It’s truly been quite a while since I’ve last blogged. Last weekend, twenty-two of my cousins and I got together and spent three days in the middle of the Tehachapi Mountains in Central California with no electricity and no cell reception. Lemme tell you, it felt so weird to not have ANY access to the rest of the world, and I mean NONE— no texts, no calls, no internet— but it was so amazing and so worth it.

Instead of everyone sitting around with their faces glued to their phones, we were spending time with each other, playing games, talking around the campfire, cooking and drinking lots and lots of beer together. We were certainly over-prepared with a keg of IPA, three ice chests full of beer and what seemed to be endless cases of food. Nothing fancy; just lots of fruit, sandwiches and barbecue. We consumed a lot.

But relaxing out in nature, disconnected from the stresses of daily life and instead surrounded by trees and stars and each other was a warm and wonderful experience. We should really all consider unplugging like this on a more regular basis. It’s amazing how clear things become after taking a moment to step back.