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Having lived in Oregon for the past 20+ years, I have explored most of the incredibly beautiful Pacific Northwest.
So why am I offering ANOTHER travel blog? Well…..
I consider myself an authority when it comes to travel in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., and certainly Portland, Oregon. I know every square inch of this town, so if you have questions or want recommendations about Portland or anywhere in Oregon, Washington or British Columbia, COME TO ME! As beautiful and popular as this area of the world is, I’m actually shocked it’s not getting more coverage on the interwebs.
THAT’S WHERE I COME IN.
But I digress….more about me…
The vast majority of us are raised with the notion that we are to finish school, go on to college, get a job, get a house, get married, have kids, and work the usual daily grind until retirement age.
I have never really fully subscribed to those ideals; even as a kid I defied convention (my best friends were goths for crying out loud), but it wasn’t until I reached my 40’s that I finally woke up and realized that I don’t want any part of the conventional life.
Sure, I tried my best to be a good girl and live ‘normally’. Since age 16 I have always worked , and occasionally going to school at the same time. As soon as I graduated high school, I got the hell out of my small Midwestern town and high-tailed it to the nearest big city. By age 23 I found my husband and high-tailed it to an even bigger city, on the west coast.
Now this is more like it!
But even then I was attempting to save face and live a normal life. What the hell is normal, anyway? I always had a job, and it usually had something to do with travel, like here and here. But nothing quite fit. I would get bored with my work easily, and after a while move on to the next thing.
I have owned a home, and actually stayed there for seven years. But eventually, my husband and I got the itch and longed for a new space.
How cliché is THAT?
I’ve always known that I love to travel….A LOT. I eschew routine. I love staying in hotels and going to new destinations. I will spend countless hours researching the best deals on airfare, accommodation, tours, theme parks, attractions…I even took my small-town parents on a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles and Disneyland…and I loved every minute of planning and executing that vacation.
It was also during this time that I wrote a book. Talk about having your hands in too many pots!
I would dream of being able to travel full time, but was clueless as to how to achieve that. (Also, I was lazy.) From where I stood, I thought:
- Travel agents spend most of the time in their office (BORING)
- I could start my own tour company, but that would require start-up capital (DON’T HAVE)
- I could beg established companies to be a tour guide, but that would mean being a guide in just one area. FUN (at first) but….again…after awhile…ROUTINE and BORING.
Plus, it was ingrained into my head that the lifestyle I craved just was not possible, let alone practical. So for many years, I put the dream away…far away in the recesses of my mind.
I had a small awareness that there was a beautiful beast called travel blogging. But I always thought that it was just a hobby type of thing. Nothing to be taken seriously. And the precious few bloggers that did make a living out of it? Well, certainly they were already established as celebrities in the travel world, like my travel idols Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain, who already had lots of money and the backing of huge TV networks in order to satiate their desire for constant wanderings. Besides, it was at this time I had just completed my degree in Biochemistry, and had grandiose dreams of helping to cure Alzheimer’s disease. So I never really took travel blogging seriously.
Little did I know….
There are literally thousands of travel bloggers out there…and DAMNED if I am going to be left behind. I love to write, and I have explored so much of this gorgeous place we call the Pacific Northwest. I’m not finished…and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Time to put my PASSION into PRACTICE. To put it simply…I love to travel and I love to write…most of all I’m super excited to share my experiences with YOU.
So let’s get this party STARTED!!
