, because when your lifedoes change of what it looked
like and you you're in this spotof thinking, I can't imagine my
life looking any different,because my whole, my whole life,
I had expected it to look oneway and then suddenly that
completely changes and shift.
Now I'm looking at okay, well,it's going to look different,
and then seeing these peopleliving this lifestyle of, you
(10:10):
know, not having to have it allfigured out but kind of just
taking a day at a time, justreally impacted my life and
where I was in my journey ofhealing.
Because, for me, trying tofigure out what my life was
going to look like five yearsdown the road felt super
overwhelming.
Even like a year down the road,that felt very overwhelming and
too much because so much hadchanged.
And so when I started lookingat, okay, well, you know,
(10:33):
they're trying to live life morein the moment and they're
finding joy and experiencing allthese new adventures and seeing
things that most people, youknow, most of us, you just see
it online and you're notactually doing it yourself.
And so seeing just kind of howit's like, oh yeah, we're gonna,
you know, stay here right nowbecause this is something that
(10:53):
we're, you know, having a goodtime and enjoying this
experience right now, but thennext week move on and go do
something else Just that kind offreedom felt like it gave me
permission to experience thatkind of freedom in my own life,
and I know that's probablyrambling in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
No, no, I appreciate you sharing that.
Why is it that you think thatit's so hard for people?
You know, I think I'm kind ofthe same way.
I'm kind of a planner type.
I like to plan things out andhave things dialed in, and
sometimes it's hard for me toget out of my comfort zone.
Why do you think it's so hardfor people like you to to do
that and take that step?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Well, for me it feels really hard because you are
kind of just grow up thinkingyou're supposed to go through
all these different stages oflife and like that society's
norm of what that looks like andthat's how you're successful
and you know that's what bringspurpose to your life.
But for me, when you really gothrough a place of losing most
everything except the mostimportant people, like your kids
(11:49):
in your life, you realizethat's where my priorities and
my values are is the people andthings can come and go.
It just really put life in adifferent perspective for me of
saying, okay, I can actuallygive myself permission and a non
selfish way to like say, hey,these are some things I want to
pursue and those are healthythings because they bring peace
(12:13):
in my life, they make me abetter person, it allows me more
time with my kids, like morequality time in a better way.
Trying to let go of what youfeel other people's expectations
should be for you, I think isthe hardest thing.
But for my family and friendswho have seen me just like
living this kind of crazydifferent lifestyle, they see
how happy I am and like that Ifound a new purpose in life and
(12:36):
they're just so happy for me andso supportive, like it's.
It's actually really cute.
My parents are, I think, mybiggest number one fans.
Now it's fun.
They tell everybody they knowlike, oh yeah, she's on
Instagram and like does contentcreation and I'm all.
They've never like reallybragged about any of my other
jobs in life, but this onethey're very excited about,
(12:57):
which is fun to see, and so it'sreally cool, though is my
parents borrowed my van, did amonth long trip to the Grand
Canyon and they ended up buyingan RV after that like a camper
van and they're doing a bunch oftraveling and they're getting
ready to retire Like they loveit, like they've just seen how
much joy it's brought me, soit's fun to see that they get to
(13:17):
experience that too.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I think it's great because I look at your Instagram
and I read a little post abouthow you were dealing with the
pain and grief and things likethat.
But I can tell just from yourposts, just from who you are,
and I know sometimes people say,well, facebook, instagram, it's
fake, it's not who you reallyare.
But I definitely see, intalking to you now I can tell it
lights you up when you starttalking about this and what
you're doing, which is fantastic.
(13:40):
I want to ask about your kidsfor a minute, because, taking
this risk, what was theirreaction?
What were the kids thinkingwhen they're like mom is doing
what?
What were they thinking?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I think that they were pretty supportive in the
beginning.
They had a very hard time withme putting stuff on social media
.
At first they would say, oh mygosh, my mom is.
It's just cringy, it's horrible, like she's posting all these
things, and so at first theywere.
