Travel Writer?

Who me? No, I'm just a would-be writer who travels............

This past year I've often been asked questions regarding my travels to many distant places over the past three plus years. Where was my favorite place? Where am I going next? Then there's the statement made by some family members and friends, including some dear blog friends........."why don't you write a travel book"?  A travel book which I guess they mean to be a book about my own travels to the seven continents. 

Zodiac cruising in snow - Elephant Island, Antarctica 
January 2013

Noted - Jan. 2, 2014:    Yesterday, the 52 passengers (scientists and tourists) on board the Russian ship trapped in the Antarctic ice were rescued by the helicopter based on the nearby Chinese ship which had been unable to break through the ice to get close enough for a rescue. Now aboard an Australian icebreaker, also unable to get through, they still have several weeks at sea ahead prior to arriving in Hobart, Tasmania. The 22 Russian crew members will remain on their ship until they are able to move out of the ice later.  Thankfully I did not experience such a hair-raising voyage last January! 

The past few years have been the awesome ones where, thanks to my friend Paula, I've had the chance to do exciting expedition travel, often in little rubber boats, as well as more sedate and glamorous cruising on beautiful large ships.

Crossing the Indian Ocean heading to Dubai - March 2012

My youthful dream - the one I vividly recall telling the guy who interviewed me for my first job when I arrived in Washington, D.C., a nervous, 19 year old, in a huge city, was "I would like to write a book and be published some day". Goodness only knows what that book was to be about, I don't recall, but I loved writing, so guess I thought I could write some kind of book, some day! 

In later years, when sitting down with spare time on my hands, those days before blogging and adventure travel took over, I would sometimes write a few pages about my leaving home to come and work in America, but I never got very far with the story.......always saying I can do it later. Now, after seeing so much of the world, perhaps I could pen a book and add my photos, however, there are so many people out there already doing that, and a lot of fabulous travel magazines inundating us monthly with exciting adventure stories from afar. 

I'm fortunate in that Paula always had an amazing photo book made of the places we visited together. For me they've provided many hours - along with a nice cup of tea - curled up in a favorite chair, reminiscing about our wonderful adventures together, reliving them through our photographs. I also love to scroll back through my blog, often amazing myself at the places I've been and fabulous things I've seen and been able to photograph.

The places I've been.............

Travel has transformative powers and changes your perspective on life. Alien landscapes are often quite unnerving, but definitely exhilarating. Taking that often quoted 'road less traveled', for me it has taken me through the African bush to watch leopards in Botswana, riding bareback on an elephant in Thailand, and seated on a camel at sunset on a Western Australian beach. Whether in a brightly painted purple bus with lace curtains in India, on a five star cruise ship sailing smoothly through the ancient Greek Isles, or being tossed about and hanging on for dear life in Antarctica in that little black rubber boat, with nothing to see but fabulous blue icebergs, make eye contact with breaching humpback whales, and walk with penguins....hundreds of thousands of penguins.........TRAVEL HAS NEVER BEEN DULL!

I'll leave writing books, whether travelogues, novels, biographies, to others. Sharing the adventures here on my blog is excitement enough for me. I found that many people who do not wish to travel, or cannot travel, for whatever reason, apparently enjoyed following along as I visited and photographed many very special places in the world. If you are one of them, thank you so much for taking time to visit here, for reading my travel stories, and often leaving your most welcomed comments. 

Life appears to be getting a little quieter now. I still hope to travel, but it will be to easier to reach places with my dear husband, perhaps somewhat less adventurous but still interesting, and always beautiful........that's what this amazing planet generously offers us when we take that less traveled road, and of course every trip is an adventure.

To see posts of my journeys around the world these past few years, click on the thumbnails on the right, or visit my archive.