What Sparked My Interest In Traveling

I honestly didn’t have a choice, and I’m not sad about it! My parents started me young; my fun fact is that I was born on a sailboat, and I haven’t really stopped traveling since. I spent a few childhood years in the Bahamas and Washington State, but the Marshall Islands is what I consider home, traveling every school break in between. 

Now, I’m hopelessly addicted to the travel lifestyle - meeting new people, learning about other cultures, trying new things, and experiencing new landscapes. I'm always on the lookout for airfare steals, and you’ll find me hopping on a plane with a camera in hand every chance I get!

How I Decide My Destinations

It’s a combination of things. Sometimes, it’s a bucket list item like Patagonia or Iceland. Other times, I just keep an eye on Skyscanner and snag a cheap plane ticket to wherever it takes me!

How I Plan For My Trips

Each trip is totally unique - sometimes it’ll be a week-long backpacking trip up Vietnam’s coast, other times it’s a 4-month solo trip through Europe. I will go as long as I can swing it, whether that’s a weekend or a few months! 

I prepare for each trip with a lot of research. I like to know a bit about each location before I go, and I typically start with Pinterest.

I love reading blogs about traveler’s first-hand experiences, hard-earned lessons, and tips for those who visit after them. I’m also a big photo gal (obvious) and love getting lost in dreamy images.

I will usually have a tentative and loose plan with a few unique rentals in mind and book a couple of nights in a hostel to have an immediate community upon my arrival and hopefully get some local tips from the front desk staff. Then, I like to go with the flow! I find that I have some of the best times being spontaneous with people I just met!

Why I Decided To Travel Full-Time

I’m a full-time photographer, so I travel a lot, partly because I have the flexibility to, and other times for my job, but I have a home base in Seattle, WA, which I come back to between each trip. I always knew I wanted to do photography full-time, but I don’t think I would’ve voluntarily given up my benefits and salary on my own. 

I got laid off from my full-time corporate job during COVID and decided to finally give what had been my side gig for so long all of my attention to see if I could truly make it doing my dream job, traveling as much as humanly possible, and capturing adventure product photography for my clients. 

Fast forward three years, and I’m happy to report that I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of my dream clients in the outdoors industry, who also value sustainability and outdoor inclusivity, and get to travel the world capturing their stories. 

I have made a few compromises as I started my own business—I see my friends and family less, and I have no idea how much I’m going to make month-to-month, but overall, I feel super lucky to have such a supportive community behind me and the privilege to travel as much as I do.

Favorite Memories Of Meeting New People And Exploring With Locals

Oh, where do I begin? The first story that comes to mind happened during my solo travel adventure to the Azores Islands in Portugal.

I met a couple of girls at Out of the Blue Hostel (one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed at) and we booked a week-long Airbnb together and lived out our cottage core dreams, making meals, hiking to calderas and waterfalls, hot springing, wine tasting, and experiencing the magic of Sao Miguel together. It was an idyllic few days and an adventure I’ll remember forever.

Countries That I Have Traveled To So Far

I’ve traveled to 22 countries and territories and counting, and there are still so many countries I’d love to visit (honestly, all of them). It’s hard to narrow it down to a bucket list! If I had to choose the top 3 countries I would like to visit next, it’d probably be South Africa, Namibia, and Nepal. 

Here are the countries I’ve visited so far!

• Vietnam

• Indonesia

• Australia

• New Zealand

• Guam

• Pohnpei

• The Marshall Islands

• Argentina

• Chile

• Ecuador

• Mexico

• Canada

• The Bahamas

• Iceland

• Portugal

• Croatia

• France

• Switzerland

• Italy

• England

• Ireland

• Norway

A Cool Travel Experience That I Can Share

Ecuador is one of the coolest countries I’ve been to, and I feel like it so often flies under the radar! I went from hiking at the base of Cotopaxi in the Andes to swimming in the Amazon rainforest with anacondas, piranhas, and Caymans lurking just a few feet away, and surfing perfect waves on the coast.

The Galapagos are also a short boat ride away! Highly recommend Ecuador for your next trip if you can swing it.

Why I Started Blogging

I actually started my blog back in high school when I had no idea what I was doing. I let it sit for years before I started getting serious.

I wanted to share my stoke for adventure and provide as much information about every adventure, gear item, and unique vacation rental as I possibly can so readers not only have the materials necessary and feel confident about heading out on some of these adventures themselves, but also how to do so sustainably, respecting the land, each other, and contributing to the outdoors community positively and inclusively.

How I Manage My Costs

I try to keep it cheap and comfortable and work with as many clients as possible while I’m traveling.

Because half of my niche is unique rentals, I end up getting a fair amount of work by capturing the coolest rentals in the areas I visit, shooting products for sponsored social posts or image galleries, and writing blog posts for a little passive income.

I prioritize staying in hostels when I can to save money and making my own food when I have the opportunity to as well!

How I Manage My Work And Travel

I am lucky to have a job that supports my passion for travel. Photography has taken me to some pretty cool places, and I try to work on most trips I take. I’m super stoked to see what adventures the future holds!

Skills That I Believe A Full-Time Traveler Should Have

Flexibility is huge. Things happen, and it’s important to be able to think on your feet and be totally okay with pivoting when things don’t go as planned.

The Advantage of Using GAFFL For Travelers

I think GAFFL is a super cool concept! Sometimes you’d rather go with a group or buddy than go solo, and splitting the cost of a room or a taxi can help save a little $$$–money you can use for your next flight or experience!

I’m part of a Facebook group called Outdoorsy Gals that’s worldwide, and I’ll often post a “Hi! I’m in Ireland. Is anyone else in Dublin who wants to grab a beer tonight?” to find a buddy when travel gets lonely! I’ll also join Hostel GroupMe chats and whatnot to keep up with activities I can join!

Advice That I Can Share

APPLY! Luckily, we live in a post-COVID world where remote work is more of an opportunity than ever before. It doesn’t have to be your own business to have the flexibility to work and travel. And there are plenty of awesome coworking hotels and spaces around the world where you can meet people just like you! The best advice I can give is to apply. What are you waiting for? DO IT!

Things I Wish I Would Have Known When I First Started Traveling

I was so scared to travel solo for the first time. How do I meet people? Will I feel lonely? There are so many questions and uncertainties. I’m naturally pretty introverted, so the idea of me solo traveling was absolutely terrifying.

But I wanted to try it, 1) because I have a lot more flexibility than many of my friends, and 2) There were places I wanted to go that others didn’t. I also like to be alone at home, so I thought, maybe I’d like to be alone while I travel too? But approaching people while traveling alone? It made me nauseous just thinking about it.

The biggest thing I learned was as simple as “say hi,” and plan to have no plan. My first week-long solo trip was a road trip through some of Utah’s national parks. I visited Zion and Bryce Canyon, sleeping in my car. On my first day in Zion, I headed up Angel’s Landing. There’s a part of the hike where two-way traffic holds onto a single chain and pray to god they don’t slip off the sandstone and fall to their deaths. Sounds charming, right? 

A group of 4-5 people about my age were up ahead of me, and I said something like, “okay, this is sketch haha” and they turned around and said “I KNOW, right? I thought it was just me.” Then we started chatting as we tried not to think about how dangerous it was. We got to the top and took a “We did it!” photo all together, shared a few snacks, and one of the group members said, “Hey! I know of a secret swimming hole not far from here. Wanna come?” So, I said, HECK YEAH! 

Saying hi introduced me to an epic group of new friends, and planning to have no hard plans allowed me to say yes to an adventure I’d never have found on my own, which was easily one of my all-time favorite parts of the entire trip