This year I started my travels with a trip to Baja California, Mexico, where I went whale watching in Magdalena Bay. Shortly thereafter, I met my dad in Costa Rica for a trip packed with hiking excursions. In March, I visited the Cook Islands for the first time. Though I don’t care for the word “paradise,” if I had to pinpoint it on a map, it might be located here.

Early in the summer, I took a trip to Vancouver, Canada, for a conference, then made it home just in time to hop into the car with my husband for an epic 35-day road trip that took us through 19 states and two Canadian provinces. Highlights of our trip included visiting the Distillery District in Toronto, wine tasting near Niagara Falls, catching a Washington Nationals baseball game and watching fireworks in Washington D.C. on the 4th of July.

Upon returning home, I enjoyed a whirlwind of trips beginning with one in the Riviera Maya focused on environmental issues. Then I popped up to northern Nevada where I got to ride in a hot air balloon for the very first time. This was followed by a super inspirational weekend at the Mighty Summit near San Francisco and a trip to Oklahoma City for the Travel Media Showcase.

Except for a brief trip to Los Angeles for another conference, I spent the vast majority of the fall at home, catching up on current projects and preparing for new projects. This month, however, I enjoyed nearly a week in Naples, Florida, with my parents. A day after arriving home, I was back on a plane, this time for a totally and completely relaxing vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.

Even with my busy travel schedule, I’ve managed to squeeze in three posts a week on Kaleidoscopic Wandering. The most popular three of the year were:

• South Rim vs. North Rim | Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona — This post was not only the most popular post published this year, but it is by far the most popular piece ever published on this blog. I love the questions readers have left in the comments.
• Transit Tours in South Korea — One of my favorite discoveries in South Korea, and, clearly, something other people are looking for, given the number of hits this post has received.
• Planning the Perfect Road Trip Play List — Prior to our summer road trip, I asked for your advice on what we should listen to and you answered! Check the comments for tons of awesome road trip music.

In addition to these three popular pieces, I published several others that I’m particularly proud of. They may not have gotten the love of the masses, but these four pieces are among my favorites from 2011:

• How to Survive a Flight Cancellation — For the first time ever, I was on a ccancelled flight, which left me stranded in Costa Rica. The experience taught me a lot, which I shared in this post.
• The Tumunu Tradition | Cook Islands — Drinking in a bush pub is by far one of the most unusual things I’ve ever done while traveling.
• When a Place is More Than a Place | Walden Pond, Massachusetts — Visiting Walden Pond was a very moving experience for my husband, and it was fascinating to visit it in a context other than a vacation destination.
• Negotiating Religion While Traveling — I think one of the most difficult aspects of traveling is learning to manage my views on religion. This post examines those struggles.

This year I also introduced the Here’s a Question for You series, a roundtable discussion of travel-related topics. It’s never too late to join the conversation!

As always, thank you for reading Kaleidoscopic Wandering. This blog would not exist without you. Stay tuned in 2012 for new trips (insider tip: Iceland is on the horizon), new content and tons of travel inspiration!

P.S. If you aren’t already, I encourage you to join me on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Best of Kaleidoscopic Wandering 2011 | Kaleidoscopic Wandering

When all other magazines were downsizing staff, shrinking budgets and closing doors, the founders of AFAR, Greg Sullivan and Joe Diaz, began publishing what is arguably one of the most genuine, readable magazines on the market today. It was an idea that went against all logic, but so does their magazine, which is why it’s such a great discovery.

AFAR Media sums up its mission succinctly:

Travel is changing. The world has grown smaller, more accessible, yet homogenized and less exotic. Today’s travelers want to get beyond the superficial, the mass-produced, the mass-consumed, and the mass-experienced. They look for the authentic in people, places, and things.

Nothing in AFAR’s pages is reminiscent of the tropical paradise, untapped gems-esque marketing copy found in mainstream travel magazines of yore. Rather, the magazine speaks to travelers who yearn for experiential travel. It provides readers with the tools they need not necessarily to escape the most popular sites, cities and countries around the globe, but to find a way to embrace these places on a more personal level.

Within every issue, readers find a list of upcoming events and festivals across the globe; profiles of people doing interesting and worldly things; information about authentic music, food and souvenirs; and highlights of unusual places to stay. Feature stories don’t mince words but rather tell it like it is. For example, a story in the December/January 2010 issue discussed the financial problems of Seychelles and how this affects both the islanders and travelers to the country. The same issue also contains a first-person narrative from a man who learns the hard way what happens when he tries to help a good friend he met on his travels by giving him money.

There are three parts of the magazine I am particularly fond of. First, I absolutely love the section called “Mix,” which is a gallery of photographs taken around the world that are all similarly themed. Houses, school lunches, uniforms … every country has them, but they all look different.

I also enjoy the section called “Local View,” which gives a local resident the opportunity to share his or her favorite things about living in that particular city. Sometimes this person emphasizes places to go and things to do, but more often than not, it’s a snapshot of everyday life that helps define the personality of a place.

