Meet the Wanderers Behind Hella Wanderlust
Welcome to Hella Wanderlust, a space where we share our passion for exploring the world and stepping out of our comfort zones.
We’re Edgar and Amanda, a Bay Area couple (now family of three!) who love to travel and experience new things. Whether it’s a quick road trip or a long international flight, we’re always up for an adventure.
Meet Amanda
Hello! I’m Amanda! I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida and grew up traveling with my parents from a young age to places like Vietnam, France, Australia, and all over the U.S. Since my hometown wasn’t very diverse, these trips really opened my eyes to the world beyond my bubble.
I was lucky to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain during high school, and later at the University of Florida (Go Gators! 🐊), I got involved with the Vietnamese Student Organization to connect with my heritage and learn about other cultures on campus.
After graduation, I moved to Atlanta where I discovered amazing international cuisines and “mom and pop” restaurants. It was there I met Edgar during his visit to see the Giants play – and the rest is history!
I’m definitely the Type A planner between the two of us. Edgar handles flights and accommodations while I put together detailed itineraries (yes, we’re spreadsheet people and proud of it!). I’m constantly checking packing lists and scanning the hotel room before checkout to make sure we don’t leave anything behind.
I came up with our blog’s brand, name, and logo, and I manage our Instagram account. With my interior design background, I love dabbling in graphics and branding – including browsing different fonts (random fact, I know!). Now as a new mom, I’m excited to share how we’re adapting our travel style with our little one.
Meet Edgar
Hey all! Edgar here! I was born and raised in San Francisco and didn’t travel much growing up – just a few family trips to Yosemite and Hearst Castle. But college changed everything. My first real adventure was a road trip to Southern California with friends after high school, and I was completely hooked.
Since moving to Sacramento for college (Go Hornets! 🐝), I started exploring everywhere – Lake Tahoe, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and countless trips to SoCal for Disneyland and Korean BBQ. When Amanda and I started dating in 2016, travel became even more meaningful as we learned each other’s habits and created our own adventure story.
I’m somewhat OCD and love having structure and plans, but over the years with Amanda, I’ve learned to relax and live in the moment. I still need my morning coffee (or I get serious caffeine withdrawals!), and I take pride in my tidiness.
I’m also the tech guy behind this blog! I’ve been building websites since 1998 – from running a popular music forum to my own personal blog at EdgarGee.com where I share my authentic self through my struggles in life and giving back with my coaching business. Starting Hella Wanderlust was my way of getting back online and sharing our travels with the world. I handle all the behind-the-scenes stuff: domain, hosting, WordPress, SEO, and web development (all the boring stuff is what Amanda would call it 😜).
Now that we’re parents, I’m excited to see the world through our little one’s eyes and share those family adventures with you!
How We Met: The Atlanta Love Story
You’re probably wondering how a guy from San Francisco and a girl from Atlanta ended up together… It all started on Memorial Day weekend 2016 when Edgar traveled to Atlanta to watch the Giants play the Braves. I got a notification from a dating app – and honestly, I almost ignored him completely!
After some back-and-forth messaging (and me being way too shy to answer his phone calls), Edgar made the bold decision to fly back to Atlanta in August for our first real date. During a walk through Piedmont Park, he pulled out a handwritten letter asking me to be his girlfriend. I had never believed in “when you know, you know” – until that moment.
Fast forward to May 2018: we were back at that same bench in Piedmont Park when Edgar asked an even bigger question…
The rest is history – and the beginning of our greatest adventure together.
Our Travel Fails & Wins
Amanda’s Most Memorable Fail: For our honeymoon in Italy, we booked a one-night stay at an Airbnb for our first night in Rome because we were going to arrive late in the evening and we just needed a place close to the train station. Well let’s just say Airbnb pictures can be deceiving!! It was literally the worst experience we have ever had: the bathroom door was worn and the handle fell off, the shower drain was clogged, the bed was dirty (we slept on top of our jackets and no covers)… we were humbled real quick! Thankfully our hotel stay the next few nights more than made up for that Airbnb experience and we even made friends with the bellhop, Francesco!
Edgar’s Most Memorable Trip: The most memorable trip for me was visiting Asia in 2024! We spent less than 24 hours in Taiwan for a layover, 3 days in Seoul, South Korea and 10 days in Japan. Words cannot describe how much I love Japan – its culture, its people, its rich history, its food, its sports – everything! I can’t wait to go back with our family of three in the near future!
