Week 1

☔️ Dispatch from Rainy Brooklyn ☔️

Howdy, friends!

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. ❤️