5 Tips For Your Epic Adventure On Kauai

Head on over to The Outbound Collective for my tips on a Kauai adventure!

5 Tips For Your Epic Adventure On Kauai: A strenuous hike may not be on everyone’s to-do list on a dream vacation to the Hawaiian islands. For the adventurous spirit, though, Hawaii has some remarkable trails to explore.

Wanderlust and Trust

Getting out of my comfort zone was one of the best decisions I could have ever made.  I was blessed with a sense of independence and confidence that allowed me to venture across the country all on my own accord and schedule.  The mental struggles that coincide with this sort of decision can be daunting, though.  Questioning my ability to financially sustain myself, fearing the unknown of any number of scary situations (being kidnapped, stuck on the side of the road or sex trafficking to name a few that seem outlandish, but are a reality in our world) and the overall health of my family during the time that I will be gone away from them are just a few monsters that I have to mentally feed when deciding on my next venture.  

I am constantly reminding myself not to live in a hypothetical world.  If I allowed these fears to overcome my true wishes, I would never leave my house.  Thankfully, after a bit of solo traveling and plenty of soul searching, I have come to realize that I simply cannot control every tiny aspect of my presence.  Instead of harping over the infinite possibilities for harm or sadness in my life, I try very hard to think positively and choose excitement over fear.  I look forward to the inevitable unexpected beauty or generous stranger that I may encounter.  

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: people are much nicer than you'd expect.  Especially when you're traveling.  I have experienced "southern" hospitality all over the United States.  And when I didn't have a nice stranger to talk to, I thoroughly enjoyed the time alone at an airport or bus terminal.  A crossword is my favorite companion on long trips and I've made many a friend in an adjacent seat to help me with them, too.

To anyone who also struggles with those monsters in their minds, remember the times you heard a bump in the night or a scratch on the window that turned out to be nothing more than a creak or a tiny, nonthreatening branch.  Remember that if you do not take chances, you have no excuse to worry.  If you do take them, though, you will realize that most of those worries are simply figments of your own very creative, fascinating imagination.

Kauai, Hawaii

The phrase, 'Just go,' is constantly running through my head.  I have fallen deeply in love with traveling.  Layovers and long car rides provide me with ample time to ponder my place in this world.  I am reminded with each new adventure how many people there are on this planet and the infinite number of paths we choose to take.  

I recently took a trip to Kauai, Hawaii and thought I would share some of the breathtaking moments from my experience on the island.

For more photos of my adventures, visit my Instagram account!

Desert Paradise

I made it to Arizona!  Traveling always exceeds my expectations in the best of ways.  This trip proved no different when my mental image was brought to reality.  It was more beautiful and warm than I had imagined.  Even after a short trip, I feel changed by this experience.

Over the last year of my life, I have taken chances that I never predicted for myself.  My comfort zone has transformed from a space into more of a mental state.  Instead of decorating my house, I have begun to decorate my life with experiences.  As a traveler, I bring back souvenirs in the form of stories and new friendships.  The more of these I make, the more I wish to collect.  While some of these friendships may only last for the length of a layover or the span of a day, I cherish them in my heart.  Another important lesson I've learned through travel is that most people want companionship, be it sharing the clues of a crossword puzzle to pass the hours in a seat on a plane or chatting over coffee on the porch of a hostel.  Every time I travel, I set out alone, yet very rarely end up actually being lonely along the way.

My nervous anticipation has become as familiar as an old friend.  I wonder if I will ever lose that tingle that washes over me when I am headed for someplace I have never been.  Each time my bags are packed and I'm headed out the driveway, it emerges from somewhere within me and crawls across my skin.  Instead of feeling fearful, though, I can now associate this familiar emotion with excitement.  On my first few trips away from home, I was nearly paralyzed by the thought of the unknown creeping through me.  I can now compare it to the anxiousness that used to accompany the first day of school or moving into my dorm in college.  Stifling this is like attempting to halt inevitability.  It just won't happen.  I embrace it and recognize the feeling for what it is now; a mental facade that can either hold me back or propel me forward.

While I was in Arizona, I had the opportunity to take a rock climbing course.  The day of the course, that familiar nervous itch was spreading across my being and I was doubting my ability to even show up.  I focused my courage, though, and headed to the rocks.  I hate being the beginner at anything and climbing, especially so.  I struggle with the thought of failure or making a mistake, but these things are simply a part of learning how to climb (not to mention the huge mental barriers that need breaking while I'm up there).  Luckily, my instructor was incredibly understanding of this nervousness and his encouragement was welcomed as I climbed my way up my first multi-pitch route.  I have less of a fear of falling than I do of failing.  So, the feeling of elation as I reached the top was unlike any other feeling of success.  I had pushed my boundaries physically and, especially, mentally.  Not only was I climbing, but I was entrusting a complete stranger to keep me safe, along with being in a new place quite far from my family and friends.  Once it was all 'scend and done (I think I'm punny), I couldn't have been more happy with myself for taking the chance to experience this.

