Days 136 to 139: Jacksonville (and San Francisco)

Jacksonville (Hampton)

H had three full days to bathe in alone time while visiting Florida for the very first time. His first night in Jacksonville, he had a blissfully warm sunset walk on his way to downtown, where he inhaled some impressive vegan oxtail at Grenville Kitchen. He spent the following midday with his former Reno landlady, Claudine, at her home a short drive south in St. Augustine. Tegan got to meet her precious rescue Luna, we all soaked up the sun during a walk, then had some impressive flavorful bites at Osprey Tacos. H got back into Jax, met the tremendous Treaty Oak, then spent the night watching the Democratic debate while feasting on pizza from Crispy’s. His final day solo was another Grade-A low key one with a bit of cafe time, getting Teegs’ nails trimmed, and gawking at Rachel Maddow’s interview of Lev Parnas. Teegs relished the passenger seat the entire next day of driving, and we made it down to West Palm Beach just after G landed for our weekend in Miami.

San Francisco (Gary)

Over the course of the road trip, one of the biggest questions in my life has been what I’d be doing in its wake. I dropped out of grad school in the summer, realizing that my interests and talents would be better applied in the working world, and have been working through a series of interviews as we’ve been traversing the continent. (Indeed, this road trip itself was funded by the tuition money I would otherwise have spent this year!)

While Hampton got to relax and enjoy Florida, I flew across the country from Savannah to San Francisco. (Feeling flygskam, I offset the emissions for the round trip with Cool Effect. Notwithstanding the valid point that offsets aren’t enough, they’re something, and at a cost of less than $20—easily digestible.) What ensued were three packed days, crashing at a SoMa hotel, interviewing with a variety of companies in the Bay Area, and looking to answer some of the questions about what might come next. It was also a good chance to hit some favourite places (Samovar and Burrito Express, right around the corner from our Oakland apartment, which was our send-off food as we left in September!).

Nothing is certain as of this writing, but I’m happy to have a few offers to consider as we enjoy the breezy Keys. I had a chance to see some of my favourite friends—Cat, Christine, Rami, Bryce—and to learn a lot about a few very exciting companies. But I was mostly excited to fly home, so to speak, where Hampton and Tegan were. Seeing them after I left the Palm Beach airport helped remind me the wonder of my life and the excitement I have for our collective future.

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1 Comment

  1. Hey Gary and Hampton, Thank you for yet more fantastic photos and updates. I love the picture of Teegan on the dock in Jacksonville. I also love the photo of the kitty on the porch, the trees and all the amazing people and food photos (vegan oxtail – so awesome! Who knew? :). As for Miami, um…. yah. Wow. I know many people find it a wonderful place to live and visit but I must say it doesn’t call out to me. Loved the graffiti (so creative in wording and spelling!! :). Gary, thanks for sharing about your journey with what’s next. Those steps are never easy. I wish you so well, as always. I’m pleased you have offers and that you’re discovering what’s important to you. Lots of love. xoxo Oh, and thanks for sharing about the offsets as well. That’s very thoughtful and teaches me that I can do the same. Thanks.

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