Danna Travels

11/22/2019

Took the opportunity to be as extra as possible last night. My first year of 30 did not disappoint, and I am humbled everyday by the community and love I live in. Thank y’all 😽😽😽

11/18/2019

My Sunday morning in pictures. I love walks through Sacramento because it’s such a sensory experience during fall. The weather has been mild, the colors are vibrant, and there’s just so much to see here.
On the Sundays that I’m not recording in the morning, I take Gus on a walk with Sam, while he does a community cleanup around Mansion Flats. This is a fraction of Sacramento’s secret treasures, on a fraction of the downtown grid.
One thing I think immigrants understand deeply is that no two places are the same, and no two places are any different. I’m just happy that my home is somewhere I want to improve, be a part of, love on, explore. Im so grateful that our home is Sacramento.
@ Sacramento, California

09/29/2019

There’s just still so much to see 🗺

09/21/2019

This time last week I was collapsing exhausted in our room after our first day of . What an experience! I wish there was a way for my to organize the thousands of moments I have yet to share, that I want to share. Tomorrow is a new day, and I’ve had such a week filled with such inspiration and kinship. I got so much done today, but there’s still, always so much more. It’s okay that I didn’t finish, and it’s okay to start again tomorrow. All you can do is keep showing up. For yourself, for your community, for others everywhere. I promise to keep showing up.

09/15/2019

After a thousand lifetimes with the only person who has ever forgiven the entire scope of who I can be, I stand here in full surrender to what you know of me. Being human can be so ugly and painful, and no one has so consistently reached for me to remind me to take in the bad moments just like the good like he has. Did you know that our entire life is a show, a game, a spectacle? Did you know that you are free to explore and understand it any way that may suit you? Did you know that you will meet strangers who can hinder and help you, that they will change your whole trajectory? I met this one a lifetime ago, and he has changed everything that I know about anything. My only wish for everyone and everything is to be able to find a love as constant and as compassionate as this. To find a sweet, obstinate angel who will change their ways to meet you where you want to be, to love a partner kind enough and brave enough to show you every part of who they can be. I have made many mistakes in my life, but every wrong that you have forgiven is a lesson in grace I would never give back. I love you so much, you’re my hero.

09/14/2019

High on and , teetering around on my stilt legs, complimenting strangers, demanding more champagne. Nothing new guys, nothing to see here 😇

08/21/2019

Y’all my starfish flower bloomed today 😭😭😭 this is officially known as and it bloomed way faster than I thought it could! I never dreamed I’d own such a bb the first time I saw one. They’re not especially rare, but they were for me up until recently! Enjoy this bb w me 😍

08/16/2019

Me and my beautiful podcast cohost, doing our thang at last month’s event! I’m tryna channel all this ~together~ energy as i get ready for this year’s Emerge Summit.
I’ve never attended this before and I was excited when I read about its purpose and outreach! I talk about being floaty a lot, but i believe in my skill set and abilities. I think I just don’t know how to apply all of them yet. I care about my podcast projects and my writing, and I want to grow in them and always contribute more to my community. So, this is a HUGE career development summit for young professionals, (like yours truly 💅🏽) one of the biggest in the state. I feel like at the very least I’ll grow a network of people to collaborate with, and if I don’t squirrel out too hard, attend some of the sessions they’re hosting. DEFINITELY hyped that the ticket includes admission to EDGE 916, which is the after party but also a birthday party!!! celebrates 10 years this year, and if you can’t do the daytime summit, what more justified workday reward are you gonna give yourself than a nighttime work mixer 😏. It’s Sept. 19 btw, and I’ll be there all day!
Anywhoozles, I’m excited about this bc I’ve recently been wanting to put together a portfolio for myself of my published work, certifications, awards, etc. Now I’ll actually do it! I know it’ll be welcoming and I can fly solo but you should come w me 👀
📸:

06/25/2019

I’m gonna just go ahead and stamp Capri with a big fat approval. Serene, easygoing, quirky in its own traditions, just like some of my favorite mediterranean islands. Summer is starting to press into my breath but I couldn’t be more grateful to greet it here. What a surreal fantasy, what a warm and sticky daydream.

06/22/2019

Our time in the gallery included a beautiful peek out towards and overlooking a lot of near the river. There’s a feeling I get in some places, when I’m walking someplace old that I know so many civilizations have walked before me, it feels like the closest I’ve felt to other people. I used to look at pictures of my dad traveling and I would wonder at his quiet smile. What was he looking for? What is out there to find? Part of the reason my blood is so restless is the secret hope that I’ll find more of him somewhere out there. My cousin told a story last night about hunting down a piece of mosaic tile work our uncle did in a small village here in Italy. He talked about the rush of familiarity, the connection over time. I thrill at that feeling. I’ve stopped being shy to ask for pictures in every single place I want them, because I want to build that familiarity for someone else. I might not have kids but I still want to build a legacy of connection. I want to find all our commonalities in all of these places and remind us of all the things that tie us together. Things are getting rough. We’re all going through huge changes right now. What binds is us our strength together, it is our cooperation and compassion. I hope to always remember my position, my opportunity to draw these lines together. There have been many moments of wonder these past days in Italy, but this afternoon was such a beautiful reminder of all the things that can pull us together, and the answers we can find in those common spaces.

