Here We Are

So, here we are.  Not sure what brought you here, honestly, not even sure why I am here.  But welcome, let's have some coffee, have a chat, cry a little and laugh a lot.

I love to travel, I always have.  Since I was a kid my parents always took us on yearly adventures.  They weren't extravagant - anyone else sleep in an old RV in the parking lot of Magic Mountain?  No, just my family?  That really is no surprise - we went to Hawaii, Tahoe and a lot of trips to the desert and the beach.  We camped a lot and hardly ever flew.

When I was 16 my parents sent me on the infamous 6 countries in ten days tour with other high school students.  Different city each day.  It was a blur, but also I still remember how in awe I was of this other world out there.  It was life changing.  And I caught the bug.

In my early 30's, my husband and I traveled, we put off having kids to travel.  We would save everything we had to go on these amazing trips, skiing in Whistler, Tahoe, Utah and Colorado.  Three weeks in Europe, Oktoberfest anyone?  Then the kids came and we still traveled, but not as much.  We started road tripping and focusing on ski trips.  We did not make a ton of money, but we were motivated, traveled in the off season, saved all our money, we made it work.

Life changed and I was a single mom but still had that urge to travel.  Every free cent I had I saved.  We ate simply, we didn't have fancy clothes or the newest phones or cars or shoes, but we sure had a lot of fun.  We camped a ton, we would take trips to visit family.  One of my most memorable trips with my kids was going to Vegas.  My friend and I piled our five kids and ourselves into one small hotel room on the strip.  The kids ate off of the dollar menu at the McDonalds in the food court and we spent all day at the pool.  My kids would probably shame me now for taking a trip like this, but back then, being around our friends, having fun, that was worth more than any five star hotel.

One thing I never did, go into debt to travel.  It just was not worth it.  We all have our priorities, and whatever they are, you do not have to justify them to me!  You might love to get your nails done every week, hair colored and cut every six weeks, massages, designer clothes.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all these things, but I love travel more and that is where my money went to and still does, every cent.

I learned how to use miles - which in all honesty I really suck at, I learned how to search out deals, I learned how to maneuver cheap flights, packages, what days to travel and how to maximize time in each country. 

So, here we are at 56.  Single, still working, kids are on their own and I make decent money, but in no way do I make the money to support traveling.  

With all of that, I have been to four continents, over 20 countries and have so many great memories. 

I am here to share my stories, the good and the bad.  I am by no way a travel influencer and have no desire to be.  I am not here to recommend hotels and tours, but I will share what I have done, what I have liked and what I have not.  

I don't remember the names of half the churches I see or the foods I eat.  I do very little research before I leave.  Hardly ever do I book tours or tickets ahead of time.  I get lost a lot, I have to ask for help a lot.  I never get a sim card, or use the international package.  I wander, I eat a lot and try my hardest to soak in my time in this beautiful world.

So, if you like to hear about the chaos of someone's life, if you want to travel, but are afraid to take that leap, I am your person!  It is scary, it is hard, it is all things, but I am no one special.  You can do hard things..