Three weeks after my relationship ended, I did the only thing that made sense: I booked a solo trip somewhere I’d always wanted to go but had been waiting for the “right time” to visit together. South Africa had been on that list for years — and honestly, the timing turned out to be perfect, … Read more
When I turned 35, I made a deal with myself: no more saving the good stuff for someday. The trip I’d been pinning photos of for four years — safari sunsets, Cape Town rooftops, private game reserves with no phone signal — finally had a departure date, and it was South Africa. What I didn’t … Read more
My boss handed me a bonus check and said “invest it wisely.” I invested it in a round-trip ticket and two weeks somewhere I’d been dreaming about since a geography class in eighth grade — South Africa, a country so staggeringly diverse it almost doesn’t seem real until you’re standing inside it. I wanted vibrant … Read more
My passport sat blank in a drawer for two years after I got it — I kept saying “soon” until a friend called me out at dinner. We booked flights that night. I barely slept. That impulsive decision led me to the South African bush at dawn, standing on a private lodge deck with coffee … Read more
For our tenth anniversary, I asked my partner what they actually wanted — not a dinner, not jewelry. They said: somewhere we’ve never been, somewhere that feels like a story we haven’t told yet. We chose the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, and standing at the edge for the first time, watching the canyon’s layered reds … Read more
The school year ended and I sat in an empty classroom for twenty minutes just listening to the silence. Then I went home and looked up flights. Teaching summers off exist for a reason — and that particular search landed me at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, staring into a chasm so vast it genuinely … Read more
I spent fourteen months putting money into a travel fund that everyone else called frivolous. When it finally had enough zeros in it, I spent about forty-five minutes looking at destinations before I bought the ticket — because honestly, there was never really a question: it was always going to be the Grand Canyon’s South … Read more
After two years of looking at the same four walls, I made a list of every place I’d told myself “I’ll go when things settle down.” Then I started at the top — and the Grand Canyon was right there, staring back at me. What I didn’t expect was how much where I slept would … Read more
My father worked for 38 years saying he’d travel when he retired. He retired and then kept finding reasons not to go. I watched that happen and promised myself I wouldn’t do the same thing — which is exactly why I finally booked that flight to Arizona and stood at the edge of the Grand … Read more
