April 2022 | Recap

Is it just me or is this year going alarmingly fast?

My month was full – very full – of lots of fun activities here in northern California (and even Oregon). I feel like I’m truly learning the meaning of “weekend warrior” these last few months.

I’ve also been hard at work planning for the next adventure… and if you want the big news on what that will be, sign up below (yes, I’m going to revive my newsletter so you KNOW it’s big news)!

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Where was I in April?

  • Countries: USA
  • Cities: Redding, Eureka, and Arcata, California; Klamath Falls and Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
  • Flights: 0
  • Days on the road: 6
Hiking at Castle Crags State Park!

April on the blog…

I only published one blog post in April, but it was highly requested by some readers who were having their own endometriosis surgeries at the same center I had mine back in August. So I’m really happy that if only one post got written this month, it was this one!

April adventured like…

A couple weekends exploring Lassen National Park: I spent the first and last Saturday of April exploring Lassen National Park, which is one of the largest but least visited national parks in the country and is only an hour from Redding, where I’m living right now. The through-road in the park is still closed due to snow, so I visited the north entrance (with a beautiful lake and view of Lassen Peak) at the beginning of the month, and the south entrance (where there are geothermal mud pools from volcanic activity) today!

View of Lassen Peak from Manzanita Lake at the north entrance. My favorite part of the park that I’ve been to!
A gorgeous but chilly day to walk around the lake!
View of Sulphur Works at the south entrance (you can see the steaming mud pots!)

A weekend visiting Crater Lake National Park: On another weekend, I drove up to Oregon and stayed in an Airbnb in Klamath Falls, and spent a day at Crater Lake National Park. This is another park I wasn’t expecting to be quite so snowy this late in the year (literally over 7 feet of snow on the sides of the roads!). I definitely would enjoy visiting these places more in summer, but I’m still glad I went.

Beautiful Crater Lake – covered in snow!
Like… the snow was sooo much taller than me!
I got some delicious pad thai and Thai iced tea while I was in Klamath Falls!
One of the caves at Lava Beds National park – they were created by lava flows!

Another weekend away on the California coast: Over Easter weekend, I drove three hours west to Arcata, where I’d booked a stay in a cozy little 1952 airstream on the coast. I actually booked this Airbnb way back in February when I first moved to California, and this was the only weekend available for months. So I’d been looking forward to it for a while! I didn’t like Arcata and Eureka as much as I loooved Mendocino (another coastal town I went to last month). But the airstream itself was SUCH a cool place to stay, and I really enjoyed the giant redwood trees, too.

My gorgeous lil’ airstream that I stayed at in Aracata.
A gluten free chicken pot pie on the beach? Yes, I will thanks.
Beautiful succulents growing along the dunes in Arcata – it was a 10 minute walk from my airstream through the dunes to get to the beach!
I found this trillium flower in the middle of a redwood forest. So peaceful and beautiful.

Hiking a hidden California gem with an old friend: Last weekend, I actually stayed in Redding for once, lol – and it ended up being my favorite weekend I’ve had so far in California (tied with my weekend in Mendocino). My high school friend Jiaxin drove up from Sacramento and spent the weekend. We did an absolutely stunning hike at Castle Crags State Park (which in my opinion is incredibly underrated and I’m surprised it’s not swarming with tourists?? I mean look at it). We also got sushi, went to Costco (I’d never been and that’s a whole experience), watched Schitt’s Creek, had blueberry pancakes, chilled on my sunny patio, and took lots of photos. And Jiaxin – who works in tech – taught me how to use Lightroom. All in all it was such a sweet weekend and really what I needed because this travel gig can get a bit lonely!

Me and Jiaxin during our hike to Castle Dome at Castle Crags State Park! The hike was about 7 miles, 2,600+ feet of elevation gain, and the most sunny and wonderful day for it!
Some sushi from my favorite place in Redding out on my patio – the best Saturday evening.
And blueberry pancakes on the patio for breakfast!

Last full month at my work contract: Speaking of my travel gig, I officially decided not to extend my contract so this was my last full month working for this company. In fact, next week is my last week! This was honestly bittersweet because I like my job, I like my coworkers, and I think the company overall is so great and supportive and ethical (unlike a lot of healthcare companies!). Plus, it pays well. I’ve felt a little crazy for not staying on, but my heart is calling me to something else…

Ice cream (and a gluten free waffle bowl!) from Taste & See Creamery, one of my faves in Redding. I got this on Friday after a looong work week.

Lots of planning for… something exciting: Ahhh, I’ve decided not to share the big news here because it really deserves its own separate announcement post. And I mean, I’m going to resuscitate my email newsletter for that, so you know it’s gonna be big (sign up to my email newsletter to hear the news first!). Some of you may even be able to guess what the big news is. What I’ll say here is that it’s involved a not insignificant amount of planning (and spreadsheets) which I’ve been working on this month!

My final bouquet of Trader Joe’s flowers! I’ve been buying myself flowers every couple weeks and it’s been the most lovely little self care practice 🙂

April blogging income report and update…

I had my highest ever earning month from my blog/writing business this month and I’m really proud! I know there are LOTS of professional bloggers that make way more than this, but for me this was a big deal and I’m really pleased. Just don’t ask me to repeat it again every month lol (still trying to figure out how to do that…).

The main source of my income increase this month was freelance writing. I had a few big one-off assignments in February and March with payment finally coming through this month.

Both advertising and affiliate income were actually down (as I’ve learned quarter 1 has the lowest RPMs/ad payments, and since I’m generally paid two months after the income is earned, it’s just now being reflected in my income reports).

And because someone asked me last month, and in the name of even further transparency, I’ll also share my blog traffic for April so you can get some context. Again, keep in mind that my April traffic will actually correspond to my June ad income (because of the two month delay thing). But, my traffic has been pretty stagnant since January so this is representative!

  • Sessions: 58.1k
  • Pageviews: 68.6k

April 2022 blogging income

Here’s how my income broke down in April:

  • Advertising: $1,304.76
  • Freelance Writing: $3,200
  • Affiliates: $142.91

Total: $4,647.67

Note: This is my gross income, before expenses and taxes.

Upcoming in May…

Not to keep teasing it, but big things are coming up in May and I am simultaneously excited and terrified. If you want to be the first to hear about it, subscribe to my email newsletter!

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Of course, I want to know how you all have been this spring. Anything you’re looking forward to in May?

Looking for more?

3 Comments

  1. So excited to hear your big news! I have a small hunch what it might be :)) but looking forward to seeing if I guessed right! Looks like you 100% made the best out of your CA stay and saw some incredible places! I also need to note that the sushi photo (which I think you also posted on IG) single-handedly made me go get sushi too a few days later. #influenced

  2. Also very excited to hear the news – like Cynthia, I have a hunch! 🙂 Just loved all the beautiful natural spots you have been exploring, particularly Lassen, which reminded me a bit of some of the best bits of the Central North Island of NZ. Such a stunning region to have been able to spend some time in!

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