Travelcloseup.com

Hi everyone!

As most of you know I have moved my operations full time over to my new blog

www.travelcloseup.com

But in case new people come over to this blog, I wanted them to know where to go!

Thanks to everyone who stops by!

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh…well maybe not!

…More like Giraffes and Florida Panthers and Alligators, oh YEAH!That essentially sums up our little excursion to Silver Springs, Florida. It is home of the Silver River, glass bottom boat tours and some of the friendliest animals down South, as you will see…..

(for pictures and more info, please visit me @ www. travelcloseup.com)

Check out Brave New Traveler!

Hey Everyone!I have exciting news to share.Brave New Traveler has just published an article I wrote about my time on the Navajo Reservation. Please go check it out! It is my first article for someone else! I am really excited about it! http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2007/03/20/black-mesa-navajo-resistance/#comments

REDESIGNED WEBSITE!!!!

Roberto just re-designed my website for me!!!!
I have been getting a lot of new visitors and so as a treat for me, while I was out last night, he redid the whole thing! It is absolutely beautiful!

www.travelcloseup.com

You Say Gelato, I Say Gelato Americano

As soon as I got to FL I started my quest for where to find a good gelateria. Luckily my search was not a long one, for we found one an hour north in Gainesville. The Gelato Company is a cute little café located on SE 1st avenue. The server was very helpful, asking us if we had gelato before. We said of course and he asked us where. When Roberto said Italy, he kind of stopped his spiel mid-sentence. But I liked the fact that the server knew his product and was willing to educate new converts. The day we went they had many flavors to choose from, but we were a little disappointed because they had strayed a bit from the traditional gelato flavors we love.

(for more information and photos visit me @ www.travelcloseup.com)

Is the Universe Talking to ME?

Maybe I need to start listening! Moving to Florida from New England has been a really big change. We left that North East culture and came to something totally different. We left a winter wonderland filled with ice and headed for the balmy breezes of the south. We left our jobs, Roberto’s girls and dear friends to start over and have a clean slate. We craved change and we decided to go big!Whenever I move to a new place, I usually always have a job beforehand. This time, I just decided to wing it. I had some money saved and I thought it would be a breeze for me to find a job. Not so. Since I got here, I have applied for over 25 jobs in my field. I got called for 2 interviews, and neither place offered me the job. I got really bummed out. This was strange. Usually I get offers for most jobs I apply for….Had I lost my mojo?During this same time, I started this blog in earnest, because it is my baby step towards the life I want to lead - as a world traveler and writer.

(For more information and photos, please visit my Travel Blog: www.travelcloseup.com)

The Beginning.....

After high school, I spent a year in Norway as an exchange student. It changed my life. All through my teenage years I was obsessed with other cultures….learning about foods, spiritual beliefs and daily life. I often pondered what would it be like to have been born somewhere else? What of my beliefs would be different, just by the location of my birth? Finally, after going to Norway I was able to experience that for myself. It was safe for me at that time, as Norway is not that different, demographically from the US, but I was in for such a surprise. It was so hard being thrust into a new environment where you don’t speak the language and where you don’t know a single soul. But it was also exhilarating! It was a chance for me to be ME. No one knew me there, so I was able to be myself to the fullest extend. It was liberating! At the same time, I was like a sponge, soaking up the culture and the language and knowing for the first time what it was really like to be in a different environment. It was challenging in so many ways, but I had never felt so ALIVE!