Iceland. The land of fire and ice. It delivered – both! The first right as we were flying in. Pidge and I looked to our left and then to our right and we could see lava spewing out of a volcano right outside of our plane window!! It was literally wild.

And then we were out and about exploring a country that at first made me feel that it was the closest to feeling on another planet. And by the end of the trip it really was the closest I had felt to being on this planet. Iceland was a delight, especially coming from the business of NYC, in that the human ‘footprint’ was small and on the periphery. Nature took center stage. It really made you feel small – in a good way. To make room for the emotions of awe and appreciation of the wildness of our planet and how fortunate we are to be a small part of it all.

We went from the hot pools of the Blue Lagoon to ‘chasing waterfalls’ across the countryside and watching glaciers slowly retreat (very slowly but if you pay close attention it’s happening). Pidge and I found ourselves immersed back into the conditions and it was refreshing. As we watched the night sky for the northern lights, we found the light from our hearts lighting up the sky of our love story (or something like that!)

We also found time to visit the Icelandic Phallological Museum the only one of its kind in the world. A place to reflect. A place to plan…our wedding! After we finished viewing penises from across the world, across species, and history it felt only right to sit down in the penis café and discuss our future plans. We did a drawing on the back of napkins of what we thought each other’s dream wedding would look like and then discussed them to begin planning together our dream future. Just saying Iceland was inspiring.

Tulum. We went there. We stayed at Holistika Tulum a jungle wellness retreat center just a few miles from the beaches of Tulum. The center included an organic restaurant, juice bar, a decadent pool, and tons of yoga + spiritual wellness classes offered in a jungle environment. What else could you ask for?!

Within 1.43 minutes of checking in we saw that there was a tantric couples yoga class – which Pidge just said as I am writing this recollecting on it that “O yea that sounded like it would be a sexy yoga class but then you just ended up acting like a gorilla.” And that is true. Well, one of the practices that the teacher offered was for us to be playful (imagine someone telling Pidge and I to try out being playful in our relationship – we met playing and play is a core way of being for us) and how this was a critical element of love (totally agree) because to play takes feeling safe and to feel safe enough in your relationship to each let your inner child out is what love liberates. Anyway, it was a great class.

Then we did a lot of things. When at Holistika Tulum why not utilize ALL the wellness retreat center amenities? We ate at the all vegan restaurant ‘tierra’, drank some juices at the juice bar, did a sweaty yoga class in our underwears (well I did), relaxed by the pool in hammocks, and even left the wellness retreat center for a bike ride to the beach which was beautiful – couple of corona’s, couple of tacos, couple of dips in the ocean you know (wouldn’t recommend biking though as there is no bike lane and lots of cars).

And then we ended up on a highway in an ATV…well okay here is the story – it was secretly, officially, low-key, under the radar… Pidge’s birthday!! And I thought – wow gotta make this special. Trip to tulum (check), yoga wellness retreat center (check), and a new experience! ATV riding!! I just looked up what ATV stands for and it stand for All Terrain Vehicle. So, it began like any ATV ride covering some of the basic terrains – driving super slow down the back roads of Tulum. Then we went towards the beach route on more of the main road (another terrain) to find a cenote and this one just so happened to have alligators. Apparently, we were told these alligators had a good track record for the past 30 years. Pidge and I were like nope.

So, we hopped back on our ATV and were on the way to another cenote when we got stuck in traffic. A quick look on the map and we realized we were pretty close to get to a group of cenotes called Tortuga’s (turtles). We made the first turn to get there and found ourselves on the main road of Tulum which then slowly turned into a highway!! Yup, chus on this little ATV on a highway. It was a few miles and with guard rails no exits and a speed limit that kept increasing, we had many thoughts of figuring out how to turn back, worrying what if we run out of gas, and then just trying to get there. It was a little terrifying even though all the cars were super respectful keeping their distance from us. We finally got there, recovered from the white knuckle ride at this amazing buffet lunch we couldn’t enjoy yet because of the recovery time needed from the stress of being on the highway in a little ATV and knowing we would most likely drive it back.

We then got to relax and enjoy these amazing cenote’s – jumping in crystal clear turquoise water, swimming through caves, and Pidge even jumped off a medium sized cliff into a cenote! We got back on our ATV and pretty quickly got it back to our retreat center to return it. No more ATV-ing on highways for these Ostriches! That night after a delicious dinner we went to a much needed rest oriented restorative yoga class in which Pidge seemed to almost fall asleep in immediately. And then woke up just for a second to transport a bug out of the yoga class and then back to sleep. As Pidge snored in deep rest pose I thought about how grateful I am for her birth, and to be her partner/fellow flyin ostricheseses, and for that day adventuring together and how I want to make sure next year’s birthday celebration has less highway driving 🙂

Then we went home.

I have a theory that the biggest buildings of a place show what is valued there – the biggest buildings in Europe are churches, in the US typically banks. In Detroit, it is the Renaissance Center. Rebirth, The Detroit ethos of “out of the ashes” is personal to me and the spirit of resilience and grit is in my blood. Detroit is home to me. The sparkle of the sun on the Detroit river has always calmed my heart with this feeling of connection and belonging that only makes sense being born in this beautiful city and growing up here.

I have a theory that the biggest buildings of a place show what is valued there – the biggest buildings in Europe are churches, in the US typically banks. In Detroit, it is the Renaissance Center. Rebirth, The Detroit ethos of “out of the ashes” is personal to me and the spirit of resilience and grit is in my blood. Detroit is home to me. The sparkle of the sun on the Detroit river has always calmed my heart with this feeling of connection and belonging that only makes sense being born in this beautiful city and growing up here.

