Onto a New Chapter

I have heard it said a life in which you do not travel, is like having a novel and only reading one page. If this is the case, I have read countless pages to my book of life - inviting thrills and adventure into every chapter, laughing at the mishaps of the heroine, finding friendship and even love with the characters and, after each chapter ends, long to relive every illuminating escapade. My experiences seem to have turned me into a heroine, but while I was tackling the aspirations of fellow dreamers, to me I was just turning pages. And the book so far has been a exquisite. Now, as I head back to my hometown of Bridgewater, Connecticut, I realize I am starring at a blank page that I can fill up with whatever I want. Some are worried for me while most consider me lucky, but either way the task is at hand. All I can hope is that everything I have learned in the past 2 1/2 years will be put to good use, and that my novel will continue to be filled with joy, love and adventure!

Backtracking a couple of months, my last week in Africa was spent traveling the Garden Route from Capetown to Johannesburg. Only four travelers remained from the original Absolute Africa crew, which made for easier cruising - more space, no more camping or cooking, and a lot less noise. We headed from Capetown to the southernmost tip of the continent Cape Agulhas (where you could put one foot on the Atlantic Ocean side, and one foot on the Indian Ocean side), and then I got a chance to fulfill a childhood dream (as seen on Swiss Family Robinson) of riding an ostrich as we traveled through the Ostrich capital, Oudtshoorn. After a brief stop in Storms Village, we carried onto the legendary surf spot Jeffreys bay, but didn’t get to enjoy anything but fog due to the excessive rain. Johannasburg was nothing special, so in my last couple of days I went to the movies, the mall, and figured out a way to fit everything into my backpack before I headed to Australia.

Next I spent 2 1/2 months in Adelaide, Australia living with my favorite X-traveller, Mick - who traded in his backpack for a beautiful house, a job, and even a dog! While there I enjoyed the spoils of a being well taken care of. I wasn’t able to work due to my visa constraints, but did manage to improve my cooking abilities and work on organizing my travel photos (I have over 11,000!) We took a couple trips to visit his family on the Yorke Peninsula and even an overnight camping trip to Kangaroo Island, where we saw breathtaking landscapes, surreal sunsets and not shockingly, lots of kangaroos!! Unfortunately, international love is not easy. After begging God in vain to invent teleportation and listening to Whitney Houston’s “didn’t we almost have it all”, I reluctantly got on a plane to Bali. The connection between two travelers who have shared love during such remarkable life experiences is unparalleled - for a moment in time we held the the world in our hands and this I will never forget.

A common nickname for a 30th birthday party is a “Dirty 30” party. Had I known I would end up covered in mud and blood on the night of my 30th, I would not have tried to change the name to “Flirty 30.” An amazing birthday party at Warisan Restaurant in Seminyak, Bali, thrown by my favorite new friends, consisted of a lovely 3-course meal, lots of laughs and not one, but three delicious birthday cakes. I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable event, and only wanted to enhance the evening when Lindy and I set out on our motorbike to Kuta (in the most ridiculous short dresses). Kuta is where I stayed last time I was in Bali, and at any given point after midnight there are at least 50 Australians bleeding from bar fights, and over 65 people throwing up from too much alcohol. We headed to the Sky Garden, a 4 -story dance club, and stayed there for an hour or so before deciding it was WAY past the bed time of a 30 year old. On the ride out of town Lindy and I were chatting away, as usual, when suddenly a motorbike carrying two locals got extremely close to us and ripped my purse off my shoulder. My first instinct was “let’s get them!” so we blazed after them, screaming “help” and beeping our horn. Throwing caution to the wind, or thoughts of what we would do if we actually caught them, we sped behind them for over a mile. As the thieves took a right hand turn, we jerked right, and because it had just rained, the bike slipped out from under us. As Lindy, I and our smashed up motorbike lie in the street, the assailants sped away. I guess they didn’t know it was my 30th birthday! After a trip to the hospital the next morning we were finally ready to laugh at our misfortune. Otherwise, my 3 1/2 weeks in Bali were phenomenal - filled with relaxation, beach hopping, eating and massive amounts of fun!

From Bali I had an overnight flight to Seoul, South Korea, a 9-hour layover where I spent the day visiting the city, and eventually arrived to my final destination of Anchorage, Alaska. I spent the next two days with my old friend Mike, traveling to Denali National Park, looking at glaciers and enjoying the everlasting sunlight (it stays light until 11pm.) Two nights in San Diego with my grandparents consisted of some heated games of scrabble, looking at travel photos and eating early dinners. I even got to spend one night out with my college friend Lauren. For the last week I have been with my best friend Veronica in Raleigh North Carolina enjoying her company and finally getting around to sending out resumes.

I dare not write this is “The End” to my novel, but merely must accept I am starting a new chapter. Someone told me it is time for me to go to where I belong and belong there, and that is exactly what I am doing. Thanks again to all my followers, and I hope you have enjoyed reading the pages of my book!