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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!

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Where I’ve traveled…

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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…

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All Blog Articles

Camping on the Mongol Rally

The best thing about camping on the Mongol Rally is peeing in the desert under the stars. It’s bliss. And it’s certainly better than Kazakhstan…

Russian Stereotypes

Most of the time, when I go to a country for the first time, it’s all about shattering stereotypes that I was brought up with. I…

Hotel Nissan – Mongol Rally

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid…I was hungry and tired. A deadly combination for anyone who has to be near me.  Unfortunately,…

Mongol Rally: Driving in Ukraine

Every day brings with it a new driving challenge in the Mongol Rally.  Today’s challenge was potholes. We had heard horror stories about the roads and…