The bus bounced along on the road north and for the first time in 5 weeks I just sat back, relaxed and didn’t have to worry about directions, breakdowns, or deal with the nagging internal question of “Will we make it?” The road was bumpy and slow-going, but in Mongolian standards this road was perfection. [...]

For me, travel is about experiences and connecting with people. When I make a connection with people in a destination, then it will turn into one of those magical places that will be on my ‘favorite’ list for years to come. That is what the Big Island of Hawaii was for me. I made many [...]

Can honey make the world a better place? Prior to traveling on the Big Island my answer to that question was most definitely “Huh? ” most likely followed by “No.” However, after meeting Richard of the Volcano Island Honey Company, spending hours talking to him enthralled with every piece of information that came from his [...]

The most frequent question I get asked is “What’s next?” followed by “How are you making enough money to continue traveling?”. I’ll tackle the latter at a different time. Both of these questions cause me anxiety, but it is a given that I will be asked them by 90% of the people I meet. The [...]

Big Island – Accommodation – Kona Hula Girl When I first wrote to the Kona Hula Girl owners to learn more about their rental property the owners said, “I do want you to be aware that this is not a traditional hotel in any way”. They clearly knew exactly what to say to me to [...]

I stand looking out over the jagged landscape; toppled-over trees without bark and a silver sheen provide a contrast against the dark petrified sea of lava. Occasionally I see a tuft of green sprouting up as if it was trying to reach to the sun. I imagine these scarce green leaves sprouting out of the [...]

As a solo traveler I look for smaller, intimate places to stay. I feel lost in big resorts and quite frankly it’s just not my style. I was combing the internet in search of a small, local place to stay near Waimea on the Big Island and I came across Annette at the Aloha Vacation [...]

Ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, coffee, cakes, and shakes – these are all places where you expect to find vanilla beans or vanilla flavor. But what about lemonade, BBQ sauce, chutney, cornbread, maple syrup, jelly, or salad dressing? And would you expect to find a vanilla farm (the first & only commercial vanilla operation in [...]