About Me—The Short Version
- I am a fun and (somewhat) fearless woman of color
- I have 30 countries and 35 States under my belt
- I am a lawyer by trade but traveler at heart. I travel as often as my vacation days will allow.
- My first independent travel adventure was at the age of 18. I took my first solo international trip at the age of 22.
- I prefer to travel solo because I can see what I want, when I want, at the pace that is best for me. But I LOVE a good girls trip!
- I’ve helped countless friends and relatives plan their travel activities.
- My goal is to create a blog that will inspire and motivate you to take the trip of your dreams.
My Story—The Long Version
The exhilaration that many women feel when rocking a fly pair of shoes for the first time, I get from traveling. Weird? Probably. But I have accepted it as part of my DNA. Needless to say my shoe game is pretty wack, but I am rich in life experiences.
I am a New Yorker by birth and a southern lady by culture. I loved growing up in the south, but since most of my relatives were still in New York (or overseas) my summers always involved travel. From summer camps to the epic trips with my grandparents, I was always around someone going somewhere. And I loved tagging along for the ride.
When I turned 18, I found myself looking for ways to spice up my travel experiences. As ridiculous as this may sound, I was “totally over” trips to NY and Jamaica (where my grandmother is from) and I wanted a new experience. I decided to apply for camp counselor jobs and ended up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I was hired to be the female Trips Counselor—which entailed taking 10-12 kids on week-long trips around Ohio and Pennsylvania. We went White Water Rafting, camping, hiking, and generally lived in tents for most of the summer. I loved it…
But what did I love? Was it the first true sense of independence? Was it the actual trip? Was it bonding with young kids and hopefully having a positive influence on them?? I think it was all of the above.
Fast forward four years—to the end of my senior year in college. I was only a few months from graduation and had put little thought into what I would do after earning my degree. My immediate plan was to move home, work at the mall for while, save money, and travel to Europe through a work exchange program. Little did I know that the man upstairs had something else in mind.
As blessings and fate would have it, someone gave me a graduation gift. Not just any graduation gift—but a gift that would change my life. To be precise, the gift was a $10,000 check, to be used exclusively for my desire to travel.[1] That $10,000 check got me a kick-ass, 9-week excursion around Europe—eating, drinking, and traveling to my heart’s content with absolutely no strings attached. I realized that the world is big, with many places, people, and cultures that I never previously imagined.
My trip to Europe is actually where the story of this blog truly begins. I had been bitten by the travel bug…and my life would never be the same. But there were no more $10,000 commitment-free checks in my future. Thus, I started my journey of finding ways to feed my desire to travel on a public servant’s salary…
I’ve been able to take some pretty cool trips on my own meager dime. I really have made it my personal mission to dispel the myth that you need several thousand dollars to have a worthwhile travel experience. Now, don’t get me wrong, several thousand dollars WILL make for a fabulous vacation! (I’ve got the pictures from Europe to prove it!) But trust me—if you are committed and have just a little bit of flexibility and a lot of patience, you can plan an amazing trip on a realistic budget.
My friends and family have been urging me to start a travel advice blog for YEARS! I’ve helped friends and family with almost every aspect of travel planning from where to go, to what to pack, to “how do I even start.” I guess my friends think I have some good tips to share—I hope you will agree!
[1] This is truly one of the great blessings of my life. Learn about the philanthropist who changed my life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_R._Davis. You can also read about this story in the book “The Walter Davis Story” by Ned Cline.