The next day, I was off to see the Grand Canyon.  What I had envisioned as a solo road trip from Phoenix turned out to be a long ride accompanied by a complete stranger.  She was staying in the bunk below me at the Phoenix Hostel and had nothing to do on the day of my trip.  I welcomed the companionship and brought along a woman twice my age who had never seen the Grand Canyon, either.  It's amazing how easily conversation flows with like-minded people.  By the end of the day, the wonder of the canyon was less intriguing to me than listening to her stories of working in the Peace Corps.  As we drove across Arizona's many varying (and breathtaking) landscapes, I learned all about her life.  We didn't even turn the radio on once.

As I travel, I collect pieces of all of the people I encounter.  I jot down things I notice about everyone from the cashier at a coffee shop to the woman I spent the day exploring the Grand Canyon with, whom I may never see or speak to again.  The personalities, stories and opinions of other people have become a precious resource and its abundance has me anxious to venture further.  The more people I meet from all sorts of different places only opens my eyes wider to the infinite paths a life can take.  We each are a culmination of the choices that lead us in certain directions.  Choosing to pursue my dreams of seeing so many different places has become, not only about the geography, but about the characters that fill my life story; not only about the vastness of the world, but that of humanity.  These are the people who fertilize my ambitions and help me grow to reach horizons I have not yet imagined.  I owe so much to the people I have met along the way and most of them don't even know the impact they have left on someone else's life.

So, remember, you never know if you're the subject of someone else's journal entry.

Steller Story

The Steller app is certainly proving to be one of my favorite new ways of story telling.  Here is a short travel guide to hikes and sites around Skagway!

The 5,000 Mile Month

I recently discovered the iPhone app Steller and fell in love with its story formatting.  Take a gander at my photo story about my long trip home from Alaska.

On the Road

On the morning of the final leg of this chapter of my journey, I am nestled beside a snoozing stranger on a bus headed straight for the sunrise.  I am anxious, yet peaceful as the clouds paint a deep pink, purple and blue Tennessee horizon ahead of me.  At this moment, as we coast along flat land, my mind reels through images of sunrises, sunsets, mountains and prairies that have decorated this adventure thus far.  There are few left to see before I reach that familiar place I have always called home.

Just as suddenly as it seems this month long trip from Alaska has passed, the clouds have faded to a pale lavender against a soft orange light.  

The Alabama Shakes are playing in my ear, reminding me to "wait" and "hold on" because I have yet to endure a lonely three hour overlay in Memphis.  This is one of the final destinations that I have never seen before on this adventure, so part of me is intrigued while another is slightly nervous.  This bus ride is the first part of my country-wide undertaking that I have been alone; or just without a friend that I have known for any amount of time.  Although, I did make a friend, Fred, waiting for the bus in Little Rock.  He is seated a few rows in front of me, however, and won't be going the same way once we do arrive in Memphis.  I will wish him safe travels and probably never see him again, but we were both happy for the company and conversation at 5 o'clock this morning.  

*******

When the bus pulled into the station in Memphis, we all exited to await the next ride to our varying destinations.  I was surprised to find how chilly the morning had become and clouds were rolling in overhead.  Fred found me and laid his bags on the ground next to where I was perched on top of my own.  He had two hours to wait and I had three.  He told me he was headed down the road to find some breakfast and asked if I would be walking or if he could leave his things with me.  I wasn't going anywhere.  

Seated on the sidewalk, I must have looked like I knew the drill because several people stopped to ask if I knew if this was where the line for either Dallas or Chicago or Atlanta.  I had been informed to just wait on the corner, so that is what I communicated to each of them.  The longer I sat there, the more information I came to know and soon, I was telling people when their buses were supposed to arrive.  At this point, a woman approached me inquiring if I spoke Spanish.  She looked disappointed when I shook my head 'no' but tried again, anyway. "Chicago?" 

Fred was going there, so I knew the time of the departure.  "Nine-thirty," I replied.  

"Nine-thirty?" she questioned.

"Si," I said.

The woman grinned at my Spanish and nodded a thank you.

When Fred returned, he was carrying a breakfast sub and two cups of coffee.  He handed me the larger cup and offered me some of his sandwich.  This was the second cup of coffee a stranger had given me today without a second thought of payment.  My Little Rock host, whom I had only met the night before (a friend of a mutual friend), greeted me this morning with a steaming cup and even took a quick break from sleep at 4 AM to drive me to the bus stop.  

Fred and I chatted about his life and mine and the places we had been to and wish to go in the future until his bus arrived.  We exchanged numbers and gave each other a hug before he left.  Like I have written in the past, if you stop thinking of strangers as threatening, you find friends in them.  After that, it began to rain, so I left my post and met new people.  Turns out this layover wasn't nearly as lonely as I had expected.

My time was occupied by an iHop trainer who traveled around, as well as modeled.   When his bus arrived for New Orleans, I was greeted by another gentleman.  He began the conversation asking if I would like to see a card trick.  Of course I did.  

