We last posted from Missoula, Montana in early September.

In the two months since, we traveled an additional 8,000 miles, completed our loop of the country, and have already begun settling back in to life in West Virginia.

If that sounds a bit quicker than planned to you – well, that’s because it was.

Turns out, from the very start of the trip, we had a precious, teeny tiny stowaway on board. . .

This ^^ is us finding out in the early hours of the morning at a campground in Maine during our second week on the road. Yes, we’re pregnant!!!!!

💙 Ankur & I are so so so excited to share that we’re expecting a baby boy in April! 💙

As you can imagine, this piece of news led us to reconsider how we’d approach the rest of the trip. We promptly scheduled a tele-health appointment with our OB in Charleston, and, with her blessing, agreed to continue tent camping our way across the country, making adjustments here and there as necessary.

At first, those adjustments were small: i.e., choosing shorter distances to hike, prioritizing afternoon naps, increasing my caloric intake. But, after the nausea and fatigue hit hard (~5 weeks into our trip, 7 weeks into pregnancy), we decided to scale back a tad farther. This meant swapping an occasional night in the tent for a stay indoors, or me taking a rest day with Finn while Ankur went for a bike ride. Ultimately, it meant cutting our trip just a couple weeks short.

At the encouragement of our home OB, we made calls to doctors in various states along our route to be seen for our first and second prenatal visits. We’ve now had 3 appointments with 3 OBs in 3 states – Montana, California, and West Virginia.

So far, Baby is doing great. 🤞 I like to think that some of the fresh mountain and ocean air we breathed in over the past few months found its way to him, giving him strength and perhaps even an inborn sense of the world’s possibility for beauty.

Although recent events have served as a sobering reminder of the many ways the world is of course far from beautiful, Ankur & I encountered over and over again on our trip examples of its loveliness and kindness. As I’m sure all parents and expectant parents do, we worry about the world we’re bringing this child into, but we hope that we can raise him with the tools he needs to seek out and create beauty in his own life and the lives of those around him.

In another blog post, Ankur & I will recap the second half of the trip (now that we don’t have to keep the baby news hush hush) and share our favorite pics and memories throughout. There’s so much more to be said, but for the time being, I hope this will do!

Sending love, strength, and hope to you all.

~ Sam (& Ankur)

Our first real taste of the monstrous western mountains was climbing Black Elk Peak in South Dakota. This mountain is the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies. So, of course, when Sam and I were camping at Custer State Park, we decided to make the 8-mile trek up to the top of the mountain. The fresh (and thin!) mountain air filled our lungs as we navigated the rocky terrain, and the sounds and sights of nature surrounded us. We both agreed that this has been – after hundreds of hikes – our favorite hike that we have ever taken.

Seemingly every time we turned, a new amazing view popped up in front of us. The rocks here formed special shapes such as an area of two-hundred foot needle-like rocks known as the Cathedral Spires. From the top, the views seemed to continue forever in 360 degrees around us. Overall, the landscape and nature in Custer State Park brought so much joy to my soul. I swear I could feel this place in my bones.

Incredible as Custer was, the views didn’t end there. After this stop, we continued heading West on into Wyoming crossing the Bighorn mountains and eventually into Yellowstone National Park. While driving through the basin leading up to the first mountain pass, we discovered a driving app called “Autio”. This app presents historical tidbits to you about the land you’re driving through using your GPS location.

So, we of course decided to try this out. Listening to the 20-minute narrative, we were confronted with a gut-wrenching truth: the land we had been admiring was once home to tens of thousands of indigenous peoples. The land felt special because it is indeed sacred. The early settlers and U.S. Army committed atrocities to genocide and displace those who call this land their ancestral home.

The weight of this realization hung heavy in the air, and the ghosts of the past seemed to whisper through the landscape. There’s a palpable heaviness to it. While we are still far from fully comprehending the depth of this issue, we hold onto the hope that there may be a path forward, a way to acknowledge the past and strive for a better future.

As we continue our road trip, we carry with us a renewed sense of responsibility to be better stewards of this land and its legacy. We are forever changed by the beauty we have witnessed and the truths we have confronted, and we will carry these lessons with us long after our journey ends. We so grateful to be able to experience joy and live in special moments in these special places.

With love,

Ankur (& Sam)

Finn’s Faves (Weeks 1-3):

1. Running on the C&O Canal near Harper’s Ferry

2. Visiting Aunt Corinne in Philly and sniffing the smells of the big city

3. Playing at the coolest, sandiest dog park ever in Portsmouth, NH

4. Our campsite in Bradbury Mountain State Park, outside of Portland, ME—cuddling with dad in the hammock plus unlimited access to trails trails and more trails!

