Explore

Travel doesn’t have to be extravagant. It doesn’t have to mean a two-month excursion overseas (although that sounds pretty great rn), but it can also be a weekend trip to a small town you have never been to. Getting a quaint Airbnb (#ad) and walking to The Maltby Café for some fresh coffee and colossal, famous, cinnamon rolls!

Growing up, travel was anything but luxurious. We didn’t have much and to be honest, my dad was not a fan of crowds or getting on airplanes. Traveling in the air with a family of four was not as easy when I was a kid as it is today, nor as financially attainable. Add that with my father’s abstain to get on a plane, let alone with kiddos, we went on road trips. Lots of them.

The first road trip I remember was a girls’ trip to San Diego to visit one of my aunts. It was four-year-old me, my mom, Grandma, one of my other aunts, my baby brother and baby cousin. I remember it being the longest car ride of my life with a lot of naps and throwing up gummy bears in my mother’s lap. Sorry, Mom!

One of my first memories in an airport was saying goodbye to one of my uncles. I don’t remember how old I was, but I was very young. I remember being in the airport and looking in the night sky at one of the planes taking off and wondering if my Uncle was on that plane. I got this strange feeling in my gut. One of wonder, curiosity, and desire. It was unfathomable to me that we could take off and fly into the sky to go somewhere, anywhere!

To this day, I still get that feeling and it brings me right back to that big window in the airport. Tiny hands making prints on the glass, nose up to the sky, eyes wide; eager for adventure.

“That’s when I knew I was a traveler.”

Throughout my life, I have felt tremendous joy in traveling, meeting locals and other travelers, eating the local cuisine and exploring the unknown. I will share my journey with you and give you tips, recommendations and do-nots along the way!

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