Greetings from Toronto! I’m posting from TBEX, the travel blogging conference that I gushed about last year in Colorado. This conference has well and truly been a whirlwind, and I’m glad I’ve set aside the next week to decompress at a desk and try to put into action all the inspiration and ideas I’ve felt bubbling…

Back in January, I posted a mini European Bucket List when I realized that I did have some must-visit destinations in the continent that usually sits at the bottom of my wanderlust list. I loved the discussion that ensued in the comments and all the ideas you guys gave me — clearly, I’m in the minority…

We had come to Donsol for one reason: to see the locally named butanding in the proudly named Whale Shark Capital of the World. Long before my plane first landed in the Philippines, when my trip was just daydreams and scrawled notes in the margins of a guidebook, this moment was what I looked forward to the…

Greetings from New York! I’ve been back in my favorite state for a full week now, and I’ve managed to squeeze in a quick visit with friends in Brooklyn, half a dozen NYU graduation celebrations for my sister, familypalooza with the out-of-towners that came to our party in Albany, numerous trips to Chipotle, and strep throat…

I drifted into consciousness to the familiar hum of a plane preparing for descent. Heather and I were in the midst of a twenty-seven hour transit marathon from Sagada that would involve a bus, another bus, a cab, a flight, a trike, a minibus, and another final trike ride. This flight, which turned a twelve-hour bus…

I could feel it spreading through me like a heat rash — my stomach twisted, my throat tightened, and my pulse quickened. I tried my usual coping mechanisms of deep breaths, visualization, and repeated mantras. I was in a battle with my own mind — logic was trying to prevail, but panic was winning by a…