5. Mom & dad’s comfy camp chairs, now known as “Finn’s princess chair”

6. Sea canoeing off Deer Isle!!!! There were so many birds to watch and mom & dad did all the hard work

7. Riding the ferry to Isle au Haut, a much less trafficked part of Acadia National Park, and having the woods there almost completely to ourselves

8. Summiting Cadillac Mountain with mom in Acadia proper

9. Recharging at the “Paws Inn” in Bethel, ME and being made to feel like true doggo royalty

10. Sprinting along the shore of Lake Willoughby ft. a real life fjord in Vermont

In short, Finn’s thriving! We stay busy, so he sleeps in the car and doesn’t mind the long drives. I don’t think any pup could be better suited to life on the road than Finn. ❤️

Beautiful Places

Finn’s World

Camp Life

We’re wrapping up Week 1 on the road and figured it’s about time for a check-in (wifi access has been sporadic, so please bear with our scattered updates). So far, we’ve traveled from Charleston to Harpers Ferry, to Philly, to Promised Land State Park in the Pocono Mountains of PA, to Brooklyn—where we are currently. The common denominator of our experience in each of these places has been rain. Lots and lots of it!

Turns out, we’re being chased by Tropical Storm Debby, who’s almost upon us. We may alter our plans for the next couple days—which include camping along the coast of Maine—in order to avoid the worst of her. TBD. You’ll have to look for our next update to see how it all shakes out! 😉

Still, we’ve tried not to let the rain get to us. There have been plenty of clear moments (and hours) that we’ve taken advantage of to run, bike, hike, and—of course—attend to the mandatory, often less-enjoyable aspects of life on the road such as setting up and breaking down camp, cooking (usually fun but less so in the pouring rain), potty-ing Finn, etc.

In other ways though, the rain has enhanced our experience: I don’t think there’s anything quite as cozy as cuddling up in a dry tent lit by the soft glow of string lights with a hot mug of tea in hand and the gentle pitter-patter overhead as you drift off to sleep. Not to mention, the way the world is totally transformed after a good rain. Even the smallest storm can paint a familiar place in fresh colors or re-write an early impression of somewhere new.

Besides the moments pictured above, highlights in the first seven days include listening to a cross-over podcast episode by Brené Brown and Esther Perel on the rise of “artificial intimacy” and the challenges of living “beyond human scale” on our drive from Philly to Promised Land. 10/10 recommend—it is pure brilliance and the art of conversation at its best. 👇

Ank and I actually decided to shuffle around our plans for a handful of days in September so that we can catch Esther on tour in Seattle for a live discussion about modern love, connection, and desire. We’re absolutely giddy with excitement for it, which is saying something, because we have SO much to be excited about these days.

Another highlight that deserves mention is watching the livestream of the Harris-Walz rally in Philly just a day after we were there. Thankfully, we had a strong enough signal deep in the woods of the Poconos to tune into Kamala’s introduction of her VP pick. We may have been ~120 miles north of the rally, but I swear we could feel the energy wafting up from the city. Obviously it’s complicated—we’re just relishing, for now, being able to feel a spark of passion and hope in politics again. As Ankur and I gear up for a long stretch of travel through America’s heartland, it is encouraging to imagine that as a country we may yet have a chance at finding a trajectory toward greater unification.

I’ll leave my musing at that, at least until til next time! We love and miss you all and will be in touch again soon. ❤️

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As I write this first post for our freshly-anointed blog, “Ride With Finn,” I’m sitting on the front porch of our home on Virginia St., with Ankur beside me and Finn lounging content on the cool tiles at our feet. Today is Monday of the week we set out. In between taking inventory of all our gear, equipping our trusty Honda Pilot with extra storage space and shelving to support four months of van life, and prepping the house for a potential subletter (🤞), Ank has been working on coding a “Live Trip Map” for the blog with some help from our favorite AI assistant, Claude.  

From August through mid-November, our plan is to loosely circumnavigate the country, passing through 34 states and covering over 11,000 miles. For the next 16 weeks or so, we’ll call the Pilot—and our large Kelty tent—home. 

Ank and I first started dreaming up this adventure together early in the new year, but both of us have ached to embark on a journey like this for much longer. We’ve heard from countless friends, family members, and co-workers (who’ve listened to our excited blathering about the trip) that they only wish they could do something similar. Knowing this—that so many people wish for such an adventure, yet never get the opportunity—played a huge role in motivating us to make it happen. If we don’t go now, we reasoned, there’s a chance we might never. 

We’re at a unique inflection point in our lives: recently married, no dependents (aside from Finn and our cat, Sappho*), no college debt or car payment or mortgage. Several years of work and savings as a foundation under us. A mutual, unquenched yearning to explore. 

We did the mental math, and the answer was GO.

Of course, it’s imperative to acknowledge the immense privilege we have in being able to leave our jobs and live income-less for a third of a year. It’s a reality that’s out of reach for most, and that would’ve been inconceivable to our own parents in their young adult lives. The matter of privilege is a loaded one which Ank and I will continue to grapple with in our many hours on the road in the coming weeks and months. We commit to sharing our reflections here, along with stories and photos from the trip. 

Perhaps needless to say, the reigning feeling right now—beyond jittery anticipation—is simply gratitude. Gratitude that any of this is possible. Gratitude that we get to go on this journey together. Gratitude that Finn is a good boy who loves to go for long car rides. 

Subscribe to “Ride With Finn” to be sure you don’t miss our updates from the road. First stop—Harpers Ferry, WV! 🚗

*Although Sappho is a good girl, she does not love the car. But she does love Arpan (Ankur’s younger brother) and Ankur’s parents, who will be taking the very best care of her while we’re gone. She’s already moved in and happily settled in her second home.