They were, I would say, on thefence with it.
Now, as time has gone on youknow it's been over two years
they are very happy for me, likethey can see that this has
(14:13):
brought a lot of happiness andjoy in my life and they had
really seen me just strugglingwith like grief and going
through so many things and thenseeing how I've worked through
that.
You know I'm still workingthrough a lot of that, but they
can see a lot of joy in my lifenow.
That has been something thatthey are now like support.
I would say they're proud of mewith my online stuff.
(14:36):
That's.
It's taken them a while andevery once in a while I'll get a
text to my daughter of like youneed to take that post down,
that was not good, or like astory, don't do that.
So I rely on her.
She's my coach, I would say.
I asked my son first of all howdo you feel about this Because
he had just moved out and hadgotten his own place.
(14:57):
I want to be supportive of him,but then being in this place of
like house is empty.
Now you know, I think I want todo this full time.
His reaction was I just wantyou to be safe, and he was real
quiet for a while and he's like,but I also want you to be happy
, and so he worries more aboutmy safety.
I always share my location withhim.
(15:21):
I let him know, like what mytravel plans are.
You know, that's just importantto him.
My daughter is more of my freespirit.
I would say she's very muchlike me.
She does a lot of traveling.
She lives in Hawaii.
When I asked her like hey, whatdo you think about me doing
this full time?
Is this crazy?
Her reaction was do you knowwho you're talking to?
Mom, like you know, I'm alwaysgone, I'm always traveling, so
you do what makes you happy,like I'm totally fine with that.
(15:42):
I think I was mainly concernedabout their reactions more than
anybody else.
I think enough time has gone onto where I've just learned,
don't you know?
You care about and you want thefeedback of the people in your
closest circle that you trustand want the best for you and
their opinion.
But it's your life that youlive.
Nobody else is living your life, and so it's important to to
take risks sometimes and do thethings that you you want to
(16:05):
pursue.
And and my whole thing is, youknow, if it doesn't work out,
then it doesn't work out, but Iwould totally regret not trying
it, and it's a uniqueopportunity that a lot of people
don't get that chance to have.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And you're taking advantage of it.
I think what's unique for youand for me, looking at it from
my perspective, I've had a fewvan life folks on the podcast
before, but it's always beenmarried couples or couples
traveling together.
You're doing this solo, which Ithink is incredible.
That in by itself okay, firstget in the van, just doing it is
a risk.
But then to do it by yourselfand I know you've you mapped out
(16:45):
a nine week trip, kind of rightoff the bat, Did you kind of
plan, plan it all kind of day byday or how did this happen, and
kind of tell me a little bitabout the trip and maybe some
experiences from this trip?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, so the the first trip that I did.
I really mapped it out Cause Ifelt like the planner in me was
like, okay, I better haveeverything you know I do where I
want to go.
And then you get in your van,you start traveling and realize
that's not how it works, likethings just happen.
I think it was the first couplenights automatic.
I was like wait, I need toswitch my campsite or like go
somewhere else.
(17:12):
And so you learn to be flexibleand that is not my strong suit.
I would say Like this is themost growing thing with van life
is flexibility and kind ofgoing with the flow, day by day,
versus planning it so far out.
The first two weeks of my tripmy son actually went with me.
He had just graduated highschool.
I begged him to come with mejust because I thought it would
(17:33):
be a cool experience and we hadsuch a fun time.
We saw different bears innational parks.
We went to a couple places.
That was right when there wasthat big the flooding and
Yellowstone happened.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Yes, yep.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We had to reroute our trip and we went down to the
Grand Tetons together and then Idrove back to California,
dropped him off and then I wentfor the rest of the time on my
own.
I think my favorite experienceabout that was going up to
Washington.
I drove Highway 1 all along thecoast through all the beach
towns, which was amazing, and Ithink the best part about van
(18:06):
life is when you step back andyou realize it doesn't have to
all be planned out to the exactminute, have some flexibility.
