Welcome to Escaping the Valley!
Do you love to travel on a moment’s notice? Pick a city from your mind’s library and fly out the next day? So do I!
My name is Angela, and I’m from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, CA. (Yes, a real Valley Girl!) Although I love where I grew up and have many fond memories of my neighborhood, there is just so much more that I want to discover. I came to a realization not too long ago that I didn’t just want to IMAGINE visiting all the cities I’ve read about and that are in my consciousness; I want to actually GO there. So now, I have a knack for picking (seemingly) random cities in the US and going…just because. Being from such a large and dominant city, it’s quite easy to get stuck and to think it’s the best city of them all. And unfortunately, we here in LA hear of that idea often: we have amazing weather year-round, delicious, fresh food, a very diverse cultural makeup, the epicenter of nightlife…what more could I seek?
However, the more I traveled to cities within the US, I realized just how many different faces this great country has, and that no single one is a definitive definition of “America.” You grow to think that the entire country is just like where you live, and the truth is that it definitely is not. You don’t really understand that until you see firsthand. The more you travel, the more you realize that there are other ways to live than what you know. Different foods, cultures, attitudes, priorities, within the same country, and even the state!
I’ve set out to uncover what makes this country so great and diverse, one city at a time.
I created this blog as a way to share my spontaneous travels with you all, and also to hopefully inspire others who may have the same desire but can’t seem to pull the trigger.
I get it--we’ve all been there. We want to do something, but for whatever reasons in our lives, we hold ourselves back. Fear of the unknown, judgment from family or friends, fear of traveling solo…the list goes on and on.
I’ve realized that the more I spontaneously travel, the smaller those fears become. I’ve had some of my most memorable, fulfilling experiences while traveling solo, and I want to share this wonderful gift with you all.
Cheers and happy traveling!
P.S. Nothing makes me happier than hearing from you! I want this to be a place for conversation and exchanging of ideas just as much as an outlet for me to share my journey. I welcome your thoughts, opinions, and disagreements. So please--comment, email, and share!
