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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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Entering Another World: Petra

Petra was the main topic in John William Burgon’s Poem Petra. He refers to it as the inaccessible city, which he had heard described but…

Unplugged Travel

Smoke billowed throughout the tent and left the area a-glow in orange. The flames lapped up from beneath the metal spherical disk. She pounded the…

Traveling With Strangers

When I tell people that I’m going to do the Mongol Rally this summer and I explain the whole premise of driving an ill-suited car…

Minimalistic Beverages

As soon as I entered the house, I could smell it. The familiar scent of cardamom – my favorite spice in the whole world. Etedal…

Holy Heat Worship

Jordanians, no matter what God they believe in, all huddle around it worshiping the black metal God. There’s one in every house I’ve been to…and…

Sleepless in Jordan

What are the odds…I am in a remote eco lodge in the middle of the desert in Jordan; surrounded by goats and Bedouins, and I…

Late Night Cravings

When you get those late night hunger pains, attacking your insides as if they miners in an empty cavern; when you can hear the echoing grumbles of your insides – what do you do? In Amman you go to Salah El-Din sandwich shop. It’s so ‘local’ you can’t even find it on a Google search!

Milan, Italy Photography

For this Photo of the Week you get a special treat…many photos because I couldn’t choose just one! 4 days of Milan, Italy photography I…

Italy Food Etiquette Tips

If you know these food etiquette rules you’ll start to fit in as if you were an Italian; ok that may be a bit much, but at least you won’t stick out as a tourist as much. Throw around a Ciao and Gazzie mille and you will be even more convincing.