You can stop where you wantwhenever you want, and I think
that's something I love aboutthe solo part of traveling is I
can stop where I want and stayhowever long I want, just
(18:27):
because I want to do it, whichsounds so selfish, but it is so
nice at the same time, likeyou're not with a group of
people and you're like on theirtimeline or something.
I just stopped wherever Iwanted.
It was really cool.
I put my van on a ferry for thefirst time up in Washington and
I went out to the San JuanIslands and saw like orca,
whales and just all these coolexperiences that I'm like.
(18:50):
Moments like that.
I was thinking, oh my gosh, I'mactually experiencing this
right now, like this is sofreaking cool and it's just
things that I have alwaysdreamed of.
Maybe, like that would beamazing, and then actually just
getting to do them is a wholenother experience.
So that, and then I lovemeeting people on the road.
That's.
My other big thing is I lovebeing able to stop wherever you
(19:11):
want, but I would love havingconversations with people on the
road and just sharing about mytraveling and you just meet all
kinds of really cool peoplealong the way.
So I've really enjoyed thatpart of it.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Where are you meeting these people?
Are they in, like, coffee shops?
Is it in stores, like?
Where are you meeting peopleand talking to them when you're
on the road?
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Usually it will be like in restaurants or if I'm
like at a, I would say, innational parks, like on a hike,
I meet a lot of people whilehiking.
I've met up with some peoplethat I've become like friends
with online through Instagramwho are also travelers or do
hiking or van life, and thensometimes somebody will see, hey
, you're traveling somewhere andso you'll make plans to meet up
(19:50):
with them and go do some hikes.
I've met a lot of people likejust out in the hot springs.
When you're out there, just youkind of just chat with people
wherever you're at.
When I did a bunch of the hotsprings in Northern California,
I met couples from all over theplace.
I mean because a lot of othercountries they do the holidays
where they travel a lot, and Ithink that's something very
(20:10):
different that Americans don'tdo as often, like we do vacation
down to Disneyland, somethinglike that, where other countries
they do a lot of out of countrytravels, and so it's just fun
hearing their experiences,getting recommendations on where
to visit from them and stuff.
So I love gettingrecommendations from locals when
I'm in a coffee shop orrestaurant, just you know,
(20:32):
because I'll just share, yeah,or people will ask, because
they'll see my van and ask if Ido van travel.
And so we'll just startchatting and they're like,
because they'll see my van andask if I do van travel.
And so we'll just startchatting and they're like, oh,
you should go here or there.
And so I get a lot of likeinsider tips, which I love, on
all the places to go and see.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
So this nine week trip that you did, was there any
particular place that justreally sticks out to you that
maybe you didn't think would,but really had an impact on you?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, I would say North Cascade National Park.
I don't think I'd even reallyheard of it before.
Like you hear of all the bigones Yosemite, yellowstone, and
really since COVID, a lot moreof those places have become
popular, but North Cascades, Ifeel, gets not a lot of
attention and it's superunderrated.
Like it is an amazing park.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
And North Cascades.
Let's give me a littlebackground on it.
Is that Washington?
Where's North Cascades?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah, it's in northern Washington, pretty
close to the Canadian border.
It's the most northern nationalpark up there, so I had done
Mount Rainier and OlympicNational Park and then I went up
to North Cascades and I almostskipped it just because I
thought it was going to be thissmall park and maybe not a big
deal.
It ended up being one of myfavorites.
(21:43):
I loved to paddleboard and so Ibrought my paddleboard with me
in my van.
There's a lake there calledDiablo Lake and it's literally
like the most aquamarine water.
Like you try to get picturesand video and it just does not
do it justice.
It was just, I mean, you'refloating and there's like
glaciers around you and you'relike, is this real life right
now?
Like it was just amazing.
That was a really fun park.
(22:03):
I did a lot of hikes up tolakes there and that one I
really enjoyed because it wassuch a surprise Like I was just
not expecting it to be thatgreat and there wasn't a ton of
people.
