Travel Adventurers! Oh! The Places We’ll Go!

Perhaps you notice all of my exclamation points! My enthusiasm overfloweth for many things - art, powerlifting and TRAVEL! I saw a picture of a little girl with a suitcase, dressed in her best, looking off to the horizon and the caption was “Life is short - go to Italy.” I was moved - life is short! and the world is a wonderful place! And somehow, in the last few years, I have found the time and the $$$ and have actually made my travel dreams happen - Greece, Morocco, Vietnam, Italy, Cambodia, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Thailand (I’m at 31 countries now), and in this blog I want to share some of the things that have made travel easier, less stressful, and overall just good things to know that I’ve learned (some the hard way).

To start with, your travel style may not be my travel style, and I think over time we all have to figure out what makes our heart full when we travel. I was talking to a friend about the trip to Morocco I went on early in 2025, and after listening to the itinerary, she said something to the effect of - but that doesn’t sound like a vacation! And in that moment, it hit me, no, it doesn’t, and that’s not what I’m looking for. I want to see the world, do all the things, try all the food, experience everything, not rest and sleep in and lay on a beach (I can do that in the USA and certainly save on the airfare!). So just read past anything that isn’t your style and keep anything that may be helpful for your bucket list adventures! I know my style may not be for everyone and that’s okay.

At first, thinking about starting a travel blog, I felt pressure to write something super profound and meaningful and deep that will make my readers gasp with enlightenment in every blog post but I realize that is not realistic (whew! that’s a relief!), I’m just going to share things that I learned or often get questions about.

So, thanks for reading, please come back and read more, and of course, happy travels! -Ann (November 9, 2025)