Our names are Benjamin Hagerty and Brianne Nemiroff. We’re a married couple originally from California currently living in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Since we became a couple in 2009, we have always been passionate about travel, both locally and abroad. We were inspired to take a long-term trip for our honeymoon in 2017, choosing to explore Canada and the U.S. by car over the course of eight months. Early into the trip we realized that this wasn’t just a vacation, and we were destined to explore.
We began our trip in April 2017 by journeying into Canada, by way of the West Coast, and drove our way eastward from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. After six months exploring eight provinces in Canada, we ventured southward to visit New England and other cities on the East Coast to experience the fall foliage before returning to Los Angeles for the holidays.
In Spring 2018, we drove eastward once again to explore more of the United States, focusing on the Southwest and the Midwest for another five months. In December 2018, we decided to venture out to the East Coast via Amtrak, taking the train from Oakland, California, to New York City—a grand two-and-a-half day ride from coast to coast with one transfer in Chicago.
When we first started our long-term travel itineraries, we chose states to visit based upon our interest in the area as well as how interesting we found the local vegan scenes. Understandably, that meant we visited mainly blue states in 2017. In order to learn about the country as a whole, we prioritized visiting red states for our trip in 2018 to see the difference between the acceptance of veganism around the country, the availability of plant-based cuisine, and the overall political atmosphere.
In 2019, we launched our website and focused on exploring more of California. During the first lockdowns of 2020, we took a pause from traveling to respect the safety of ourselves and others. During this time, Brianne started working for Kinder Beauty, a vegan beauty box subscription; Benjamin was accepted into the University of Northern British Columbia where he started his MA in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. His thesis explores vegan philosophy in small business and tourism.
Our guides and stories demonstrate that veganism is not exclusive to the affluent coastal cities of North America, and that it can be beneficial to the people, environment, and economy of each and every destination. We also discuss how vegan philosophy and cuisine encourage cultural diversity instead of stifling it.
It is the aim of this site to help anyone make kind choices in travel, dining, and shopping. We will also reflect upon our journey and what we learned about each destination. During this tumultuous era in history, our mission is to promote kindness, for that is what the world is surely lacking.
Since 2017, we visited 38 U.S. states, 8 Canadian provinces, 15 national parks and monuments, and 60+ cities in Canada and U.S. combined…and counting. We’ve also visited and lived in 21 countries between the two of us.
Follow along our journey with us to see where our lives take us next.
We are currently working on a narrative non-fiction book and are looking for both a literary agent and publisher. Please contact us via our Contact Us page if you are interested in representing us or publishing our story.
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