I’ve been Nominated for a Liebster Award!

Wait…. What is a Liebster Award?

It’s been almost a year since I started this blog and I recently was nominated for a Liebster Award by Allured By Adventure Blog! What’s that you ask? I didn’t know either! I did some digging and found out that this award was created as a way for blogs to promote other new blogs within the community. The best part about this whole process for me has been connecting with people all over the world with similar interests as mine. Clare and James from Allured by Adventure are some of the great people I’ve been able to connect with, and they’re from all the way across the world in Australia! They focus on traveling as a couple and write posts ranging from travel tips and tools, budget advice, itineraries for Asia and Australia and volunteer travel trips. Clare even sent me some Australian Cajun spices for a Global Secret Santa we participated in! Thanks for the nomination guys!

THE RULES:

The way the Liebster Award works is that the blog that nominated you gives you a list of questions to answer in a post. You then you get to nominate another few blogs and come up with your own questions to ask them! And finally, link back to the blog who nominated you as a way to spread the love. So without further ado, here are my questions and answers!

1. How long have you been blogging and what inspired you to start?

I started my blog in April of last year as I was coming down from a bad burnout in my 9-5 job. 2016 and 2017 were filled with a lot more consistent traveling and adventuring and it became more and more of an interest and passion for me. I constantly had people coming up to me saying “I live vicariously through you!”, “How do you afford to do all that?” and even “You’re so lucky you can go and travel so much!” This alone made me realize I had a voice I could share, that anyone can go on adventures, even millennial 9-5ers like me!

I’m a creative person, and when my job stopped fulfilling my creative side, I found that writing and photography were becoming increasingly necessary to keep my passion alive! I’ve never been a good writer growing up, but I found that this topic inspired me so much that it came naturally. It’s fun to be able to share my stories and photos and hopefully inspire other people to take similar steps to break out of the routine.

Nothing makes me happier than the feedback I’ve received from people saying that my posts have helped them. Even my own mother made the decision to start planning more long weekend trips rather than waiting for the one week off a year that she’s used to!

Things like that make the blog posts that flop worth it!

I just want to promote getting out there and exploring as much as you can. Life is full of cool adventures, and anyone can make it a priority in their life!

2. What is your home country/city and what do you miss most about home when you are travelling?

I’m from Western Massachusetts, USA, which for people not from around here, is basically uncharted territory. I live about 2 hours west of Boston and 2-ish hours North of New York City! It’s basically driving distance to everything you’d ever want to see in New England!

Pretty convenient location if you ask me!

Western Mass is primarily small towns with a couple bigger cities scattered throughout. We have mountains, lots of trees, and a lot of tobacco farms. Growing up around here you couldn’t wait to get out because it was “boring.” But after working in Boston for a semester I found myself dying to get back to the slower pace of Western Mass. When I’m traveling, especially to big cities, I do miss the quiet and pace of being home. As an extroverted introvert, it’s important for me to be able to recharge and decompress in between big social adventures! Western Mass is the perfect place for that.

3. What is your most memorable travel experience?

I’ve been lucky not to have too many “travel mishaps” in my adventures! If there is one family vacation that I’ll never forget though, it’s Myrtle Beach 2001: The year of the tornadoes!

My family and I had left our resort and drove south for a day long boat trip. We were disappointed when they cut the boat trip short but quickly realized that the concern was well warranted! On our way back up north to the resort we overheard on the radio that waterspouts had touched down on the beach right in front of our resort! As they transitioned into actual tornadoes, they started to travel south along the road that we were driving parallel to. My parents pulled over and we sheltered in a grocery store a bit more inland and waited out the storm.

When we got back to the resort, we were lucky to find that the windows in our room didn’t get blown out, and we just had minor flooding coming in from the balcony! Also, all of the car windows in the parking lot that we typically parked in had been blown out from stone on the roof. That experience will forever stand out in my mind as memorable!

What are the top 3 places you have been on your travels and why?

This is the toughest question out of this whole Liebster Award thing! It’s hard to narrow down favorites!