So that was the other nicething.
Even though I love people, Ilike when I'm hiking to have
quiet, I don't want to be in aline of people to get somewhere.
Yeah, that was probably one ofmy favorite ones.
(22:24):
The other one would be theGrand Tetons, which I know is so
popular right now.
I went there so I did that parktwice, once with my son, dropped
him off, and then I went backat the end of my nine weeks
because I just loved it.
The wildlife there was insane.
I got to see bull, moose and acow and that was so cool, just
(22:47):
to sit there and watch them justlike eating in the pond.
And I'd never been that closeto a moose before and I'll just
say they're so much bigger inperson.
I fully understand why they'reone of the most dangerous
animals, but I saw grizzly andthe tetons, a lot of bears.
Yeah, I just I love seeing allthe wildlife.
Like that's one of my favoritethings.
(23:08):
So that was probably betweenthose two parks.
It's really hard.
Those are my top two for sure.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Yeah, and I'm with you there.
I love seeing wildlife when Igo to national parks.
That's what I really love iswhen you get to see that
wildlife, so that's awesome thatyou got to experience that.
Now, while you're doing this,you're still working full-time.
So you took time off, did thevan life and then you're still
working full-time.
I know that's about to change,Kind of what's the story there
(23:35):
with what you've got going on.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Yeah, so the last two years, you know, my son was had
just finished high school andhe was doing first years of
college and still living at home, and so I still needed to have
a home base for him to be at andI wasn't planning on staying in
this area for long just because, you know, having gone through
the things I had in my past, Ireally just wanted a fresh start
(23:57):
, somewhere without all thosememories.
But I really wanted to havesome stability and a place for
my son and being here was whatwas best during that time.
I love my job.
They've been so supportive ofme traveling.
It's family and friends there.
I love them so much.
But been with my son now moving.
He's a video game developer andthey launched their first game
(24:19):
and that went crazy, and so he'sin a spot where he can move out
and have his own place now,which is awesome because I'm a
super proud mom of him, but also, at the same time, very sad he
moved out.
It's so quiet here now.
So I was like you know what I'mjust in this position of I've
saved my money.
I love traveling.
It's cheaper for me to travelthan to afford rent and do what
I'm doing where I'm just in thisposition of I've saved.
I've saved my money, I'm I lovetraveling.
(24:40):
It's cheaper for me to travelthan to afford rent and do what
I'm doing where I'm at.
Also, with my social mediastuff, having built up more, I
also have been, you know,offered some different contracts
with companies to do posts forthem and to do some
collaborations, and so I've done, you know, a little bit of that
.
But trying to balance that anda full time job is hard with all
(25:01):
the travel.
So now that my son's moved out,I'm just like you know what I
want to be able to say yes tothose opportunities, even if
it's for a year or whatever thatlooks like.
I just want to try to say yesto some of those things now.
Try to see what you know.
(25:21):
Say yes to some of those thingsnow.
So I yeah, I came back from mylast month trip.
I went all the way to NorthCarolina and back, which was my
longest trip I've ever done.
It was 68, 6,850 miles and itwas so fun and I saw so many
places.
But it was the first timecoming back that I was like you
know what?
I'm not ready to come back LikeI can see myself doing this so
(25:42):
much longer.
It wasn't like when you comeback from a vacation or
something where you're like, oh,it's so nice to be home.
It was the opposite, where youknow, I love seeing everybody
that I had been away from.
But I was like, and I'm glad Isaid hi to everybody.
Now I'm ready to turn aroundand go back.
Yeah, I just decided now's thisopportunity where I'm going to
just start saying yes to some ofthose, to that, and that's kind
(26:04):
of what, yeah, launched thatall I guess.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
What kind of professional background do you
have?
Like?
What kind of work was it?
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Yeah, I work at a church.
I've done that for eight and ahalf years.
