Years ago my mother said that what you do over New Year’s sets the tone for how your whole year will go. I think she only said it the once, but it’s stuck with me and I think of it with each new year. I make conscious choices in how I spend New Year’s Eve and Day that I hope will resonate throughout the next 12 months, Continue reading
With Christmas looming people are asking “what do you want?” and pretty much all of it involves our move to Mexico and transition to a nomadic life. We’ll be giving up most of our current possessions so what we keep will be that much more important.
For those who are inspired by our plans and want to help I present The Lynch Family Wish List, travel gifts that we hope to have before we move. We usually buy second hand so your used items are welcome. Continue reading
We all know I like to travel, and travel contests have become something of an addiction. Every time I see a “Win This Trip!” ad I start to salivate and my heart speeds up. It only takes a few minutes, fill out a form and go on with my life. No one wins these things anyway, right? Except we did. Continue reading
My husband took us out to one of his favorite restaurants Saturday night, The Machine Shed. It’s located just outside of Living History Farms on the edge of Des Moines, and it’s always been a celebration of farm life and hearty cooking. Continue reading
Today is my daughter’s 18th birthday, but we’re not celebrating. There’s no party, no presents, no marking of this milestone that parents look forward to from the time their child is born. My teenage daughter left two weeks ago and hasn’t looked back. Continue reading
Where have I been?
You may have noticed that for the last month I’ve been MIA. I see other bloggers apologize for not posting, but I don’t feel like that’s necessary, because if I have nothing to post right then do you really want me to just throw some random crap up? No one wants to read that, and I sure don’t want to write it.
So it is without apology that I make my return to blogging, and with a new resolve. Continue reading
Last month in Tulum I was delighted to stay in a hostel that included a bicycle even though it turned out to be a rust bucket (hey it was free!) It’s a common thing there for people to ride bikes to get around and there are trails in many places. On Cozumel I rented a bicycle and rode all over town on the roads with the cars and motos (scooters) and I hear that south of town they have completed their first bicycle trails there too.
Bike trails are a new thing in Mexico because bicycles usually ride in traffic. When I am there I ride on the streets, something I would never feel safe doing at home in Iowa, and I started to wonder why it was different. Continue reading
From the AllTOURnative press kit:
“2014 will be an historic year. We turn fifteen years of eco-archeological tours operation. About one million and a half tourists have already enjoyed unforgettable experiences. Nowadays, Alltournative has almost 200 direct collaborators and over 250 families in Maya communities take advantage of the jobs and incomes generated by ecotourism. 7,150 hectares of jungle are preserved which means that 93% of the territory where we operate expeditions is saved as a reserve area.” Continue reading
These are travel bloggers?
TBEX is the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, and this year my husband Jason and I were among them.
My first TBEX encounter was the pre-conference tour, a Mayan experience and visit to the ruins of Coba through Alltournative Tours. Jason and I were told be at the pickup point by 630am, but this is Mexico Continue reading
A highlight of Blogger Boot Camp with Marginal Boundaries was all the Mayan ruins we visited, starting with the one just down the road a little further into the jungle, the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. We started walking down the road Continue reading
