2023 was a year of transition. I went from vanlife back to living in a city.It was full of scuba diving with friends, creativity, hiking, and climbing.

I started the year out in Florida. Spent some time in the Keys with Granger & Cass then went cave diving in Florida for the first time. So intense. The caves there are about 100ft on average and there is a ton of flow. You have to pull yourself along the walls with your hands instead of kicking when it's super strong. It was a really great experience, but I definitely prefer Mexican caves.

My mom's 70th birthday was in February. She had been talking about maybe wanting a larger van to do longer trips. I got her a Ford Transit and built it out for her.

I only had 4 weeks before a trip I already had planned to Mexico. I built all of it from start to finish in just over 3 weeks. Really proud of how it turned out. She's been loving traveling all over in it.

In March, I went to Cozumel with some friends. This was Andrew's first trip. We did his open water, nitrox, and advanced certifications while we were there. Had such a good time.

After Cozumel, I took the ferry over to the mainland to go cave diving with Michel and Erik.

In April, I found an awesome house in Sausalito and officially ended vanlife.

It was so great to have space for stuff again! I got drums, a bike, a motorcycle, and a bunch of tools.

I still took the van out to go on trips. So glad to still have it.

In August, I texted my friend Andrew and asked him if he wanted to go climbing. I had only been bouldering once and didn't really like it. After several months of just hanging out in Sausalito, I thought maybe getting into gym climbing could be good though.

We went and he brought his friend, Hunter. It was the start of one of my favorite things. Climbing and the friends I met through it were the best part of my 2023.

In September, I did my first backpacking since starting vanlife. So good to be back.

Backyard hangs with friends.

And lots of diving in Monterey with Andrew & Paul.

In October, I went back to Mexico to go cave diving again. It's one of my favorite things.

In November, I made some bread, went biking a lot, and made some Christmas cards I'm pretty proud of.

December was full of good times with climbing friends.

What a year.

I'm writing this at the end of 2025. I never got around to posting it back then and the gap has been killing me.