The loud rustling of leaves suffused the air around me as the strong winds danced with the branches on the dense oak trees nearby. The breeze on my face cooled the hot tears running down my cheeks, but did nothing to stop the tears as I sat on the side of a small mountain in Bergamo, Italy.
I had no reason to wipe the tears as I stared at the city far below, my solitude was complete and the tears were far from finished. I stared and stared into the open …

I gathered all of those goodbyes in my mind, and they propelled me forward; I took my leave. Excitedly, with joy and fierce anticipation, and yes, a hint of sadness.

You see Travel, I’ve received emails from other travelers “Wow, I could never travel solo and long-term, I’d miss my family too much.”

I miss mine too. That’s what they don’t understand, traveling doesn’t take that away; instead, I weighed the trade-offs and realized travel was a piece of my story, a piece of my personal journey, a piece I had no choice but to honor.

A routine forms when you hunker down in one place, when you pick a spot and decide “hey, I’m going to live here; not just travel through, but live here.” Is it safe to admit I thought the routine and normalcy would still elude me? Coming to Chiang Mai was the next leg in my wanderings; I didn’t realize that the entire pace of my life would slow back down into a routine.
I’ve been in near constant motion for more than two years; my months home this fall were a …

I have a confession to make about why I rarely mention the eight days I spent in Cuba a year ago…I stayed mum because some of it’s lukewarm. And I steer clear of overtly negative posts on a country or city because travel is so very personal, and I’d hate to steer someone away from visiting Cuba because of a mediocre review from me. So hear me out, because a lot of people might not agree with this…but I will probably not travel back to Cuba – and definitely not …

And so it is that I prep once again to leave the United States. My bags are slumped beside me, a crisply new book (Gun, Germs, and Steel) in my backpack waiting for my endless airport layovers and my anal-retentively neat morning checklist ready to see me on my way with all my power cords, bags, books, toothbrush and water bottles in tow.
Can I just say, I’m seriously psyched.
It’s hard to describe how right this feels. You’d think that leaving is old-hat now, I’ve done my fair-share of goodbyes over …

A huge and jolly Happy New Year to you!
I sincerely hope your first hours and days of 2011 are joyous.
The theory goes that you can wake up on the wrong side of the bed each day and that’s justification for a crappy day, so my chipperness knows no bounds today this week; I want to send all kinds of positive vibrations into 2011.
And rather than a 2011 wrap-up post (check out the best of and resources pages for that!), I’d like to look forward into the new year and put …

I had this realization the other day that my perception of time/years/events are all a wee bit different than many people.
More specifically, different than about 11/12ths of the population (ie. the 11 months of birthdays that do not fall around Christmas/New Years by the way) because I measure time not always by the year – but instead by my age. I am a single age for the overwhelming majority of the year so significant events, new resolutions and goals – all of these are remembered by my age at the time.
Do …

The time has come,’ the Walrus said,
`To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax –
Of cabbages — and kings –
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.’

This fragment of a Lewis Carroll poem wandered into my wayward thoughts as I sat down to write tonight;  I often quote these lines to my niece and nephew when they spout nonsense…
…but worry not, I’ll keep away from nonsense and instead note that my travel plans, like the winds of the world, have changed direction.
Several months …