A beginning...With No End In Sight

Traveling - when and where did you begin your adventures?

Everyone has to start somewhere and when it comes to traveling that start can be from anytime in your life, when you are young to when you are old and anywhere in between.  And the destination could have been anywhere in the world. 

During your traveling "career" you will travel hundreds of thousands of miles and experience things some people only dream of.  And you will probably have experienced all the travel "oops" there are to be made and can also write a book on how to travel smart - all from experience.  

To be able to travel is a gift from the universe and it is something we should all be thankful for.

And also, it is something that we should pass along to our children.  To be shown the way is invaluable and to know that you come from a long history of travelers is something that warms the soul (at least a travelers soul).  

Support from friends and family is also invaluable because you are always going to need that one person to call while you are away to talk you through something, having free pet sitters is always nice or just having someone understand your crazy ideas and why you want to go and why you have to go right then. 

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I consider the start of my international traveling "career" to have been in middle school when I volunteered with the mission group from my church to help fix up a local church in Palmer Norte, Costa Rica.  That trip we were gone two weeks and to this day I still remember everyday in detail that we were there. 

Everything else followed from there:

Costa Rica twice

Nicaragua twice

Ecuador

Hawaii

Grand Caymen twice

Cozumel twice

Italy

Greece

Greek Isles

Turkey

Australia

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What have I learned along the way?  I think the most important tool traveling has given me is independence.  Whether you travel in a group or solo you automatically develop a sense of independence just from being away from your normal surroundings. 

 It encourages you to:

 *Participate in activities you usually would not.

 *Interacting with a different groups of people.

 *Learn how to navigate foreign places.

  *Eat out alone or do things by yourself that are usually social activities.

*Make new friends on the fly.

*And finally, to be an adult. 

 All these things I have taught me to stand out on my own, not be afraid, how to handle situations, and to be comfortable in my own skin.

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Contact United Military Travel today to either start your traveling or to add stamps to your Passport

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The Pursuit of Happiness

Why be anything but happy?

Days like today make me wonder, "why would you do anything but what makes you happy?"

Then I realize the one simple reason: money > provides for you and your family.

Last night I was on the phone with my sister and we were discussing how it is super easy to let your body go.  It is easier to gain weight and not try then it is to stay slim by consciously taking care of yourself.  It takes a lot of work and brain power to keep your body healthy and fit.  It takes a very little effort to not care whatsoever.

The reason I bring that up is because it relates directly to my theory on why people get "stuck" living a life that is not theirs;  living in a place they do not love or doing something they are not passionate about.  It is because it takes effort to make your life everything you want it to be.  No successful person has ever gotten to where they did because they were lazy.  They recognized what they wanted and turned their dreams into a reality.  

Was it easy for them?  Probably not for most and yes for some.  But the point is this, we cannot sit on our bums and talk smack about the successful, happy ones when we ourselves are not fighting for the same general thing.  Happiness.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has the opportunity to make their lives what they dream them to be.  People can use the excuse all day long that they were not "given" the same opportunities as the others or they cannot achieve the same things because it is not meant to be.  Life is what you make it to be - so if you do not try I do not want to hear you whine.    

Money is the root of all evil - it drives the world and makes everyone join a rat race just to have roof over their heads and food on the table.  It makes people live lives they do not want to and it drives people to commit crimes out of pure greed or desperation.  

I myself am not writing this as a rich person or a poor person - I am a 28 year old, partially employed mommy will bills and mouths to feed.  Money is a constant issue in my household and is something that makes my dreams very challenging to achieve.  Do I let it stop me?  No, I do not and I never will.  You know why?  Because I LOVE being happy!!!

You wanna know what makes me happy - other than my precious family????

Traveling

Whether it be weekend jaunts or week long getaways the ability to clear my head  is priceless.   When I step back from my daily life and look in from afar it gives me a new perspective and gives me the ability to re-evaluate the importance levels of the things I was stressing over.  

I call getting away "decompression time".  

I have come to realize that while it is important to enjoy where you live it is more important for me to  be able to get away and have "air under my wings".  For me it is the small things in life -  I am not a needy or high maintenance woman by any means.  Just never take traveling away from me and I will always have my happiness. 

United Military Travel

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.... What a W O N D E R F U L life ....

As I sit here trying to figure out what I should write about - what destinations people are interested in, what is "trending now" etc -  this photo that hangs above my stove caught my eye.