06/21/2019

Surveying my climbing triumph, which extends up past that blue triangle of sky on the left. Cool day tbh

06/20/2019

There’s a part of the that contains an incredibly narrow spiral staircase. It reaches up into the unfinished facade on one side, seemingly forever. It narrows around your shoulders closer to the top and the steps get so tight your shoe won’t fit completely on one. It’s not the most pleasant climb but the claustrophobia really makes you forget you’re climbing stairs at all 😂
Not to mention, the view from the top ain’t so bad. I’ve been to Siena several times before this, but this was my first climb up here. I’ll be honest, in past years it was easy to say no, to lean on the heat or my own crankiness, but looking back I feel how so much of my discomfort was my own body.
There is no ideal size for everyone, but I do know that for a long time I’d been a weight that made me uncomfortable and tired. I always felt sluggish and weak. There’s a lot going on there, not just weight. It’s actually hard to disentangle my mental health and my weight because they affect each other reciprocally. Sometimes that makes it hard to know if I’m eating because I’m sad, or if I’m sad because I’m eating in ways I shouldn’t. Self punishment and self worth are fascinating, elusive, sometimes hard to understand for myself. There’s still a lot I’m figuring out how to say, but I do know that this day I was really grateful to make this climb with my friends. I was really grateful that I wasn’t wheezing or aching for hours afterwards, I was so grateful to have the mental space to even focus on the narrowness instead of my breath.
I have more to say about this, and I’ll be posting it all soon on my blog, if you’re into that 💁🏽‍♀️

05/31/2019

I think it’s time for more , especially since and I served such curls at the event last week 👀👀👀
thank you for capturing me and my new curlfriend, and magically including more dear people I’ve found and grown with participating w The Blog Bloc in the background!
One of my biggest struggles is not being able to focus my boundless nervous energy into one thing long enough to build confidence in it. I often feel unfocused, scattered, maybe even lost if I wasn’t so captivated by everything I’ve found on the side quests.
Finding this organization last year has really reinforced for me what I only used to preach, what I was too anxious to practice: finding and investing in your community will change how you do everything. I’m still wandering, and I still would never pretend to have answers, but I know I’ve been able to focus and learn more this year than ever before, because of the people I’ve been able to surround myself by. I’ve learned to focus on what I’m good at, to tune out the falsified expectations that we create when we start to measure our accomplishments against others’. I’m also starting to self examine more honestly, to see how much I do fall in line out of insecurity for sticking out too much. Look, I was 5’7 at 12 years old, I will forever stick out. That’s not what matters. What matters is that I commit all of the best of myself to everything I do. What matters is continuing to do so after I fail. It matters to reach for your best talents and nurture them for those around you. None of us are in this alone, and I promise you that none of us have gotten where we are on our own. We learn to give our best because we deserve to. We deserve to fully realize our power as individuals and as communities, we deserve to celebrate the fruits of our best labors.
We are living in strange times, and I believe we need our communities now, more than ever. We need all of us, and we need all of us to try as hard as we can.

05/20/2019

Gonna 4ever redefine .

05/13/2019

I’m currently uploading a new episode of , in which Sam and I talk about Austin, and the . We also talk about the , and the ! I am very very casual and not awkward about taking photos at all; I am submitting this as evidence of how smooth and chill and cool and graceful I am. 😩🙄
We always appreciate your listening and subscribing, you can find Weird Vibes directly on my blog under podcasts, or in your podcast app. If you go find it on my blog, you might find another secret treasure I’ve been working on with a brilliant friend of mine, but I mean, who knows, maybe. Wishing you the happiest and smoothest of mondays y’all 💕

05/11/2019

A chaos update: my cap and hood are in transit (tassel too!), my laptop is charged, and my blog is live! The link in my bio will take you to the post, which expands on the whiskies we tried and which we loved. I got review passes for this event with , which you can find me on, still as your garbanzo bae. I’m working on publishing a lot of work that’s been waiting this weekend, so settle in!!! I might actually catch up for once 🤷🏽‍♀️

05/07/2019

I’ve been wanting to go back to India for years, I guess it’s finally the time!

05/03/2019

One of the joys of Sacramento is getting to grow up in a city that’s also growing up. Our transcontinental railroad is turning 150 this year! As the would say, the railroad’s history is all of our history, so we’re gonna be talking about that this week! The Community Day is this next Wednesday, May 8th in Old Sac. It’s right about where I’m standing being adorable in this pic, and there are plenty more trains inside and out, a lot of which you can climb into and explore. If you come you’ll also find me here with my friends, human and locomotive. You can take the light rail for free to this event to celebrate, just bring the flyer from the website! I’ll have the link in my bio through next week and I’ve also printed some off if you need one, hit me up!

