It wasn’t all bad.
But looking back on that period in my life, I wasn’t really investing any time in myself… and I was expecting people to just know how to handle me.
It’s unfortunate, because it did put a bit of a damper on parts of the trip.
The plan was mapped out to stay in a mix of hotels, campsites, and possibly with a friend along the way.
Our first campsite was in Colorado. It was beautiful… but I didn’t sleep for shit, and that affected my mood the next day more than I wanted to admit.
In Kansas, we hit unexpected weather that forced us into a hotel for the night.
The front desk person showed us where to go if the tornado alarms went off.
Thankfully, they never did.
But the storm itself was pretty rad to watch—definitely not something we get in California.
When we got to Michigan, we stopped to grab food, water, and everything else we’d need.
Since it was our first time, we had GA tickets, which meant we had to supply all of our own camping equipment. That was part of why we did the road trip—figuring out how to fly with tents and all that didn’t seem realistic.
The festival takes place in Rothbury, about an hour outside of Grand Rapids, on a massive plot of land.
It’s stunning.
As we approached, we could see the long line of cars waiting to get through security.
When it was our turn, we chatted with the guys searching our car. They only took one thing—a hatchet we had brought for camping.
After that, we made our way through what felt like an endless sea of tents until we found our spot and set up.
We met one of our neighbors pretty quickly.
My boyfriend was convinced he was an undercover cop.
I still don’t agree with that—I think he was just an interesting guy.
Camping was… an experience.
Our tents blew over more than once.
We had to set them up again a few times.
The showers were basically horse troughs, so it felt easier to just go without and rely on baby wipes.
Thank god for dry shampoo.
And the porta potties—you had to hit those early. Otherwise… no.
Getting into the festival meant hopping on these old school buses from camp.
And once you got in… it was overwhelming.
There was so much to see and do—hidden things everywhere.
At night, the forest transformed.
Like everything just shifted.
We were kids on the loose, trying to take it all in.
At the end of the festival, we dropped my buddy off in Chicago at a friend’s place, and checked into a hotel.
After four days of camping, I can only imagine what we smelled like walking into that lobby.
But that shower?
Hands down the best shower I’ve ever had.
I still think about it.
The drive back to California felt different.
Less stressful. Lighter.
We took a different route home to see more along the way.
I surprisingly fell in love with Nebraska.
Looking back on that experience, I wish I had better control over my emotions.
I wasn’t fully present for a lot of it… and I know that affected other people too.
Taking Life with Chances 
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