This blogging adventure begins after years of serious contemplation. My earliest introduction to blogging began with a Travelpod account in 2011 after two years of traveling with my soon-to-be husband. The purpose of the blog was very simply to share my photos and stories with my mom in real-time, rather than spending hours pouring over photos from six different countries when I visited her months later. She seemed to like the idea, so I shared the blog with more family and friends. Soon thereafter I began to notice a trend at family dinners and holidays. Aunts, uncles, cousins and friends would excitedly ask about something they read, and after a retelling of whichever story was their favorite they would follow with, “I just love reading your blog. I feel like I’m there with you!”. After hearing this time and again, I found my blogging skill and style evolving. I was taking more detailed notes and posting more often. I felt compelled to provide a greater level of detail and insight to my small community of readers, even if I knew they weren’t going to travel to these faraway places on their own. I was infusing my stories with emotional dimension and local flavor so they could continue to feel like they were right there with me, exploring, tasting and engaging their way around the world.

The trip that started my blogging fever.

The trip that started my blogging fever.

As detailed in the About section, to balance our careers with our passion for travel, we have to sacrifice the amount of time we can spend in any one place. I relied heavily on travel blogs to inspire and inform my travels, but I found that I didn’t relate to many of the writers. Many of the best travel blogs are written by people who either make their livelihood writing and traveling, or at the very least spend long periods of time on the road. I don’t disagree that the best way to really experience the heartbeat of a foreign land is to spend a large quantity of time there, but I learned over my five years of quick getaways that a quality experience could be had even with limited time. We learned to balance the right amount of planning with spontaneity and flexibility, and over time we honed a travel style that affords us enriching experiences on a tight time budget.

With a unique perspective and a love for writing, I began to consider writing a blog that reflected our travel personality. The idea was to motivate those who can’t spend three months backpacking through Southeast Asia to get out there anyway and make the most of any precious time available – after all, an adventure can happen in but a moment.

However, every time I began to research how to start a blog, I would become overwhelmed and dismayed. There already existed thousands of travel blogs, and many of them were very good. I didn’t think I would ever be heard in the vast universe of travel writers.

As a new year dawned, I resolved to challenge myself creatively. I am passionate about traveling and I love sharing our stories, and so I am embarking on a journey of a new kind. I accept that I am a true novice and not particularly tech savvy. I may never have thousands of followers or make a single dime through this endeavor. My only hope is that my stories will inspire someone to knock a destination off their travel bucket list, even if they only have a week…or a weekend.

I will start with posts organized into series by destination or region. My travel stories will be interjected with tips and advice on how to thoroughly enjoy eating, drinking, shopping, arts and culture, sport and adventure travel in spots around the globe without taking a sabbatical. I expect the process to evolve over time, and I look forward to learning, growing and becoming a member of the travel blogging community. Please leave comments and feedback, and thank you for taking this journey with me!