Detroit is a growing hub for entrepreneurs, innovators, and artists who are redefining what is possible. I love being a part of the remote lyfe community in Detroit and have been a part of the Hunt Street Station co-working community and Bamboo Detroit. Detroit is a uniquely tight knit community where it feels like everyone knows everyone, and there is incredible diversity and people feel down to earth here. There are also tons of great third spaces like coffee shops, which Pidge will be covering below, and poetry speak easy spots. The riverfront has been increasingly growing to be a world-class international community space, and the city is riveting with its music, culture, food, and festival scene. I have loved being a Detroiter and owning my small cube of a condo in the Detroit RiverHouse Co-Op community. Detroit will always be a special home in my heart as Pidge and I migrate east to New York for our next nest and new opportunities to grow and spread our wings 🙂

Wow, officially Detroit. The city where I explored almost every coffeeshop and got to endlessly revisit the ones I loved. The city where I truly got to kick off my remote working lifestyle and learn the ropes. 

Well, Detroit has so much to offer and will always have my heart in the projects I completed and meetings I took. Detroit’s remote working scene is rather smaller, but the people for sure love to meet for networking and to catch up with friends at the coffee joints. Finding seating sometimes gets a little more difficult as the morning goes on as remote workers know where to go, but I would warn more on parking that anything. Detroit will ticket you for anything. So pay attention to your parking times and spots. A few $45 tickets adds up-yikes. 

Pidge’s favorite Detroit Coffee Shop Locations:

Honorable Mentions*

Georgia! Georgia on my mind! Remote Lyfe in Atlanta was motivated by getting out of the Detroit cold for a month – and into the Atlanta cold (it was 16 degrees some of our days there!)!!! Atlanta does not have any big lakes or rivers going through its downtown, which was notable, but it did not disappoint with its vibrancy as a cosmopolitan city in the South. We thought we would be hanging out with Luda or Usher immediately upon arrival but we did enjoy the local friendliness and having our Airbnb close to Grant Park.

I loved visiting the Ron Clark Academy which is a Disneyworld esque-Harry Potter themed school for 4th-8th graders, majority of whom are low-income. You enter the school through castle gates with a huge dragon above you and leave by getting “slide” certified. I was able to observe the founder, Ron Clark, teach a math lesson that looked like a Shin Lim magic show, set to dramatic Hip Hop Music, and with him and students walking on top of desks. The students were all 100% engaged and were empowered to speak and connect with the class in ways that were trusting and powerful methods of teaching. I loved how playfulness was a shared quality of all the adult staff and that the kids seemed to truly love being there. The building was inspiring of the imagination of what is possible for education re-design, as most of my experiences teaching in cities like Detroit have been walking into the most uninspiring, prison-like buildings in the world. This is what is possible when we actually value youth and education and I loved that teachers from all over the world were coming to Ron Clark Academy to learn about how to transform education.

We also enjoyed the National Center for Civic and Human Rights to celebrate MLK day, the Atlanta zoo, the Coca Cola museum, and the Carter Center. Rosalynn Carter in particular was inspiring to me with her advocacy for mental health over five decades ago! Atlanta is rich in its cultural offerings and significant history in the civil rights movement. Despite the cold weather, we found so much to go do and see everyday in a city that is a nexus of social change and innovation being home to a ton of Fortune 500 companies. Also, with the Beltline, a 20+ mile biking and walking path, it was a joy to be a part of an incredibly active community, and we enjoyed hanging out at the Ponce City Market (especially the views from the Rooftop!)

Heading into Atlanta, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Unless you’re from there or have spent a lot of time there, you don’t really have an idea. 

We were aiming for a mild winter there in order to maybe walk to our local coffeeshops and be in the sun, but joke was on us as the winter wrapped us in the vortex of frigid temperatures & storms. We had to lean on driving more than expected as Atlanta had lesser of a public transportation system than some of our other larger destinations, but we still ventured out for the best cup of speciality coffee. 

Overall, Atlanta surprised me with some of the best coffees I have personally tried and harnessed quite a bit of the coffeeshop vibes making it very easy to remote work. There is definitely a larger market of remote workers in Atlanta and I did find it more difficult to find seating as the morning progresses. So just be sure to know the early workers get the seats. 

Some of Pidge’s favorite Atlanta Coffee Shop Locations:

Inman Perk Coffee-240 North Highland Avenue Northeast H

Coffeeshop with breakfast options that has a bar for the mid afternoon transition. Easy parking and a quiet hotspot for workers, but could always find seating. 

Urban Grind-962 Marietta St NW

Staff at this one were stellar. Shop itself was definitely a hotspot for the college students looking for a study day, but not super crowded. Some eclectic furniture that really brought together a great environment. 

Howdy ATL-753 Cherokee Ave SE

One of our favorites right next to Grant Park with amazing full cafe menu including great lattes. Always plenty of seating with lots of windows and very sweet staff. 

Drip- 928 Garrett St B

One of the first ones we tried with a customizable breakfast sandwich. Solid coffee, but a little small. 

Grant Park-337 Georgia Ave SE

This was a favorite of David due to comfortable seating and a more open coworking vibe with reservable meeting rooms. Full cafe menu. 

Little Tart Bakeshop-68 Georgia Ave SE

As a sucker for baked goods, this one landed on my top list for the interesting and delectable treats. Not the best seating for long term working due to small seating and no plugs, but it still is great for a shorter work session with lots of windows. 

Honorable Mention* Hodge Podge (no longer open)-720 Moreland Ave SE

Have to mention this one as it was closing the first week we arrived because it would have been our favorite. Very inviting for all identities with amazing seating options.