And it made me think about how incredibly lucky I have been my entire life to have had the travel experiences some can only dream about.  It is a possibility that my feelings of gratitude are coming from the fact that we are going to be with baby in 3 weeks, that reality is sinking in that solo travel no longer exist with consequence, that instead of saving up for travel we have to save up for college.  

Now, the real fun begins.  Josh and I get to teach our little boy about traveling.  Taking him all over the green Earth, letting him take in the world through virgin eyes and forming his own opinions, likes, and dislikes.  The world to him is uncharted territory and I already know that watching him see something/somewhere for the first time is going to bring so much joy to my soul.  I am looking forward to sitting at our dinner table, on a beach somewhere, on the side of a mountain, in a boat, or lying under the stars and Noah asks us what traveling was like for us.  It is going to be the small things in life!

 Because of this and that picture I am full of gratitude.  I am grateful that I will have something to teach him that he cannot learn in a classroom, grateful that I can show him who his momma and daddy really are through pictures.  

Grateful that we can share the same life with him that we have had.  

These are the experiences that Noah will hear about in our stories and what will inspire him to see the world, fall in love, respect the Earth, do great things.  

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What brings you feelings of gratitude?  Life is too short for each day to pass with us not recognizing something that we are grateful for.  We must always remember that life is what we make it, not what we are "dealt".  Take your destiny by the cahones and make it what you want it to be...no matter how difficult.  

I believe in you!  

Life is also too precious for it to be anything other than 

W O N D E R F U L! 

Stop being so... n o r m a l ...

Use a travel loan to explore places others only d r e a m of!!!

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Okay, I want you to close your eyes, breathe deep, controlled breaths and envision your happy place...everything about it.

  Is it a deserted beach?  

Are you far atop a mountain in a distant land?  

Maybe a field of endless flowers that opens to crystal clear lake?  

Now, imagine the way it smells, the textures, the horizon, maybe there is a house or cabin there.  Do you share it with anyone or is it all yours?  Can you feel the wind blow through your hair?  

Do all of your worries disappear when you are here? 

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 Open your eyes only when you are ready, stay in your happy place as long as you need.

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Now, with your fresh idea of what your ultimate d r e a m vacation would be, you need to realize that it can be a reality.

The world is full of places that can be your happy place, even if you have to share it with others.  I feel that most people just stick to the "cookie cutter" destinations because they are deemed "safe" and well traveled by others.

Personally, I do not want to visit places that you can find on Trip Advisor unless I have to.  

My happy place is a somewhere you would need a treasure map and a really good GPS tracking device to find me.  And honestly, it is always changing! 

*Sorry, I cannot disclose more but that is why it is mine :) 

With that being said, here are a few destinations that I would travel to to mimic what I wish reality could be like...

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Mu Ku Ang Thong National Park, Thailand

Mu Ko Ang Thong is a beautiful archipelago of about 40 islands in the Gulf of Thailand.  Ang Thong translates as bowl of gold, while Mu Ko simply means group of islands.  Most of the limestone islands, are covered with tropical forest and rise from the sea as rock cliffs and formations.  The best thing to do while there is exploring the white sand beaches and snorkeling the shallow coral gardens.  All of the islands are uninhabited and undeveloped except for Ko Paluay, an island inhabited by sea-gypsies who still earn a living from fishing.

Cocos Island, Costa Rica

  

Cocos Island is located 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  This jungle covered island is primarily uninhabited.  Tourists are only allowed ashore with permission from the Costa Rican Park Rangers which are the only people allowed to live there.  Cocos Island is popular as a dive destination but people also come here to go treasure hunting.  Several hidden treasures are said to have been buried here by pirates in the 19th century including the Inca gold from Lima that was taken by pirate Benito Bonito.  This is a great destination to spend a week aboard a sail boat or dive boat.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Visit the world's largest salt flat located in south west Bolvia at 11,995 ft above sea level.  Here you can witness some of the most beautiful clouds you will ever see due to the location being climatological transitional zone and it is also one of the main breeding grounds to the pink flamingos.  It is a remote destination making accommodations few and far between but you do have the option of staying at a hotel built of salt blocks.  

Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, New Zealand

When you see a photo like this do you wonder how it was created and what it really is?  

I do!

Geological and volcanic forces created the 300 known limestone caves in the Waitomo region over the last 30 million years.  It takes a lonngg time for limestone for form and here it started when the land was still under water and then slowly started being compressed and exposed to air.  And the glowing you see are just glow worms that are no more than the size of a mosquito. 

