Though it was August, Lassen’s peak had just a touch of snow and ice remaining—its white crown prominent over the kingdom of earth below. I turned to look at the world beneath me. Stretching across the horizon I could see other peaks in the Cascade Range faded blue in the distance and spotted with pine trees.
From Devils Tower we drove west across much of Wyoming, seeing nothing but fields. Fields, fields, fields, some hay bales, an endless stretch of road, and more fields. What I did not realize was that we were also rising, approaching small mountains on the horizon. It wasn’t until we were up on the mountain’s side that I realized how high we had risen. So high that we could see the line of haze where the atmosphere of the great big sky touched the vast green fields of earth below. This was a god’s point of view, and we could not help but stop for a few moments to take in the view.
Yes, it’s true - visiting a foreign country can be cheaper than living at home. Depending on your travel style and your destination, traveling abroad can be significantly cheaper than the sum of all of the costs associated with living in the U.S. Our infographic, Traveling Abroad is Cheaper than Staying Home, shows how the costs stack up. We compare the cost of living in five U.S. cities to the average costs of travel in five different countries around the world. The results can be quite surprising and inspirational. Many travelers take off every year, leaving their jobs, homes, and belongings behind to experience the joy of long term travel. Hopefully some of these statistics in our infographic will encourage you to do the same. If you can give up your job for a little while (or if you’re unemployed), and can minimize your expenses at home, travel can become a financial reality.
Walking into the Wisconsin Welcome Center, we knew it was going to be a great day. A man greeted us cheerfully and pulled out a map where little wheels of cheese marked the hot spots of the area. And who doesn’t love cheese?
My friend Jordan and I had booked a trip to Phu Quoc for one night to get out of the congested city for a little R&R on an island that Google images had convinced us was the most stunning oasis of an island out there.
Canada held a beautiful countryside. The air was crisp and refreshing, and we stopped along our drive to admire odds and ends that we passed along the way—a stone railroad bridge, a sparkling creek, a quaint farm. It was simple and charming, like out of a fairytale. Though Canada shares a border with the United States, there was a definite change in the aura of the landscape. I could feel a difference as we passed through. And when we crossed back into the United States, camping along Lakes Michigan and Superior, I felt a different sense of nature here too—still beautiful, but different.
On a Sunday in late July, I set off for the trip of a lifetime with my boyfriend, Shane, and his friend, Patrick, from Germany. We were going to be on the road for about a month, making our way through destinations in the U.S. and Canada. The route was roughly planned, and we were going to be joined by Patrick’s friend, Helena, partway through, but the rest of it was a serendipitous adventure. We had no idea who we might meet or what oddities we would come across, but we were prepped and ready for life on the road.
It was mostly on a whim that I decided to climb the three highest peaks in the U.K. while visiting there last summer. Mount Snowdon (3,560 ft.), Scafell Pike (3,209 ft.), and Ben Nevis (4,409 ft.) are scattered throughout Wales, England, and Scotland. Completing the U.K. 3 Peaks Challenge ended up being one of the most incredible travel experiences I’ve had to date. Maybe it’s because I went into it with little to no training and still succeeded (which means you can too), or maybe it’s because I got to feast my eyes upon truly incredible and one of a kind views.
Cruise ships: you either love ‘em or hate ‘em… or, if you’re like me, you call ‘em home. For almost three years I lived and worked onboard luxury cruise ships, and that statement alone never fails to elicit dozens of questions from land folk. Here are a few answers to some of the most common ones.
Hanne has been to over 50 countries, and we interviewed her about her adventures. She has managed to do what most people dream of - find a way to travel while working it into her career! With opportunities to live in so many different places, usually for a much longer time than a typical traveler will stay in one place, she has been able to dive deep into many amazing destinations around the world.