Finally, I think the section called “Spin the Globe” is fascinating. In it, AFAR spins a globe and randomly selects a place to send a writer. That writer then creates a story based on his or her experience.

In truth, every issue of AFAR is packed, page by page, with not only helpful information but truly interesting insights and ideas that can’t be curated from the folds of a glossy brochure. If you are at all interested in taking your travel experiences to the next level, I highly recommend this magazine.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• Reading: The Lost Girls
• Living on the Land: A Journey to Lake Quinault, Washington
• How the Other Half Lives
  

Reading: AFAR Magazine | Kaleidoscopic Wandering

My dad and me at Death Valley in May 2009. I blame him for my love of travel.

It’s hard to believe that only one year ago I called my dad on my way to work and asked him a question that has changed the course of my life. The question was this: Should I apply for the Digital Vagabonding Roads Scholarship?

Applying for the scholarship meant that, if I won, I would have to quit my full-time job to road trip for the whole summer, writing and photographing my journey as I went. The idea of applying for a scholarship that would force me to leave the confining, restricting and suffocating but comforting full-time job in a full-time crappy economy was a scary one.

My dad, who worked in Corporate America for the same company up until the day he was forced to retire, said one word in response to my question: Yes.

And so I applied.

I received a call from Pat the Digital Vagabond a few weeks later telling me I had been named an honorary Digital Vagabond Roads Scholar. I would not receive the full scholarship, which was sponsored by both Pat and Matador Network. Rather, I would receive a partial stipend and a ticket to Burning Man at the end of the summer.

It was a good middle ground for me. I had been hoping to escape the cubicle sooner than later, so I dropped my hours at work down to part time, began planning long weekends with my scholarship money and created Kaleidoscopic Wandering to record my travels. By the time I left Burning Man at the end of the summer, I had made the decision to try my hand at full-time freelance writing. So far, I’m doing okay, and Kaleidoscopic Wandering has stuck by me the whole way.

In celebration of my travel blog’s one-year anniversary, I wanted to look back on where I’ve gone over the course of the year, and share with you my travel plans for the coming year.

Travels June 2009-May 2010:

My Digital Vagabonding Roads Scholarship took me to:

• A little town called Rosamond in California, home to an awesome wild cat research center
• Sequoia National Park
• Kings Canyon National Park
• Yosemite National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Cedar Breaks National Monument
• Great Basin National Park

Hydrating at the top of Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park.

Then I ventured out to Burning Man on my own, where I met some very cool people from Matador Network.

Shortly thereafter I got my first press trip to Honduras, where I swam with dolphins, went zip lining, learned about agritourism and learned the very important lesson of carrying two cameras when I travel. In early December, I went on my second press trip, this time to Huatulco, Mexico, where I ate amazing food and swung on a rope swing above a waterfall.

Over the holiday season, we traveled to the Seattle area. We took Seattle’s underground tour and visited Lake Quinault.

Within a week of returning home, I packed my bags for the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers’ Association conference at sea. While aboard the ship, I received my first spa treatment and learned a thing or two about cruising. Our boat stopped at Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas (though my sister and I spent the day hiking on St. John) and the Bahamas.

In late March, we took the train from Los Angeles to New Orleans, where I fell in love with the city’s cemeteries.

Within days of being home, I was packed up again for a girls weekend in Joshua Tree National Park (again with other awesome folk from Matador). Last weekend, my husband and I rounded out the amazing year with one more final (itty bitty) road trip, this time through Mojave National Preserve.

It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and I have my dad to thank for giving me a confident YES when I asked him that question 12 months ago. I knew then that I should pursue my dreams, but hearing it from someone who took me on my very first plane ride helped me take that final leap, which led me to create Kaleidoscopic Wandering so that I could share my travels with you.

Travels June 2010-May 2011

Munching on crickets in Huatulco, Mexico.

The coming year is a little hazy, but there are a few trips in the works. At the end of June, I’m going to New York City for the first time for Travel Blog Exchange, where I’ll finally get to rub elbows with many of the friends I’ve made over the past year online.

We’re definitely taking a road trip through Arizona and another one to Canyonlands National Park. We’ll spend a few days in San Diego, and then I’m going to Vietnam for two weeks on my own (thank you Wanderlust and Lipstick). There’s a pretty snazzy trip I hope to take in September but don’t want to jinx my chances, so suffice to say it involves lots of wine. Over the holiday season, we’ll probably hook up with my sister, her husband and my parents for a rental home getaway (we’re thinking Sedona).

And in 2011, my husband and I both turn 30. We decided long ago that we could both choose a trip to celebrate the milestone. It’s hard to say now where we’ll end up … we’ve tossed around Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, Morocco, Costa Rica. Really, though, the year is young. I’ll just let the open road take me wherever it winds.

I’d like to hear from you … Where have you been the past year and where are you going in the coming one? And what would you like to see from Kaleidoscopic Wandering during the next year?

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• Starting a New Journey
• Why Travel Has Made Me Thankful
• 100 Ways Travel Has Changed My Life

Kaleidoscopic Wandering Turns One Year Old! | Kaleidoscopic Wandering