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Now, that is just a small taste of what my happy place would be like.

Now share with me yours!

Get out and L I V E like tomorrow is your last!!

  

Why Do You Travel?

I started my solo traveling adventures as a way to be found...

Traveling helps me clear my mind, organize my thoughts, get back to center, and to get a fresh perspective on life. 

Everyday, especially today, I am all about life.  

Today is the 8th anniversary of my mom's death and while it is not a "milestone" like the 10th or 15th and so on; it is a milestone for me.  It is the first time I have not anticipated and counted down the days to prepare myself.  

GO ME - I am making progress!!!

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What happens when tragedy strikes?  Immediately, the natural order of grieving begins and you have no choice but to follow it and some likely have no idea that they are.  We have no idea how long it will take and what it will do to us but one thing is for certain - never stop listening to your heart and soul.  

This is what happened to me: a transformation took place while traveling and turned something so painful into something so incredibly beautiful.  

Traveling saved my life.

Tragedy > Reevaluating Life > Traveling =  Transforming Into A Butterfly

My Transformation Stages: 

*Learning about life under the watch of my mom.

*Losing her and cocooning myself the best way I knew how to try and protect what was left of me.

*In the process, creating new life.

*Learning to spread my wings.

*Me today - spreading my beautiful wings and flying around the world!

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Today I was talking to my mother-in-law, Diane, about the dream phases I have gone through with my mom after she died and how there is a direct correlation between the milestones I make in reality in coping with her death, to how close I can get to her in my dreams.  She asked me how long it had been since she died and for the first time I had to think about it...like really think about it - it didn't just pop off my tongue.  Then out of nowhere I realized that TODAY is the anniversary of her death and I hadn't even seen it coming.  I have been dreaming about her more lately but not once did I realize how close today was.  

Now, some people may mistake this as me "forgetting" about her but it is the exact opposite.  It is the grip of her death on me finally releasing a little bit.

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Her death sent me on an unruly, totally unlike me, long, adventure to Alaska and the west coast.  

I have written about my Alaskan experience so please check it out in the archives - it was amazing!  

What I did not state in that post was that I chose Alaska because it was my mom's dream.  And it was her dream that began my transformation into what I am today.  

Traveling is such a therapeutic way of dealing with loss, stress, happiness, or any emotion or life event you may be going through.  Writing and traveling for United Military Travel, I imagine my primary blog followers are people in the service.  Which leads me to believe that you all know something about loss.  

Take my word for it - TRAVEL MORE it could save your life too!! 

I have spilled my guts, now spill yours in the comment section. 

 I want to get to know all of you!

What does traveling mean to you?

Why do you travel?

Is it more than just a vacation?

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Honeymoon Reflection

Ayampe, Ecuador

... A small village, with a big heart ...

We had a wonderful time in Ayampe for our honeymoon, the holistic village is exactly what we need after an extremely busy/crazy few months.  Our sales representative at United Military Travel (UMT) was wonderful, and made the process so simple!  And believe me, we needed simple!  Our trip was full of sunsets, reflecting, connections, and nature thanks to UMT's fantastic team!

While there we were immersed by two words - COMPASSION and SYNCHRONICITY.

We need to always have COMPASSION for our bodies, other, the environment, and be compassionate about life; live in the MOMENT not in the past or future.

SYNCHRONICITY is the experience of two or more events as meaningfully related, where they are unlikely to be casually related.  

The first time we heard this word was on the plane from Panama to Ecuador.  The lady sitting next to Josh made an uncanny connection with us, that at the time was exactly what we needed.  She said our meeting was what she recognized as synchronicity and not to ignore it...we will always remember her.  Also, in the book I was reading there-Aleph, by Paulo Coelho, he speaks of it multiple times.  Sometimes in life we get so caught up in the outside forces that we fail to recognize when we are in the right place - at the exact right time - and when we are with the exact people who are supposed to be in our lives.  Mine and Josh's goal for the rest of our lives is to always be aware and live in the present.

When we chose Ecuador as our honeymoon destination we questioned whether it was the right place to go but now we realize it was where we were meant to go.  There is something about the Pacific Ocean that does wonders for our souls...

A HUGE thank you goes out to United Military Travel for the cheap military airfare!  It was incredibly easy and fast to get approved for the travel loan - which is great for us sporadic travelers!  Check them out on Facebook too at www.facebook.com/unitedmilitarytravel or call 866-582-9579