I love hiking, and northern California has some of the best hikes in the world (okay, so I’m totally biased, as I lived there for two years, but just trust me on this).
That being said, I don’t always want to go on a full-day excursion through the woods. I prefer scattering a bunch of shorter hikes throughout the day, so I can see a wide variety of sights and experience all that a place has to offer. These are some of my favorite hikes in California, and one of them even holds the spot of one of my favorite hikes in the world. You can break them up between different days, or go for it and cram them all into one. They each have something really unique to offer, from gorgeous old-growth redwoods to stunning ocean views. This land is absolutely magic, and whether you’re in town for a couple days or just rolling through, you have to check out at least a few of these trails:
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Let’s be real here: I love Instagram. It’s my favorite social media site, the one I spend the most time on, where I can look at (and post) awesome travel photos and cute cat pics. I have a whole “Travel” album on Insta, full of mini guides and photos people have shared of incredible places around the world I’d like to visit.
It’s also a surefire way to be disappointed on vacation. Because let’s face it: if you set out trying to structure your trip around recreating someone else’s photo, you’re going to miss out. If you’ve traveled anywhere outside of your “sphere,” you’ve probably experienced culture shock. It can happen anywhere you travel, not just abroad; the culture shock I experience returning to visit Grandma in the boonies down South is sometimes greater than traveling to cities in China, where I don't even speak the language.
Culture shock doesn't have to be a bad thing (I love the south, y'all), and in fact, I generally see it as a positive! Culture shock is just another way of saying you’re being pushed outside of your cultural comfort zone, and if you stay open-minded to what you’re experiencing, it can teach you some pretty incredible things. For me, culture shock is an opportunity to show me different ways of living which are equally valid to my own. I’ve found that there are four common culture shock triggers, or situations which might provoke a sense of culture shock: food, language, fashion and politics/religion. I have fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism, which leaves me tired and in pain pretty much every day. I'm not looking for pity; it's just a fact -- the sky is blue. I am in pain. My cat loves to steal bread.
There are days and weeks when I can do almost everything I want to do. There are also days when I have to walk with a cane, where I can barely make it up the stairs to my room, and where my mobility becomes very limited. I travel anyways. With these diseases, I have been to five countries on four continents, traveled thousands of miles on road trips across the Western United States, and continue to cross items off a travel bucket list a mile long. It's not always easy, but it is possible. Here's how I do it: Australia really is where the Wild Things are.
From the more famous animals like kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles, to the unusual and fantastic quokkas, bilbies, wombats and echidnas, to their deadly array of snakes and spiders, there’s no shortage of fascinating creatures in Australia. With such a diverse ecosystem comes the need to protect it, which is where animal sanctuaries and even some zoos come into play. Here are the four best ecotourism options for animal encounters along Australia's Eastern coast. I’ve visited England twice so far, once with a group and once on my own.
I love this country, but there was definitely a bit of a learning curve in figuring out what to do to make my travels go more smoothly! From navigating the tube to figuring out what to do, there was a lot of information to take in, which is why I created this handy guide! So, without further adieu, here are all of my best tips for visiting England for the first time:
It’s not surprising that most people have never heard of holistic travel, because I made it up!
Google Dictionary defines holistic as: “characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.” In layman’s terms, everything is connected, and it’s essential to treat it as such.
Okay, so how does this connect to travel?
Holistic travel is travel which focuses on both the individual and the community. When we travel holistically, we focus on creating greater connections with yourself, the earth and the people we share this planet with. This happens on three levels. Real talk: I care a lot about what other people think.
I try really, really hard not to--but it’s difficult for me to let go of my inner desire to be liked. So I worry: I like this outfit, but is it “too much?” If I talk about climate change or the negative effects of certain tourist industries on my blog, will I open myself up to bullying from others? What if people only want to hear the fluffy travel stories and will leave if I start talking about serious topics? Let me start off by saying: I am not a backpacker. Sure, I like camping, but the idea of staying in a hostel makes me nervous, and I have very little interest in eating ramen noodles every day for a week (any backpackers who stumble across this blog are probably shaking their heads at my tragic lack of knowledge about backpacking, but there it is.) On the other hand, I’m also not about to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a weeklong vacation!
My second disclaimer: I didn’t use any rewards. So many of these cheap travel posts I find online require the use of points stacked up from credit cards, which, while it may be worth looking into, doesn’t help me plan a cheap trip now. So how did I do this? Okay, real talk: how many of you have thought about going on vacation only to find ticket prices are somehow twice as much as what you were expecting? (Maybe that’s just a “me problem”).
The average plane ticket can double the price of your trip, but there are ways you can find good flights that won’t break the bank. It’s taken me some time, but I’ve figured out a method that has helped me score tickets one-third of what they normally cost: |
Hi, there! Call me Kris. I’m a world traveler, author and artist working to showcase the world's beauty and inspire you to find your confidence to see the world!
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