04/27/2019

It’s not a Danna Travel until Danna gets to demand, “hey take a picture of me with all my drinks” 😭😅

04/26/2019

I believe if love is at the root of everything you do, you can bring all kinds of magic back into this world. I’m on an unofficial scavenger hunt! Yesterday Sam spotted the Daniel Johnston mural while we were driving and it was everything I hoped it’d be! We’ll end up retracing our steps and taking a picture of it too, along with any other beauties I find, but for now just bask in this magic 😍

04/25/2019

We made it! Y’all would not believe the adventure I’ve been on to make it to this very sore and very dazed beer break. But we’re here! We’re ready for a week of exploring and newness.
To make it real real rn, it has been ROUGH over here. I have no words for what my family and I have gone through these past few weeks, but life marches on. The forces of nature that pull us together when it’s the last thing we thought we could do, those are the forces you cultivate in yourself. I don’t know if I say this enough, but I’m here for you. I’m always here! I’m a neurotic mess who’s always on her phone so really, any hour of any day, I’m here for you dawg! Hit a girl up.

04/24/2019

Aggressively cheesin in last May because I’m running late packing and I have a NEW CITY TO SHARE LATER TODAY!!! Not new like I discovered it, pretty sure you’ve heard of it? I think it’s called ??? I’m very very excited to spend the next week in eating at the ! Stay tuned in my stories, and for now just bask in my retro sass. Love y’all happy Wednesday! (And if you have recommendations in Austin pls share!)

03/26/2019

Where Are My Sandals?

We spent so long looking for them, these bargain flip flop sandals from that back wall in Old Navy. This night was probably the most valued they’d ever be, five grown people with much more interesting things to do, scouring a Goa beach at two in the morning, intent on bringing them home, like they...

03/13/2019

I’m very tempted to book this myself but I’m working on resisting those urges. This is a great deal though!

Cheap flights from Los Angeles to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for only $404 roundtrip.

02/11/2019

Bb Danna in Latakia in Syria, 2001. My mom sent me a bunch of pictures from this trip this morning and it just makes me think about how elastic time is. I guess that’s been a theme here lately. Not only is time skewed by actual physics and space, it can also feel so skewed by pain, stress, joy, anticipation. This was so many lifetimes ago. It was so long ago that I couldn’t number for you the shells I’ve shed and lives I’ve lived since then. I am only the same person by interconnected people and moments, almost all of my cells are even different, new. We’re all just our people and our moments, I guess, and that feels disconnected but it also feels safe. It means that you can invest as much value as you want into who you are, you can decide what your moments will be and who you will be to your people. I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling so big, and even though it often hurts, my moments and my people are bonded to me by how much heart I put into them. I’m okay with everything feeling so big if it means I can feel that big. I’m okay with having that much to give. Happy Monday bbs

02/08/2019

One of the advantages of travel is the ability to build a bigger worldview, a perspective that is wider and hopefully more observant. Please think about downloading this app and using it while you travel, you’d be helping build a database of hotel room interiors to help track down s*x trafficking perpetrators.
We don’t always address the darker side of life here, but it’s important to remember that we share one world, all of us, and one great way to pay back the privileges we’ve been given is by helping others any way we can. Safe travels, friends.

01/21/2019

Today has been pretty cool

01/08/2019

What a day!!!! Yesterday we explored beautiful beaches outside and visited after having an amazing breakfast at a roadside place with peacocks and rabbits in the back! To my left in this photo is a beautiful bay that’s incredibly shallow all the way across. When the tide went out before we left, the water had receded 20 feet. Watching dogs and kids run out so far, so safely, while we sat with new friends and cold beers, it was pretty much exactly what I want to feel every day, all the time.

01/06/2019

Sam and Pop. I truly love our time with my in-laws. Firstly, they’re more fun than most of my peers, if I’m being honest. It’s also because I can see both of them so much in Sam, and it makes me see more clearly who he is. Sam’s heart is a secret cave filled with treasures of loyalty and softness, so much like his unimaginably thoughtful mama. His strong will, more secret softness, and inherently mischievous spirit are Papa all the way through. It’s been a pretty rough winter for us all, and I’d been waiting for the relief of this afternoon all week. I was with Mama Becky inside when I looked out and saw this cuteness, and I couldn’t help but see the sweet reflections of each other they both make. Sometimes I fall into myself and forget that I should instead fall into my family. Lean into your relationships when you’re lonely, not yourself. They can see much more clearly past your hurt. While we’re here though, check out that ocean!

01/05/2019

I actually love the rain, particularly in Sacramento, but I’ll take this as good of a sign as any that it’s a good time to leave 👋🏽