Blog

Travel and Life Experiences of a Corporate American Runaway

I’m Sherry. I’ve been traveling around the world and writing about it on Ottsworld since 2006. Yes, that makes me one of the first travel bloggers! I started out as a novice middle-aged traveler and have transformed into a world explorer and travel industry expert! I share my adventures, tips, and advice on how to conquer your fear of traveling or traveling alone so that you, too, can have epic adventures to intriguing places!

learn About My Journey > Work with me >

Where I’ve traveled…

AF DZ AO AR AU BY BO BW BR CA CF TD CN CO CD EG ET FI FR DE GL IS IN ID IR IQ IT CI JP KZ KN LY MG MY ML MR MX MN MA MZ MM NA NZ NE NG NO PK PE PH PL RO RU SA SO ZA SS ES SD SE TZ TH TR TM UA GB US UZ VE YE ZM ZW AQ AL AM AT AZ BS BH BD BE BZ BJ BT BA BG BF BI KH CM CL CG CR HR CU CY CZ DK DJ DO EC SV GQ ER EE SZ GF GA GE GH GR GT GN GW GY HT HN HU IE IL JM JO KW KG LA LV LB LS LR LT LU MW MD ME NP NL NI KN MK OM PA PG PY PT QA RW SN RS SL SG SK SI KR LK SR CH SY TW TJ GM TL TG TN UG AE UY VN

10 Travel moments I’m most proud of

1

Traveling with each of my six nieces as part of the Niece Project

2

Living in Vietnam for a year solo

3

Finishing the 9,000-mile Mongol Rally

4

Having no home and being nomadic for 11 years

5

Taking my Dad to Antarctica

6

Completing the Camino de Santiago solo

7

Driving a rickshaw 2,000 miles across India and raising money for charity:water

8

Taking over my Father’s Capitol Quest and cycling from Capitol to Capitol in the US

9

Launching my first small group tours

10

Getting my first passport when I was 30

The one thing they all have in common is overcoming fear and trusting in the world to take care of you.

Travel Series

I’ve done a number of long-term travel ‘projects’ (I might call them Epic Trips) that I’ve written about. These are best read like a book with chapters. Some of these have taken place over weeks (like the Mongol Rally or Camino de Santiago), some over months (the Motorbike Diaries), and some over years (like the Niece Project).

  • Niece Project Travels

    The Niece Project

    2012 begins a project for me that has been in the making for a long time. But first, let me back up a few years…
  • camino de santiago questions

    Camino de Santiago: 23 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions

    You have made the decision to hike the Camino de Santiago, Camino Frances – what next? I bet you have a bunch of questions you need…
  • Nepal Annapurna Circuit

    The Beginnings of a Nepal Trekking Plan – Annapurna Circuit

    Tiger Balm Tales Volume 1 Why? Such a simple question, yet it resonated in my head many, many times on my most recent trip to…
  • Mongol Rally

    It’s Real Now – Starting the Mongol Rally

    Have you ever worked so long and hard on something that you forgot what you were doing or why you were doing it? The idea…

Ottsworld Small Group Tours

Travel with me on these unique tours!

Learn MOre

Travel Consulting

Get your travel questions answered!

Learn More

Join My Community

Every month, I share exclusive travel tips, behind-the-scenes stories, travel news, gear discounts, and updates on upcoming small group tours and services.

Sign up for my newsletter and let’s keep your wanderlust alive!

See Past Newsletters

All Blog Articles

Shocking Tarmac – Mongol Rally

“What’s that smell?” asked Deb.“I don’t know, but I smell it too,” said Dave.“I don’t smell a thing,” I said from the back seat. We…

Desert Illusions – Mongol Rally

We slowly moved deeper into Mongolia, where the foreign landscapes, people, and towns started to become normal to me. We were moving from western Mongolia…

Tire Trouble – Mongol Rally

Mongolia is flat…and so are our tires.  A little photo essay on our tire changes…and there were many.  The roads in Mongolia are brutal on…

Driving in Mongolia

We get in the car, adjust the seat so that the pedal distance is just right, buckle up, and put two quarters in the slot….

Muffler Mayhem – Mongol Rally

I took off driving today out of Khovd missing one important thing…Rick. He was unable to change his flights, and we had to continue on…

Slowing Down – Mongol Rally

Since we had made it into Mongolia, it was time to slow down and enjoy our surroundings. One problem was that Rick had to catch…

The Mongol Rally Diet

“I’m starving!” I said as the Russian waitress brought out the menu with the usual cold grimace on her face. I eagerly open up the…

Mongolia Freedom – Mongol Rally

At 11AM, a border guard walks across the parking lot carrying passports and some forms, looking official with a stern look on his face. All…