Stories

Lessons learned on the road, travel tips, and many random thoughts about our beautiful world.
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  • The Paradox of Settling

    “When are you going to settle down?” As a wander of more than 20 years, this is the question I’ve learned to field at least once a week. Friends, family, people I date, random acquaintances, and readers of the internet inquire about my ability to “settle” all of the time. “Settle down?” It’s a simple question, and most…

  • 25 Years of Wandering Lessons

    This week marked a big milestone. Travel and I hit our big 25 year-silver anniversary of being inseparable. I know you’re wondering how is it biologically possible that Stephanie has been traveling for 25 years since she’s barely even that old?  Let’s just say that travel keeps you young. Maybe it’s odd to you that…

  • Bora Bora: Flying Solo on Honeymoon Island

    I mostly travel alone. Sometimes it is by choice, and sometimes it is simply because I’m not one to let my perpetually single status stop me from doing anything I dream of doing. To be honest, most times I travel solo, I don’t even notice. I’m pretty awesome company (I think), and there are always…

  • Travel Packing Challenge: 6 weeks, 3 cultures, 4 climates, 1 carryon

    Every time I complete a crazy trip like my solo Thanksgiving round-the-world adventure, I sleep for a week, and then when I finally wake up, I make a promise to myself that next time I’ll travel slower and try not to go to as many places on one trip. Inevitably, after a month passes, however, I somehow…

  • Thanksgiving Dinner: Party of One

    Happy holiday weekend from Japan. Technically Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday here, and you’re probably reading this after Thanksgiving is over – but who cares. In theory, Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Even though I don’t eat turkey, I’m a pretty big fan of gratitude and giving. This year I celebrated solo by eating a tofu…

  • Hello Again: The Art of Getting my Words Unstuck

    I’ve always believed that new beginnings are more powerful when they are grounded in vulnerability rather than sheer resolve. So, I’ll start my return to the internet with a confession: I’ve been stuck. The self-protecting part of me would like to pretend I’ve been gone a long while from here because I’ve been off creating amazing…

  • Lesson 1: The first passport stamp: where it all began

    This is the first story because this is the day it all began.  On 01/26/93 I got my first passport stamp in London Gatwick.  When I heard the sound of the rubber stamp ink my blue page I didn’t have any idea how addicted to that sound I would become.  Thirty years later, I still…