Hi! I’m Sam!
My love for travel truly started about 6 years ago, when I went to Africa with my good friend John. At this point in my life I had visited about 5 countries, and yes I enjoyed them, but I didn’t get that feeling of excitement landing in a new place like I do now. You could I say I didn’t truly appreciate travel, and what it can do for a person, until my trip to Africa.
I can remember landing in Johannesburg, that is when I said holy shit! This is a city? Everything I thought about Africa was wrong. I was very sheltered in my little American brain. Everywhere in Africa looks the same, a safari from the movies I used to watch as a kid. Woah was I surprised. Those next three weeks we spent most of our time in Malawi. I saw so many different sides of Africa, the good, the bad, the ugly, and I LOVED them all. I couldn’t believe how much it opened my eyes.
THE EXACT MOMENT I FELL IN LOVE WITH TRAVELING
You can hear my freaking out the entire time. I was also crying hysterically! We had hoped to see elephants and for 4 days not one. On our last morning, we thought ok one more try and this is what happened!
I came back to the US with a whole new perspective on life and you could say I got that “travel bug”….and so it began. Since that trip, I have visited 20 more countries and I am far from done. I am one of those people that wants to visit every country before I die!
Sooooo why do I have this blog? Many travelers know after doing so, you want to share your experiences with the world. Really anyone who will listen. And I believe that is because we want everyone to see the things we have seen! It truly changes you. One of my favorite quotes I have read since I started traveling is
“Traveling- It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”
-Ibn Battuta
And once you start traveling that quote will start to speak to you as well.
Another reason I have this website is that I wanted to create a mindful and practical travel blog.
Mindful, because I want to show how you can learn so much more about a country when you get to know the locals and learn about their culture. Or embark on a trip like the Inca Trail instead of just taking the bus up to Machu Picchu. I’m not saying a trip to the Four Seasons in Thailand is a bad choice, but I will argue that you aren’t learning much about the beautiful Thai culture and people- and you definitely won’t get the “full Thailand experience” there.
Practical, because a lot of the people I see on social media and other travel blogs are posting stunning pictures of themselves in beautiful clothing and their pictures are perfectly edited. You won’t find that here! Unless stated, all my pictures are taken with my iPhone (so excuse a few grainy ones) and I am usually in clothes that haven’t been washed in a few days. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t hire photographers sometimes to get these beautiful shots or enjoy these blogs. They are beautiful, stunning, and inspiring, to say the least, it is just not the way I typically travel. Sometimes the pictures I see are so edited and it’s like, “Did that water really need to be enhanced that much!? It’s beautiful without a filter.” It’s even happened where I arrive somewhere and I’m like, “Wait, this doesn’t look like the picture!” If I do hire a photographer I try to hire locals and also try to wear local clothing as well to support the local economy.
COUNTRIES I HAVE VISITED
Albania, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malawi, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands, United States(just a few more before I hit all 50!), Vietnam, and Wales.
NAVIGATING THIS SITE
I have decided to have my home page providing my latest blog posts. These posts range from day hike info, travel tips, weekend getaways, restaurants posts, etc. They aren’t exactly planned out for you just places or days I have decided to write about! Also, located on my home page are menu categories. These include this About Me page and also three and five-day itineraries to get your travel days started. Now I was fortunate that my first trip was long, but I understand vacation time is limited, especially in the United States. You will find that these itineraries are pretty much planned out for you. If you are heading somewhere I have been before, you can send me an e-mail and for a small fee, I can help plan out an itinerary for you. I love to chat so if you ever have any questions please leave a comment and we can either chat via email or hopefully face to face on one of our adventures!