The first five years I wasworking as a director for a
women's shelter for single momsof kids who were homeless or
experiencing homelessness, andso our church had a ministry for
that and I ran that for fiveyears until COVID hit and then
we had to make some changesbased on California funding with
(26:33):
that, and so I still had a rolein the church overseeing some
support groups and classes thatwe do.
But yeah, I've been there eightand a half years and loved it.
So it's hard to yeah, it's hardto leave a job that you've
really enjoyed.
I would say it's the hardestthing.
So it's not like it's a jobwhere you know I'm like, oh, I'm
done, I want to just dosomething completely different.
But I think it's been reallyhealthy in that because I've
(26:56):
loved it.
And then, knowing that I wantto take this next step, I know
I'm like making a good decisionbecause I've had so much support
from them too.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
This trip you took to North Carolina.
I don't know if this was partof the trip, but I saw some
posts on Instagram from you thatkind of struck me because I
thought it was.
It was pretty unique andinteresting that you kind of
went back to some of yourfamily's roots, I think.
Was it this trip or was that adifferent trip?
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yeah, it was this last trip, so I circled back and
went through Arkansas.
I have always heard about mygrandparents growing up there.
It was really important to meto go visit those areas and what
I didn't realize is there'sstill so much family that
actually lives back there Likeit's.
I feel like everybody's alittle bit related in that area.
But it was really fun becauseyou know my I was very close
(27:42):
with my grandparents.
My granddad has passed away.
My grandma is still living.
She has dementia and is in amemory care facility.
Things have changed with herbut growing up very close to
both of them, they just sharedstories about their life growing
up.
Arkansas there's beautiful areasand there's really hard areas
(28:03):
and with them growing up therethere was a lot of poverty and
it just was definitely adifferent lifestyle than what
they've built here in California.
They met as teenagers.
My grandma just fell in lovewith the dark haired guy with
the fast car that would comevisit her and he lived 12 miles
across the border in Missouriand she was on the Arkansas side
(28:26):
.
When I went back there it wasjust incredible to like I had a
family member that I met out,that lives out there, currently
met me, drove me around andshowed me all the family homes
where my grandma had grown up.
I saw on the side of the housewhere her mom had like actually
written her name in the concretewith the year and it still was
(28:47):
there and just like actuallygetting to see all the places
that they had told stories about, it just kind of made that come
to life in such a different wayand I was just absolutely blown
away.
Seeing that history come tolife for me was really
incredible and just really mademe have a lot of respect for my
(29:07):
grandparents, because seeingeven the lifestyle that's there
now is so different than how welive here.
I just had a whole differentappreciation, respect for what
kind of guts that must havetaken for them to be like us
teenagers.
They were moving cross countryand they did a lot of really
hard jobs like working on afactory line and different
(29:29):
things, coming into Californiaand then built their own
business.
My dad and my granddad ran abusiness for many years together
and so that was just reallyimportant for them to.
For my grandparents they reallywanted to have a different life
built for their kids.
Kind of seeing how that allcame about was just so fun for
me to see the little church thatthey went to.
(29:52):
I mean they had men's outhouseand women's outhouse on opposite
sides of the churchyard, whichwas crazy.
Like all these things that werejust very normal even until not
that long ago out there justshowed me like how much my
grandparents overcame and likewhat a change in their life they
made by, you know, leaving andstarting something completely
(30:15):
different.
I was like, wow, I just as akid, you have no idea what kind
of sacrifice that is.
So it was really fun for me tosee those spots and to just
those stories come to life.
You know hearing how they grewup and just even seeing the
creek I saw a snapping turtle inthe creek there and I was like,
oh my gosh, my grandma playedin this creek that's crazy when
she was a little girl.
(30:35):
It just made me love mygrandparents even more.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I love that because I think sometimes we don't
appreciate that and who knowswho's to say.
You may have gotten back thereeven without the van life, but I
think the van life situationthat you're in allowed you to do
it.
