I had contemplated the move out to California for some time now, but I had no idea it would be this soon. For years, New York was my one great love affair -- something that I had dreamed about ever since I was a little girl. I dreamed of working at a magazine (check), finding love (check), and settling down (pending). I basked in the warm glow of living the life that I had seen on television, until I realized that as much as I was in love with New York, the feeling wasn't exactly mutual.

Manhattan is a transient metropolis. People flock from all corners of the earth to do exactly what I did -- live a dream. And then, they leave. So many factors contributed to my decision to say goodbye to New York, but at the end of the day, I've always been under the impression that it's best to leave a city when you're not quite ready to. Because that means you haven't overstayed. So there I was, standing in line at JFK with all my bags packed around me, filled with panic (what the hell am I doing), excitement (this is going to be awesome), and fear (what if this is the worst decision of my life).

But, I've realized, moving and starting over is never a bad idea, and the only way to go is forward. New York is a place to make beautiful memories with beautiful people, for sure, but it also is a place that kicks your ass over and over. I'm not quite sure at this point if it has made me stronger for it, but at least I know that I made it out alive. So, I bid a bittersweet farewell to a city that held my heart for what seemed like my entire life, and decided to take the leap and begin again on the other coast.

I flew from New York to Vancouver, my home, to meet up with two of my best friends. We had planned to drive my car down from there to SF, in the hopes of catching the rumoured beauty of the Pacific Northwest along the way. And boy, did we ever. Here are some snaps below of our three-day journey along the coast. I hope you enjoy them.

Here's to starting over, and all the new adventures that await.

The Pacific Northwest