Ericka Chickowski moved to San Diego less by choice than by compulsion. The region captivated her with its perfect synthesis of her two youthful passions: beaches and mountains. As a little one, she toddled on Florida’s beaches armored in orange water wings and with pail and shovel in hand. Sunny skies were replaced with cloudy ones when she moved to Seattle, but she loved wandering mountain peaks and old growth forests too much to hold a grudge against the rain.

It took only one visit to San Diego to hook Ericka with the best of both those worlds. Within two months she made arrangements, crammed her book collection and computer into a moving truck, and motored down to America’s Finest City.

When she was a kid her parents told her she had too many recreational interests. Little did they know that these would serve her well in her profession as a freelance writer. Over the better half of a decade she has sold stories on everything from llama trekking to river rafting. Ericka’s travel stories have appeared on the pages of publications such as The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and Midwest Airlines Magazine. She is also a respected technology journalist who has garnered awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for column, feature, and humor writing.

Today Ericka lives in a cottage by the beach with her husband, Paul, and their lovable mutt, Sandy. Since her migration, she’s gained an appreciation for fish tacos, unapologetic jaywalkers, and well-inked tattoos.