“It’s like Hawaii and Colorado had a baby” – that’s how my niece Lindsey described New Zealand, and that’s actually pretty damn accurate. I have been in few places in the world with this beautiful of turquoise waters, beaches, wildlife, and snowy mountain peaks. A country where you can do it all, and we did. […]
My 4 Best Days on Earth in 2015
I feel giddy like a 7-year-old at Christmas. I look out over the barren tundra, a new environment for me, and think about how it makes me feel free and hopeful. The clouds break, and a crack of blue sky appears as if the game of hide and seek is over, and it can finally […]
Am I Brave Enough: Canyoning Empress Falls in the Blue Mountains
Tim looked at me and asked, “What are you nervous about?” I was shivering with water rushing around me perched at the top of Empress Falls in Australia’s Blue Mountains. I was staring down 80 feet to the bottom where the water spray exhibited it’s sheer power. There were so many things swirling in my […]
A Different Way to See the Sydney Harbor Bridge
As I watched all of the little dots climb the Harbor Bridge in Sydney in the distance, I decided that I didn’t want to do what all the other tourists were doing. Instead of climbing the bridge, I wanted to sail under it. So much of Sydney culture is centered around the water and harbor. […]
Roughing it in the Outback
I heard the howling as soon as I lay down to go to sleep. Dingoes. The sound came from my left; it felt as if it was far away. I hoped it was far away. I dozed off for a few hours; however, it felt like minutes when I woke up again to more howling. […]
Australia from Above
The first time I ever went up in a hot air balloon we had a crash landing. Ok – maybe that’s a bit melodramatic but I did end up with a bloody knee and a whole bunch of people on top of me as the basket drug along the ground. I called it a crash […]
Luxury in Nowhere
I found myself wandering around the aisles glancing at magazines while trying to listen to the announcements on the airport PA system. As my eyes rolled over the massive amount of paparazzi photos and ridiculous headlines, one cover with a reddish-orange glow caught my eye. Prince William and Kate were impeccably dressed and lighted in […]
Uluru is Many Places I’ve Been Before
The sun was just starting to peak out around the reddish rock. I pulled down the brim of my baseball cap to shade my eyes as rays of light shot out of the clouds and onto my path. The path around the base of Uluru was nearly empty in this section. Not many tourists […]
Pioneering the Scenic Rim Trail
I waited at the edge of the road as the big truck passed by in low gear, slowly climbing up Cunningham Gap, otherwise known as Highway 15 in Queensland. I thought about what this pass would have looked like 186 years ago when explorer Allan Cunningham discovered it in 1828. After multiple attempts, he discovered […]
Life’s a Gold Beach
My favorite thing to do while at Room753 was to go for a walk on the beach. Broad Beach and Surfers Paradise beach were some of the most expansive, pristine beach I’ve ever seen. The Gold Coast was peppered with a backdrop of skyscrapers and modern architecture. The sand was so beautiful it even squeaked […]