Hi, I’m Lillian.

 

I was born and raised in southern California. Ever since I was little, my parents took me and my sister on road trips all around to explore the U.S. and beyond. I remember seeing the huge redwood trees in California, the dazzling ocean and windswept trees along the Pacific Coast Highway, the snow capped mountains of the Eastern Sierras and Utah, the indescribable hugeness of the Grand Canyon, the wildlife, rainbow colors and geysers in Yellowstone, the turquoise blue colors of Lake Louise, the flowing rivers and big walls in Yosemite, and so much more. 

 

After college, I decided to pack a bag and travel around the country booking one way plane tickets and exploring cities and looking for street art. I fell in love with New York and decided to stay and live there. I was working 2 jobs to pay NYC rent and have enough money to travel as much as I could to see the world - India, Indonesia, Japan, Colombia, Tobago, Italy, France, Germany, Croatia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, UK, Wales, etc.

 

I eventually moved to San Diego where I rediscovered my love for the ocean and roadtripping, and discovered new loves for climbing, hiking, camping, and what it means to have a heart dog.

 

During a roadtrip down to Baja, Mexico, I rescued a dog after finding her chained up day and night without anyone around to walk her or care for her. She turned out to be a 4-month old Australian Cattle Dog / Australian Shepherd mix. For those who are familiar with herding breeds, you can only imagine all of the pent up energy she had after her months of neglect. She was extremely high energy and was absolutely craving exercise and love. And so, I named her Luna, short for Lunatic.

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A year later, Luna and I moved to the Bay Area in northern California where we started a new life together. We went to the park every morning and went on hikes and trail runs after work. On the weekends, with the Eastern Sierras, Tahoe, and the Trinity Alps surrounding us, we would head pack up the car and head towards the mountains for climbing, hiking and backpacking trips. When we weren't in the mountains, I would take her on road trips up and down to the California coast to play and swim at the beach. Luna and I bonded deeply through our endless hours together in the car, on trail, or in our tent. She was my shadow and I never went anywhere without her.

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While Luna and I filled our days with the outdoors as much as we could, my soul never felt "right" living in the city. It was like a pit in my stomach where I was constantly craving freedom but couldn't figure out how to break away from my tech job that I worked hard towards and provided me with a stable income. ​This all changed in 2020 with the pandemic and my job went fully remote. I immediately broke my apartment lease, converted my Honda CRV so we could live and sleep in it, and hit the road! 

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Luna and I travelled throughout California, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, New Mexico, and Canada to pursue our hobbies. We spent our days hiking and exploring, basking in the magic hours of sunrise and sunsets, getting on top of many peaks as we could, making friends with locals at hot springs, breathing in the fresh air, and falling asleep cuddled next to each other in the back of our CRV.

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This era of total freedom and anticipation of the unknown, is where Our Life Unleashed was born. Luna came from a life of being chained up and her world was contained to just a small dirt patch in Mexico. The universe led us to each other, and we expanded each other's worlds in ways we both could have never imagined. 

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In 2021, our path led us to Alex. He had just moved back from Australia to chase snow and was traveling in his truck camper. We met at a hot springs in Bridgeport and the rest is history. We decided to combine forces and caravan together. While Luna and I were able to show him our favorite hiking areas, hot springs, and secret dispersed camping spots, Alex expanded our world with his free-flow and you-can-do-anything mindset. After a couple months caravanning, we ended up moving in full-time to his truck camper which was a huge upgrade from the CRV. We fell in love over bonfires and Luna decided he was good enough to be her papa.

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In late 2021, we decided to do a road trip down to tip of Baja, Mexico. Alex surfs and so we ended up in a small remote surf town on the Pacific. After just 2 days camping out on the cliffs above the surf break, we decided to buy land. It was an indescribable feeling - we both felt the magic and our gut instinct told us this was the place. Meanwhile, we continued our life on the road in our truck camper - surfing, hiking, backpacking in the spring, summer and fall, and skiing in the winter. In 2023, our container home was delivered from Mexico City and suddenly we had a home! 

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A few months later, just before she turned 7, Luna was tragically run over by a car and passed away during surgery. My heart and soul dog, and my shadow was gone. This was the darkest time in my life and I'm still healing everyday. Out of our heartbreak, Alex and I decided to adopt another Australian Cattle Dog. We named her Nalu - an anagram of Luna and also means ocean/surf in Hawaiian.

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Alex, Nalu, and I now split our time between Baja, on the road in our truck camper, and traveling internationally. Life looks a little bit different now with us being married and hobbies shifting in priorities with surfing now taking the lead. But I still stay true to my independence and travel and adventure as much as I can. I choose to live this life day by day with an open mind and open heart, and trusting my gut instincts along the way with Alex and Nalu by my side. We have this one life after all so let's go, and live Our Life Unleashed.

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