Imagine living in a faraway, mountainous community in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Despite its unbelievable beauty, most people live in rugged, remote communities with poor infrastructure, difficult lives and few educational or economic opportunities. In fact, Bhutan has one of the lowest literacy rates in Asia meaning countless children and adults are left behind,…
In 2010, I went on a life-changing trip to Nepal with my father to hike the Annapurna trek in the Himalayas. After that fateful trip, I began my blog and started helping HANDS in Nepal, a non-profit organization that works to promote education and reduce poverty in the remote Himalayan villages. In this post, HANDS in Nepal’s Director Jan Sprague updates us on the amazing work they are doing in some of the hardest reached areas of Nepal.
Interactive World Map of Where I’ve Been Over the years, I have traveled to over 45 countries and six continents. To see where I’ve been and read related posts, click on country in red. The countries in orange are the countries I’ve visited but have not written about on my blog and the countries in blue…
Over the past decade I have been fortunate to have been able to travel the world and also do good along the way. For me, it all began during that fateful trip to Nepal in 2010. I had gone on four different volunteer trips before Nepal but for some reason this trip truly changed my…
“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow”. – Helen Keller When I started my blog on a whim back in January 2011, I honestly had no idea what on earth I was doing. As a stay-at-home mom of two young children, I was desperately looking for a little piece of…
Studying abroad is one of the most transformative travel experiences ever. Read my personal story of how living and studying abroad begin a lifelong love of travel and exploration.
“May the sun bring you energy by day, may the moon softly restore you at night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength onto your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.” – Apache Blessing Gently pushing off…
I will never forget the one-page article I read decades ago in Newsweek by a prominent female journalist about the importance of transgenerational travel and how it changed her life. I was in my late 20s at the time, living and working in Chicago and had just returned from skiing in the French Alps with my parents. I…
The tiny notification came to my inbox rather unexpected. If I’d been in a hurry as I normally am while browsing through my WordPress Inbox perhaps it would have gone unnoticed. Yet, there it was an indistinguishable little note that said “Happy Anniversary from WordPress” next to a tiny little cake with the number 5…
What better gift is there than teaching your child the spirit of giving this holiday season! Why not create a family tradition that gives back by supporting one of these amazing organizations with holiday gifts that help people around the world? A few years ago, I began highlighting different organizations that offer wonderful gifts that also give…
Kilimanjaro, the fourth highest peak among the seven summits, soaring at 19,340 feet (5,895 m) and one of the world’s highest freestanding mountains, has long been one of the most popular climbs given its relative ease of climbing. It had been a dream of mine for decades and in 2015 I made it to the top via the Machame Route. Here is my day to day guide of what to expect when climbing Kilimanjaro, complete with photos, descriptions of the hikes, what to pack and who to go with.
As today marks Black Friday in the US and people are scrambling about for the perfect gift for the holidays, why not consider a beautiful gift that also gives back to someone in need? I have worked hard over the years curating an ongoing list of Gifts that Give and even keep a permanent page…