It gave you that opportunitybecause you're like you know,
hey, traveling by van.
Let me check this out and Ithink that was good for you and
it felt like it was just hearingyou talk about how the
(31:01):
appreciation you gain for thosewho came before you.
So I think that's awesome andI'm glad you're able to do that.
One thing, too, that you kindof talk about every so often in
some of your posts is theimportance of God in your life.
Do you mind kind of sharing alittle bit about that and what
that means to you?
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, definitely.
Like I said, I work at a churchand faith is a big part of my
background.
But for me, just personally,until I really went through
those hard things in 2019, Ididn't realize how much of a
core value that was in my life,even though I said I was a
Christian, I believed in God.
Just being in a spot ofeverything you kind of know
(31:37):
being turned upside down, youreally look at what are the
things you value the most inyour life and what are the
things that are your foundation.
I would say, for me, thatdefinitely is God, and just when
everything else felt so out ofmy control, he was like the one
thing that just felt steadfastand really gave me peace in life
(31:58):
.
And I think too, because I dowork at a church, a big part of
balancing like my spiritual lifeand then my work life is by
going outdoors and having timeaway, because on Sundays you're
in ministry mode if you arethere for church but at the same
time I still am working.
Being able to be outside andspend time in nature just really
makes me feel closest to God.
(32:19):
It's amazing just for me to seejust all the things that have
been created and how it's justthis divine plan of how he
created life to look like andpurpose.
It just reprioritizes, like thetrue meaning of life for me
when I'm outside, and just howhe designed our life to look
With my faith.
It talks a lot about just howwe're supposed to balance life
(32:42):
of work and rest, and so that'sa big thing I've been trying to
achieve with some of this isjust those healthy rhythms of
you work hard, yes, but you alsotake that rest to enjoy your
life and like to stay close toGod and to make sure that you're
focusing first on Him in yourlife and then the people and
(33:02):
then the things are just thethings Like those can change and
come, but those are temporary.
So I've always had faith, but Iwould say I really firmly
believe in my faith now.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
And when you were going through those tough times
where it is a struggle and it'shard to see the way out, a lot
of people that's when theyreally question it and they're
like, eh, maybe it's not there,maybe it's not happening.
It sounds like for you, maybethat was the opposite.
You relied on that as kind ofyour, your source, like how was
that?
I mean, when you were actuallyin those depths of despair, when
you were struggling, what is itthat kept you?
(33:35):
You know the what was it aboutfaith that really just helped
you through that.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Don't get me wrong.
Like I definitely struggled too, like there were times where
I'm like okay, why God Likecould?
you have this lesson in adifferent way.
Did it have to happen this wayor look like this and I think
going back to that it's not myplan or my is from him seeing
everything and understandingeverything and it being filtered
down to me, but because I couldfeel his presence which is the
(34:15):
only way how I know to explainit like I just felt everything
else around me was uncertain andhe was the one thing that just
that I felt was like a rock andan anchor in my life, and so it
felt like everything else was astorm around me, but I still was
being securely anchored to thisone truth of he is good, he
(34:38):
faithful, and he does see me.
Even though I didn't understandthe rest of it, it was almost
like this point, especially mytherapy when I did my trauma
therapy.
It was almost like this point,especially in my therapy when I
did my trauma therapy.
It was this point of letting goand realizing I don't have to
understand all the whys and Idon't need to know all the
reasons why, but I can stilltrust that I have a God who does
(34:58):
see me and that does know.
The rest of that I can let gowith, because a lot of it.
I was just clinging to like Ihave to have all these answers
in order to move on or I have toknow these reasons to be okay.
And I think that there was justa point of acceptance for me
personally, just saying I caneither like hold on to feeling I
need to know the why toeverything and I'm going to stay
(35:20):
stuck, or I can let go and sayI don't understand it all and
that still is okay, and once Ilike turn that corner, that
really just helped me inunderstanding that I can be okay
without needing to know all thewhys and I can still move
forward in life in a better way.
