Barb Cool

31/07/2020

18/07/2020

Day 22 -

So, **t, as I lovingly call them, are one of my guilty pleasures. Right up there with .



I’m turning this nose for numminess into a side hustle.
Fried seafood, surfing, road trips...I’m onto somethin’

13/07/2020

Day 16 Roadtrip Across America

Day 24 out of NYC



I’m into this quieter stuff.

Devastating closures - poppin’ cities that have become struggling ghost towns. Memphis and Mobile too.
The 5 recommendations from WF Guy (guess...) turned out to be closed.

Happy to report that beach life carries on...hang ten



1 I like not watching tv at night
2 reading before bed
3 wave diving
4 unexpected Southern Fine Dining...Fine Southern Dining?
5 Overhearing dinner conversation about becoming and hiring horse trainers by kids not much past 20
6 waiting for the Bravo camera crew to show up
7 hot nights on the patio
8 yes ma’am
9 y’all
10 Mac n cheese

@ The Olde Pink House

07/07/2020

Day 10 - Cross Country Roadtrip

Day 9 was feeling like hell. I was over it with a long way to go. Couldn’t find the love or the feel-good.

I’ve learned that sometimes $32/night hotels - well, do your reconnaissance.

Then I found out was nearby...funny what can perk up a mood. Stick me in a field with some caddy’s, hand me a can of spray paint (hot pink of course), and I found my joy again!



1 steaks waiting as we pulled up in OKC
2 making graffiti
3 an extra hour in the hotel room
4 my car wasn’t broken into last night
5 a good hard cry
6 followed by the the best relaxation that can only follow a@good cry
7 playing the alphabet game
8
9 feeling the intensity of the Texas sun and land
10 followed by the homey feeling of Oklahoma

04/07/2020

Day 8 - Roadtrip + Some Background

Many of you asked what the hell Im doing. So here’s a little backstory:

Summary - feeling the oh s**t and doing it anyway.

March - Lockdown hits NYC
April - This is cool, great connecting with friends in a different way, still working
May - WTF?
June - Feeling trapped, isolated, hopeless, life is pointless

Lots of time on my hands, questioning everything: Where do I want to live? What do I want to do for work? I need the ocean and surfing like every day.
Too much time to wear down the same pathways in my brain: loneliness, lack of energy or passion, panic...brain turning to mush, no desire, little hope.

A BIG FAT existential crisis.

I decided to get out of my head by hitting the road. Will things feel more manageable having a car and the means to escape?

The plane ticket was booked and a week later I was reunited with Thelma (the Scion my mom left me).

I promptly went into a freak out. What am I thinking? Is this going to help? So much alone time.

Im on Day 8. Yes there have been tears, fears, the open endedness of what’s next and what am I supposed to be doing?

The bright spots aren’t huge but they are there if I stay in the moment (which takes a lot of practice - I’m in a place of choosing mindfulness every single step of the way): the smell of a new kind of green, tackling the desolate path through the Grand Canyon and making it out the other side. Alive.

This is the first step on the path to something new. Learning to accept, let go, be - and look for the little cracks of light that are clues to what’s next. Fear/excitement - two sides of the same coin.

As said to me yesterday “as you live life, which you are doing, and keep moving toward energy... There will be something else that has your attention and you will feel safe enough to live in it...your system will say - it is ok to move on and to be.”

04/07/2020

Day 7 - Roadtrip

So I thought my friends lived in Santa Fe. Turns out it’s Albuquerque! Charlie needs to stay on a leash because it’s snake season - WTF?!

More tomorrow



1 Having a beautiful cozy bedroom all to myself
2 Homemade tortilla soup
3 Sitting at the dinner table connecting with new friends
4 there’s a pool here!
5 asking Linny to hold space
6 she held the space
7 I could release some emotion
8 and feel supported
9 desert wind
10 Charlie being such a good co pilot
11 95 degree dry heat - I love the desert

02/07/2020

Day 5 Cross Country Road Trip

Today I woke up lost. The open ended was of this trip feels, well let’s just say that’s not a space I’m comfortable in. A friend pointed out that I could give myself a break. No need to experience all of this city just because I’m passing through. There’s a lot of energy here. And it seems that alone is enough. Deciding on doing this trip and making it happen was some big stuff. And it triggered some dark spaces. And facing this journey anyway, with the fear. Some pics from today and, to comfort myself, here’s 10 Tiny Things (from Jacqueline Welsh - she doesn’t use Instagram so find her on the FB)

1 Charlie going to the vet and getting something to help her feel better
2 how taking care of my little fur baby keeps me sane
3 Finding the plug to the Fairy Lights outside my yurt
4 using my nice face cleanser
5 A call with 2 food friends
6 the gentleman that helped me across the slippery rocks at the swimming hole
7 the same man who helped me get up when I slipped and landed on my ass
8 seeing Charlie in the wild
9 a friend giving me support while I decided what to do for Charlie
10 A WhatsApp reply that made me realize I’m totally normal and supported @ Red Rock Crossing

01/07/2020

DAY 4 Roadtrip Across America:

Taking the scenic route turned into an “oh s**t” today. A 10 mile graded road that was actually 14 miles, absolutely no one in sight, no cell service...no choice but to keep it moving.

Impressed my curiosity and craving an adventure was louder than the fear! Yee haw...

30/06/2020

Day 3 - Roadtrip Across America

I didn’t know how much I wanted to be here until I was there in it! Holy Hell nothing like for some perspective.
z thank you for the healing. I felt like my channel was opened up so I could take in more. Like the funk was cleaned out and things could flow more than before.
I feel my mom energy pulling differently - forward, not back. Supportive. To something. I didn’t know that was needed.

Today’s 10 Tiny Things (to for the brilliant inspo!)

1 - I saw buffalo!
2 - I saw donkeys!
3 - Realized being the only car in a very long tunnel freaks the s**t out of me
4 - Red rocks of Zion
5 - remembering the exhilaration of passing a car on a two-lane highway)
6 - ‘s Marco Polo
7 - the extra hour I got back (or did I lose it?) when I realized I was only 2 hours behind NYC, not 3
8 - feeling different mom energy
9 - spending the night
10 -

25/06/2020

The journey begins.

SEA —> NYC by way of the South.

May the adventure, growth, and healing begin...

Thanks for the hammock time & snacks and .

30/05/2020

There is life outside my four walls

26/05/2020

The emotional challenges during this time often feel impossible, never-ending - who am I, will I survive the isolation, what does this mean, what does the future hold.

Full disclosure - I spent Sunday crying all day minus 3 or so breaks. No exaggeration.

Gratitude for the support from friends to help prop me up - - thank you.

Taking a moment to thank the universe for always showing up. Providing support and soldiering on.




My daily park visits are a highlight.