Travel Books

No news yet from the farm in Georgia or the cafe in New Zealand on dates. They're both months off, though, so no rush!

I bought two travel books today that I plan on reading over the next few weeks: (1) Unlikely Destinations, the lonely planet story: How two backpackers trekked across Asia - and revolutionized the world of independent travel! and (2) Wanderlust and lipstick: The essential guide for women traveling solo. Can't wait to get started and start learning what may lie ahead! (If you have suggestions of other good travel books, I'd love to hear them.)

In other news, I had lunch today with a co-worker who reminded me of great resource, couchsurfing.org. I set up a profile and started looking for people in other cities. You can find both places to stay (hence the name) and people to hang out with while you're traveling. I might try it out in the states while I'm WWOOFing before I try it in another country. If I have a good experience here it'll be a great resource to tap abroad.

I've also started building my network of connections and connection's connections abroad. If you now people around the world who I may be able to meet up with in another country or use as a resource while planning my foreign travels please let me know. I always feel more comfortable when I have a contact somewhere, even if it's just someone to tell me where to get the best meal in the city.

As always, if you know of any good pit stops or detours I can take on my round the world journey please let me know!

Night!

Welcome!

I am starting this blog to document the adventure I am about to embark on, both for myself to remember and as a way to share what I'm doing with you. I hope to post on my blog almost daily and include photos when possible. I will try to keep my posts rather brief (this one being an exception) so it's not too time consuming for you to read.

For a bit about the journey I'm about to go on: I am looking to travel the world via whatever opportunities present themselves. Obviously I am seeking out certain opportunities that interest me butI have already decided that whatever pops up/work out is what I'm going to go with and not be too picky. Although I like planning and lists and preparedness, I'm excited to go on an adventure that doesn't involve these things. Some of the best trips I've taken in my life involved little or no planning and I hope to replicate that experience here.

So for today's update: 

This morning, some of the pieces of my adventure started to fall into place. I heard back from a farm in Georgia that I had contacted a few weeks ago. They said they would be able to have me down in the fall and I am just waiting to hear back from them on specific dates. I will likely stay there 3-4 weeks in mid/late September through end of October. 

Also today I heard from a cafe in New Zealand where I can work in exchange for room & board and possibly a few spending dollars. The cafe is located in a beach town near (?) Auckland. This would be during their summer, December - February.

Both of these opportunities I found through WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms), a program I will explain in more detail tomorrow. They are still somewhat tentative as no dates have been decided or plane tickets purchased (I won't be flying to Georgia but for obvious reasons I wont' be driving to New Zealand) but I am getting exciting nonetheless. Hopefully by tomorrowI will know more specifics about Georgia and New Zealand.

Here's what's on my schedule for now. Most items are tentative and subject to change:

Aug 2-7: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally - Sturgis, SD

Aug 10-22: Kara Kahl Farm - Houston, MN

Sep 1-14: Northern Light Farm - Soloway, MN

Sep/Oct: Knotty Pine Farms - Maysville, Georgia

Nov-Dec: Sydney, Australia

Dec-Feb: Driving Creek Cafe - Coromandel, New Zealand

Mar-May: Bangalore, India

If you have any suggestions for stops/detours along the way they are most appreciated!