(35:42):
Cause for you know, in the verybeginning of things it's almost
like you didn't even want to getbetter.
You were just so overcome withhurt and pain you couldn't see
and you couldn't even imaginelife being different or good
again.
Looking back now it's like, wow, I could never have even told
the person I was then that Iwould be okay, because I
(36:03):
couldn't even hear in thatmoment.
But it was just taking a stepevery single day forward, even
some days where it just feltlike you're still just staying
in that same spot when people gothrough grief now.
I just always encourage themjust breathe where you're at,
just stay in this moment anddon't even think about what the
next hour looks like, becausesometimes you just aren't even
(36:24):
capable of doing that.
But it was just knowing thatGod was there.
I think that was the momentthat I just knew inside my soul
of like he is real and he seesme and he's with me through this
all.
Even though I can't imaginegetting through this, just
having him, just knowing that hewas there with me, helped me.
(36:44):
Just be evil, you know, beingable to function through it.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Thank you so much for sharing that, because I agree
with you.
I think sometimes when we're inthose moments, it is so hard
and you know people have saidyou're going to look back and
you'll be grateful for in it.
But it's hard when you're inthat moment it's, and so I liked
the fact that you shared that.
Hey, live in it now and justlive in it now and just you know
, even if it's just a minute,you know, don't, don't worry
about the next hour, like, let'sjust get through this, cause it
(37:07):
is, it's challenging.
I appreciate you beingvulnerable and sharing that with
me.
Thank you so much for that.
As you move forward now, by thetime this episode comes out,
you are going to be doing thisfull time.
It's what you're doing.
What are some of the challengesthat that you face?
Speaker 2 (37:20):
I think some of the challenges are understanding
that this is full time and notlike, oh, this long trip or
something where it's like youhave somewhere to go back to.
I think I've realized theimportance of making sure you
touch base with the people inyour life that mean the most
Because, like I said, people areirreplaceable.
They really mean a lot.
(37:42):
Making sure that I'mintentional in like planning out
my stops, where I'm checking inand staying with family,
friends, which I am superblessed, like I have different
people that I know in severaldifferent States, and so many
people now that know that I'mdoing this full time have
offered yeah, come stay with usfor like a week or something.
And so just being intentionaland mapping out where I'm going
to be, to make sure that I'mchecking in with um, with those,
(38:11):
is really important Becausewith my kids and my best friend,
who I'm very close with, thoseare people that I value those
relationships so much.
So I just want to make surethat I'm intentionally investing
in them, even while I'm doingthis full-time thing, and then
just being good with learning tobe flexible still, because I
think it's different doingsomething for a short time
versus doing it for a long time,like some of the things that
I'm looking at.
So I'm going to be starting aYouTube channel in September,
(38:34):
just like as I have a lot ofpeople asking me like, hey,
share more about van life andespecially being a solo female
traveler.
But that looks like I actuallyhate being in front of the
camera, like that is somethingthat sounds so weird, but I
absolutely hate it.
Like I just that's justsomething I have to personally
get over and just do some of.
And so I'm pushing myself out ofmy comfort zone, trying to do
(38:54):
some of those things, because Iknow, even when I started, I
watched a lot of people livingthat kind of lifestyle.
I just really want to beinspiring, encouraging to others
.
Just a lot of people havereached out just saying how they
really want to do this.
They just don't think that theycan.
I always say, if I can do itbecause I know myself, then I
definitely know you can do it,because it's nothing that would
(39:17):
have been a strength of mine atall, but it's something that I
can't imagine not being a partof my life now.
Yeah, just trying some newthings coming up and continuing
to push myself in making this afull-time venture for me is
gonna be a challenge and alsoit's like nervous, scary,
exciting, I would say, all atthe same time.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Everything.
Yeah, wrapped up, everythingwrapped up.
What are some of the plans?
Can you give us any sneak peekinto where you're gonna be going
?
