(Story from a trip to Cuba in January 2010) 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 much of it’s lukewarm. And I steer clear of overtly negative posts on a country or city because travel is …
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, …
I sincerely hope your first hours and days of 2011 are joyous. A huge and jolly Happy New Year to you! 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 chipper-ness knows no bounds today this week; I …
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 …
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 …
“Safe travels! You have my Facebook and WhatsApp so we can keep in touch—you have a couch if you ever make it to Florida!” And just like that, a new friend has come and gone. At our parting, my new friend scurries off with her backpack strapped to her back, ready for the next hostel, …
Have you ever had those trips where you just feel the planets aren’t aligned for you to be traveling right now? Everything is going minorly wrong, or it’s altogether more exhausting than you anticipated? Across my 15+ years of travel, sometimes travel fatigue set in quickly and made me feel tired, sad, and alone. I …
So there I am, 16 years old, hiding in the hotel bathroom while sobbing on the phone and spilling my teenage woes to my dad. And that’s when he hit me with my favorite advice from him: “Shannon, it’s just money. It’s not worth you being in a miserable situation, I’ll buy you a ticket …