This is part of BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel project, a daily blogging challenge with a prompt for every day in November 2011.
The “Best of” for Week 4
Every week we’ll be gathering some of our favorite posts from the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project. We’re extremely excited that so many people have participated in our project, and the great submissions just keep rolling in. Here are some of our favorite posts from the fourth week of the Indie 30 Project.
Day 21: LOVE AFFAIR
This wasn’t just about getting juicy stories, we promise – but if Diana’s story of a nearly-Hollywood ending in Croatia doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, then… Well, then you’re probably not a girl. (Or a rom-com writer.) Seriously, though, this one held my attention right up to the end, hoping for the best.
I loved how more than one of you chose to write about the love affair you’ve found with your significant other through traveling with them for an extended period of time. Sarah of Spanky & Sarah wrote about how traveling around the world with her husband changed their relationship – they became “teammates” – and Caroline & Josh at Traveling9to5 found that although they were already a couple when they started traveling together, it was traveling that made it a real “love affair.”
And of course some travelers (ahem, Antsaint) refused to kiss and tell – and still wrote something delightful.
Day 22: TRANSIT
Many of you wrote about the trials involved in the “getting there,” and how those difficulties are long forgotten once they’re overcome – or, at the very least, that they make the destination all the more fabulous. Such was the case for Spanky & Sarah, en route to a rented bungalow in Vietnam, and Anthony, trudging methodically uphill in Edinburgh with heavy luggage.
I could totally relate to Brooke’s tale of a missed connection feeling like a disaster at the time, but proving to be a seminal travel moment in retrospect.
Zak wrote about a drive he’s made several times, and always too quickly – something I think will sound familiar to many people.
Day 23: TECHNOLOGY
Okay, I’ll admit it – the image of Brooke’s friends holding a laptop with her smiling face via Skype for a group picture in an annual Secret Santa gift exchange party made me smile all over. If that isn’t adorable, I dunno what is.
I was immediately drawn into Zak’s technology post by the opening line: “I once hauled a typewriter through airport security.” I don’t know this guy, but I like him already.
And for those of you hungry for practical tips, Sarah has one of the best I’ve heard regarding making those oh-so-handy Google maps work on an iPod Touch or an iPhone that’s only using WiFi. I’ve tried it. It works. I’m in love.
Day 24: GIVING THANKS
If you pick up, at random, pretty much anything Anthony’s written for the Indie30 project, you won’t be disappointed. Still, I think his “giving thanks” post is one of my favorites.
Caroline wrote a lovely letter to 2011 in her “giving thanks” post, opening with “Thank you for not always being what we expect or plan for.” Here’s to a spirit of adventure!
Amid the expected items for which Katie is thankful this year are things like “indoor plumbing and central heat,” as well as “gluten free hamburger buns in Finland.” Sometimes, folks, it’s the little things.
Olivia’s thankful for lots of things, but I particularly love the photo she posted and the note underneath it: “Hello, world. I love you.”
Day 25: FAMILY
Not only did Erin’s mother instill a “we’re not lost, we’re on an adventure” attitude in her children, she also had the good sense to tell her daughter “you need to marry a man who wants to travel.” Major props to Erin’s mom.
Zak’s sister may have seemed like she was trying to kill him and their brother, but you can’t tell me she’s the only one who’s ever looked at a rolling highway and thought instantly thought “ROLLER COASTER.”
Day 26: PHOTO
Need to put a smile on your face today? Check out the utterly joyous photo of Brooke and three of her pals in Florence, and see if that doesn’t make you grin.
I have absolutely no idea what the Glasgow art installation in WannabeBallerina’s photo represents, but I love what the photo represents to her – a time when she’ll be “more adept at solo travel.”
The Croatia photo in Zak’s post is certainly pretty, but it’s the memory accompanying it – of plans abandoned in favor of staring at waterfalls until sunset – that made me really love this post.
Day 27: WANDERLUST
While Zak’s video does not make me want to trek across Siberia by motorcycle in the dead of winter, it does make me smile.
Brooke acknowledges that she’s “not a good window shopper,” so had to stop herself at two wanderlust-inspiring videos.
My favorite part of Erin’s “wanderlust” post is what her photo means to her. She says, “this picture is dear to my heart because it reminds me that there are no boundaries and limits in my life. Any goal I have, any dream I set my sights on, any country I want to visit, is completely possible. These are not just my dreams, they are my realities.” Amen to that!