Lake Tahoe, Nevada – This was the farthest west I had ever gone and was the first time I felt absolutely in awe by my own country! We have mountains on the east coast but NOTHING like the elevation and views of the Rockies. Flying over those mountains gave me such wanderlust for my own country that I haven’t stopped thinking about it yet. So often we find ourselves wanting to escape to a new country when there’s so much to see right under our noses!

Scotland – My trip to Scotland in 2016 was the first time I really traveled without it being a family vacation! It was also my first time getting to stay in hostels, backpacking, and meeting people from all over the world. I fell head over the heels for the whole experience and haven’t stopped since! It’s a completely different experience than family cruises, or a week at a resort in the carribean.

No offense Mom, I still love those trips just as much!

Toronto, Canada – I read A LOT of travel blogs and have been so intrigued by the idea of solo travel (despite it being my mother’s worst nightmare) and I finally got the chance guts to try it out last year! Because I went into it with enough experience traveling, and navigating around cities, I felt confident and therefore the trip was nothing but enjoyable. I met a ton of people from all over, got to wander at my own pace, and had plenty of time to test out my newly attained photography skills without annoying a travel companion.

Is there a place you have visited that you found disappointing or didn’t enjoy? Why?

Niagara Falls on the Canada side. Don’t get me wrong, the falls are amazing and the sights are unparalleled but I found myself ready to move on after just one day in that area. Not only is Niagara Falls misting so much that it blocks half the view of the falls, but the city area was BRUTALLY touristy. I much rather enjoy experiencing a local culture and getting a vibe for how the people live.

Niagara was definitely not good for that kind of experience. They also had a minimal amount of options for budget travelers. The one hostel I found was located very far away from the falls, which makes it difficult for travelers without a car. Even if you did have a car, parking was impossible and expensive. I don’t see myself returning to Niagara anytime soon.

The wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake thought? Those I will make an effort to get to!

If you could travel to any country in the world right now, where would you go and why?

Australia. Hands down. Everyone I’ve met or talked to from Australia is awesome, the weather looks superb, the coast is gorgeous and they know how to have a hell of a good time. If it didn’t take so damn long to get there from where I live, I definitely would have gone by now! An Australian friend I met in Scotland visited New England and stayed with us for a few days last year! It’s only a matter of time before I cash in the offer to do the same down there! The bloggers that nominated me for the Liebster Award are totally getting a visit when I get there someday as well!

What is the top tip you have for anyone new to travel blogging?

Do it for you and you only. The only way you’ll stick with it is if you genuinely enjoy the process and sharing your stories. Do it because you want to for fun, not because you think you’ll eventually get paid to travel for free!

I mean… that would be awesome though!

Don’t get discouraged by views, (or lack thereof.) Some posts do better than others, and make sure you do research and post at the right times. It’ll come! I’m just barely starting to get a steady flow of viewers and I’ve been doing it for almost a year.

And the more you do it, the easier it becomes! When I first started, I’d be lucky if I put out a post a month because I would feel overwhelmed and procrastinate. The more I have been doing it, the quicker the ideas come and the easier it is to write!

Now for my nominations!

1. Rebecca Moore
2. Bubu Backpacks
3. Andrew Uncharted
4. Annabel Claire (Chasing Waterfalls)
5. Life’s Sweet Journey

My Questions for the nominees!

1. What was the first trip that made you realize that travel was a passion for you?
2. What is one thing you never travel without? (Besides the necessities, ie., passport, phone, etc.)
3. Do you have a crazy “You’d have to see it to believe it!” story from your travels?
4. What’s your advice for someone who’s debating whether to book a trip or not?
5. How did you decide to start a blog? And how long have you been blogging?
6. What is your favorite thing to do when traveling? (Hiking/adventures, food, alcohol, sightseeing, museums, etc?)
7. Where to next?!

Thank you again to Allured by Adventure for the nomination for the Liebster Award! It’s been fun reading your answers and other’s as well in my research! I hope everyone enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me! I’m so honored to be a part of this awesome community of bloggers all over the world! Until next time…

Stay Wild and Adventure On!