Some of the things Can you giveus any sneak peek into where?
Speaker 2 (39:45):
you're going to be going and some of the things you
have planned.
Yeah, so the first part of well, in September I'm doing some
van expos September and Octoberwith my van company.
I'm an ambassador for them andso I travel to some of the big
van expos that are happening onthe Pacific Northwest, which I
love, because I'm not you know,I'm not an employee of theirs.
So they have been very openwith like, just share with
(40:06):
people.
Like what are the things youlike, what you don't like, just
be yourself, share yourexperiences.
And so it's really fun to talkto people about traveling,
especially couples or singlepeople that are really looking
into it and considering it,because I'm so passionate about
it, because it's brought so muchjoy in my life, and so I'm just
so excited for them to, youknow, to get to try it for them.
(40:29):
I'm going to be doing some ofthat and then I'm probably going
to go back out to Arkansasagain.
I'm really looking for a placeto be a home base at some point
I'm going to do.
I've looked at Tennessee,arkansas, love those areas.
My parents are thinking aboutdoing a trip, maybe, back there
to check out some of those spotstoo.
So I'd love to caravan withthem.
And then my big trip will be ina year from now.
I'm going to be doing Alaska,like Canada and Alaska for a few
(40:51):
months, which is a huge numberone bucket list item for me.
So I'm missing the window of itthis year just with the weather
, but I'm planning that out fornext year, so that's going to be
my big one.
That I'm really, really excitedabout.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
That's awesome.
You got some great plans.
I love it.
I'm excited to follow you andsee what's going on.
Speaking of that, where canpeople find you?
Do you know the name of yourYouTube channel?
Because by the time this comesout, it sounds like your YouTube
channel will be up.
So if you don't mind sharingyour socials with us, so we know
where to find you.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Yeah, so my Instagram is just at midlifeadventures is
just at midlifeadventures.
I call it my midlife adventureinstead of my midlife crisis.
I know it sounds kind of cliche, but it is true Because I want
people to know this is somethingI'm choosing to bring me joy,
not just because I'm goingthrough, I don't know what I
want in life.
I actually know my YouTubechannel.
I'm working on that, but it'sgoing to be something about it
(41:46):
will be something with Beth'smid Beth Midlife Adventure.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
So, beth, this has been fun.
I've learned a lot from you.
I love just the aura you haveabout you.
I can tell it really lights youup.
When you talk about this.
I can tell you're definitely ina happy place compared to where
you were, so that's fantastic.
When you think of the wordadventure, what does adventure
mean to you?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
For me it just means enjoying life now and, I think,
just not getting stuck in mypast and not being so concerned
about my future, but justenjoying life now.
And that doesn't mean beirresponsible and like not care
about planning for your future,but I think you can get so over
concerned about future that youstop living in the present at
(42:20):
times, and so adventure for meis just being open to what
tomorrow is going to bring andrealizing I don't have to have
it all figured out, I know Godalready does.
Living life in the moment,right now, is important.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Beth, thank you so much for coming on Journey with
Jake.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
All right, well, thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
Special thanks to Beth Atencio, the midlife
adventure, for coming on theshow and sharing her journey
with all of us.
Adventure for coming on theshow and sharing her journey
with all of us.
Be sure and check out herInstagram account at
midlifeadventure and check herout on YouTube by searching
Beth's Midlife Adventure.
Once again, I have grown andgained something from my guests,
which I really appreciate andI'm grateful for.
(42:59):
Thanks to each one of you fortuning in and listening to
Journey with Jake.
That means the world to me.
I would love to hear from you.
Give me a follow on Instagramat journeywithjakepodcast and
share your thoughts on Instagram, or send me an email to jake at
journeywithjakenet.
Next week, I am joined by PeterCordova, who took a sabbatical
to travel the world and sharesan amazing experience about
(43:20):
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Be sure and tune in next week.
Just remember, it's not alwaysabout the destination as it is
about the journey.
Take care everybody.
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