Hi friends! I’ve spent a lot of time recently reflecting on just how incredible it was to kick off the summer with a month of remote work adventures on the road. Daniel and I had been long-anticipating our friends’ May wedding in St. Louis and after some thoughtful planning decided to enjoy our remote work freedom and take a month on the road! We spent time in five cities and we were able to bring Pixie along for the adventure, too. ☺️
I’m so full of gratitude to both my mom and Daniel’s sister for opening up their homes for us to stay in while we were in St. Louis and Kansas City. It was such a well-balanced trip of seeing new things and having full, exploring days combined with lots of downtime spent with family. ✨ After moving across the country away from home, any time I get to spend with my family or Daniel’s family is not taken for granted.
I’ll be sharing the specifics about our time in Galveston and New Orleans since we spent the most time exploring both of these cities, but I first wanted to answer a few questions people commonly asked about the trip!
What was the itinerary?
Austin → Galveston, TX → New Orleans, LA → Memphis, TN → St. Louis, MO → Kansas City, MO → back home to Austin in about a month.
How did Pixie do being in so many different places?
Simply put, she absolutely thrived. I was so nervous to change up her surroundings so much over the course of a month, but she did so much better than I would have ever imagined. We specifically selected dog-friendly areas in quieter parts of the cities that also had more space than just a private room. She had ample areas to chill and she loves to go for rides in the car so it just worked perfectly.
How much planning did you do ahead of time?
It’s laughable how little planning we did ahead of time. Typically, one of us would research on the drive to the new city and read it out loud to the driver. We had a Google Doc we worked on but our goal was more about staying flexible and asking locals along the way for their best recommendations. This served us well every place we visited!
How much PTO did you take?
Actually, none! We spent our days working from amazing Airbnbs, coffee shops, and cafes, so work was actually very much enjoyed while we were on the road. The only time I wished I would have taken time off was when I was at home in St. Louis or in Kansas City with family, but otherwise working remotely from new cities was a huge perk! I cannot be more grateful to my company, RetailMeNot for allowing us to work remote and be flexible about our whereabouts during this time.
Galveston
Galveston is just a quick 3 hour drive from Austin, but truthfully many people in Austin will tell you it’s an undesirable location. It wasn’t until Daniel’s sister Allison and her boyfriend Nadav visited Galveston and relayed a very compelling review that we decided to give it another thought. Personally, I don’t know that I would choose Galveston as a “vacation” destination, but for a remote-working destination, I have nothing but good things to say about it! The city is incredibly walkable, so it was seamless to go out to breakfast or lunch and walk back to our Airbnb without taking too much time out of the workday. There were also many coffee shops that we enjoyed working from in Galveston which made our days even more enjoyable!
We stayed in THIS Airbnb, a central and affordable option with plenty of space. It has both a desk and a kitchen table on opposite sides of the unit, making it perfect when Daniel and I had work calls at the same time. This Airbnb was located on the East End of Galveston, located within a 5ish minute walk from The Strand, a main street for restaurants, shops and bars.
We spent a good amount of time working from MOD Coffeehouse, located on Postoffice St in the heart of the Galveston Historic Arts District. This area boasts stunning Victorian homes and palm-tree lined streets. We spent several afternoons soaking up the gorgeous views from the abundant seating in front of MOD.
While looking for a place to eat one afternoon, we accidentally stumbled upon Red Light Coffee Roasters. What a gorgeous space! I highly recommend their iced specialty drinks – so tasty!
More than anything though, I loved this relaxed, carefree time in a slow town with Daniel and Pixie. Because of the sleepy nature of Galveston, we didn’t have any pressure to pack our days full of activities, but rather enjoy the more simple joys of visiting a new place. We took long walks around the Airbnb’s neighborhood, we spent loads of time on the beach with Pixie, we slept in and meandered lazily to brunch. Coming from someone who typically packs every day of vacation to the max, this was such a welcome change!
If you’re in Texas and have the opportunity to work-remote, Galveston was honestly the perfect place to do so – and, I would do it again in an instant. While I would have loved to stay in Galveston, after 6 days, we packed up and drove to…
TO BE CONTINUED…