Our New Chapter: Family of Three
We can’t tell how easy or difficult it is but we know it will be different. We did a staycation in San Francisco over the Memorial Day weekend in 2025 (this was the first time Edgar has ever stayed in a hotel in San Francisco!) and we’ll be sharing that experience with you all very soon in a future blog article! We’ve learned so much from the 2-day, 1-night trip! We know our next trip will be much more well planned out, that’s for sure!
Our Family Travel Philosophy
Family travel means experiencing everything through the lens of our newborn. We’re so excited to share with her everything that we know of the San Francisco Bay Area, Hawaii (because we love visiting Hawaii!), and exploring new things and places together!
Spending quality time with family just hits differently with our little bundle of joy and we’re already so excited (and planning) for future vacations near and far together!
Bay Area Life
Living in the Bay Area has been a blessing for the both of us. It’s rich in culture and diversity and that’s what we love the most. Oh yeah, the weather is also perfect!
We’re exposed to so many different cuisines and cultures that it helps us when we travel because we’re not thrown off if a different culture in another country is “different”. We respect the difference and embrace the local culture as if we’re living in it (temporarily while we’re visiting on vacation).
We feel that once you immerse yourself completely, that’s when you’re truly learning and wandering the world, and realize how little we really are in a grand scheme of things.
What You’ll Find Here
Our content is ours. We write (mainly Edgar) every article from conception (Amanda is the best with planning) to publishing it live on Hella Wanderlust.
You will find our authentic and honest thoughts on everything from food, culture, coffee, and what we wish we knew before we visited!
We can’t wait to share our guides with the world in hopes that you can look back on your own trip and say “Gee, I’m glad I read the blog post on Hawaii or Japan on Hella Wanderlust!”
Our Approach
Our approach to our content all starts from our curiosity. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, we’ve been exploring the San Francisco Bay Area by hitting the road and driving throughout the area and some!
We’ve driven all the way up to Portland, Oregon in 2020 and made a pit stop in Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival because I (Edgar) wanted to watch a Shakespeare performance live.
I can promise you that our recommendations are our own. We won’t recommend something that we haven’t tried or believe in. If we do talk about something or somewhere we haven’t tried or been to, we will call it out. You have our word.
Connect With Us
We would love to connect with you through whichever channel that’s easiest for you! Whether that’s through email (hello@hellawanderlust.com), our contact page, or Instagram direct message.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on what you think of our content, where you’re traveling to next, and how we can help!
We believe that traveling is the vessel that keeps us grounded and happy.
Fun Facts About Us
Amanda’s Favorites:
- Coffee Order: Phil’z Iced Coffee Rosé with honey
- Travel Gear: Packing cubes… game changer in how I pack! I actually did not discover these until Edgar showed me his!
- Favorite Vacation: Hands down Japan. Our honeymoon in Italy is a very close second – I think we over planned for it (go figure) and were always on the go that we didn’t have much time to truly relax. I have learned that sometimes no plans are the best plans!
Edgar’s Favorites:
- Can’t Live Without: My iPhone! More so to take photos and videos of my foods and travels than anything.
- Morning Drink: Black hot coffee or an espresso shot in the morning and Phil’z Coffee mint mojito or an iced cold brew (only on the weekends as a treat!)
- Travel Bag: Aer travel backpack – this bag is clutch and can fit a weekend trip’s worth of clothes! I’ve taken it everywhere!
- Destination Type: Anything outdoors – hiking, running, biking, and being away from city centers, like the Nakanobo Zuien onsen in Kobe, Japan!
- Favorite Vacation: Our Japan trip in 2024! I loved everything about Japan and can’t wait to go back with our little one!
Together We:
Have our inside jokes. If you met us in person, you wouldn’t believe us if we told you that we’re goofballs at home or when we’re alone together.
We love to keep things lighthearted but we also have very deep conversations about anything and everything.
Together we’re family first, we’re each other’s best friend and we support each other in everything we do and aspire, whether it’s professionally (yes! We still have full-time jobs!) or personally. This is what makes our relationship strong.
If our foundation is strong, nothing can stop us (and from traveling)!
Our Shared Quirks:
- 🫎 (our inside joke emoji!)
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge playlist on Spotify – makes you want to go on a great all-American adventure!
- Travel habits: wiping down our airplane seats and tray tables… 🤢
Thanks for getting to know us! We’re so excited to have you along for this journey. Whether you’re here for Bay Area gems, international adventures, family travel tips, or just some good coffee recommendations, we’re thrilled you’re part of the Hella Wanderlust community.
Ready to wander with us? Let’s go! ✈️
Amanda & Edgar