His "trick" consisted of asking me to guess the top card, flipping it over and, despite my accuracy, relating it to either God or the Devil.  When it was a queen, it meant that I was a queen.  The entire interaction was enjoyed by several people sitting around us.  

Finally, the bus displaying ATLANTA in bright yellow letters rolled down the road towards us.  I was thankful to be distracted from the card trick, as entertaining as it had been, and quickly boarded the bus to find my seat on the upper deck.  It's rather empty, so I have a seat to myself.  So, here I am.  Nearly home.  Passing forests full of leaves in colorful transition.  It's getting warmer as I get closer and I couldn't be happier about that. 

My heart sinks thinking of the miles and miles that separate me from all of my new friends.  It flutters in excitement, though, to reunite with old, tried and true friends and the incredibly supportive and loving family I left behind so long ago. 

I know that these are the last few sentences of this chapter of my life and it is certainly bittersweet.  Whatever the next page turn brings, I can be sure that this chapter has prepared me for all sorts of twists. 

The Marvelous Music Midtown 2013

Open air.  Green fields.  Music whisking past your ears from every angle.  People watching.  Meeting fellow lovers of hip swaying, hands-in-the-air kinds of good times.  Fantastic times.

These are a few of my favorite things...

There's a ferris wheel back there!

Needless to say, I felt snug in my element at my favorite Atlanta park magnified by three stages housing artists from all of my favorite genres.  I have to say, a few performers gained even more respect from this girl.  And having said that, I cannot go without telling you to see Reignwolf play if ever possible.  He played drums, guitar and the tambourine all at once and I fell in love. :)

Aside from him, our entire party agreed that Phoenix gave the best performance of the weekend.  Those French boys certainly know how to charm a crowd.  I, along with my friends, fell even more in love with their songs when we heard how beautifully he sang them live.

Beautiful Sunset just before ZZ Ward performed

Nearing the end of day 1, we were excited to say the least.

We managed to dance our way into the crowd for Kendrick Lamar, Weezer, ZZ Ward, 2Chainz, Imagine Dragons, Cake, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Journey.  We heard Capital Cities from afar and I might be forgetting someone..  

2Chainz!  And a mustache that wandered it's way throughout the festival all day.  Along with the Dos Equis Man and a number of other feather-boaed and inflated items.

My only critique of this festival would be the scheduling.  I didn't get to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as I had so been looking forward to doing.  It was an absolute blast, nonetheless.  This is definitely a great show for the amateur music festival goer.  There are plenty of bathrooms, well, porta potties (bring your own toilet paper if that's a luxury you can't forego for the day..), and the crowd is rather tame.  I am used to mosh pits and crowd surfers, but that sort of thing can be a bit alarming to someone who's never experienced such a thing. 

Cake

The rain came on Saturday, so there are far fewer pictures, but I won't complain a bit.  I was soaked from noon to midnight, but I had no qualms.  The rain kept it cool and I even got to jump in some mud puddles!  Thank goodness for the roommate who checks the weather.  Favorite item I brought with me that day: rain boots.

Oh, and a life hack we learned: Put your cell phone and whatever else you don't want soaked at a festival with a downpour in a plastic baggie.  I was so afraid to ruin my brand new phone and when my friend suggested this I was amazed at his ingeniousness. Worked like a charm!

JOURNEY!!

If you liked this, you might also like Music To My Ears or Anias Mitchell: Making the List.

Summer's Passing

I keep hearing things like, "Summer's almost over," and "The last must-see summer movie."  I can't help feeling like summer never actually began.  As if I've been in an April showers haze for the past four months, I don't feel satisfied by summertime.  Despite the fact that school is already back in session and (I wouldn't doubt) department stores have Halloween in the works, my mind is fixed on beaches and darkening my tan lines.

A well traveled woman

It's pretty apparent that my comfort zone is in the warmth.  This whole 'end of summer' nonsense has me shivering at just the thought of fall weather.  I want to fly like a snowbird, far, far away.

All of this to say, I think my next move will be somewhere with a warm climate and hopefully a beach nearby.  In honor of my longing for distant places (and adventure, always), I would like to share with you a few images from my Where I Want To Be board on Pinterest.  Many of which I discovered courtesy of A Well Traveled Woman.

A Well Traveled Woman

I would live wildly in an Airstream.  I would rid myself of as many materials as possible and travel lightly as far as four wheels could take me.  Road trips are some of my favorite things in the world.

Pinkhedgehog photos

It won't be long before I can where the badge of a well traveled woman, I hope.

The Delta Queen Hotel - Chattanooga, TN

"What room are ya'll in?" asked the black man with a white long-sleeved polo shirt tucked tightly into his belted dark slacks.

We were standing behind a gate on the loading deck to, what I would come to find out, was the historical Delta Queen Hotel.  And by 'Hotel' I mean Steamboat.  And even 'boat' is an understatement at the sight of this massive, four-story authentic river cruiser.  The stars were out and my nose was running from the frigidity of the riverside breeze.

A 1966 provision to the Safety of Life at Sea Act was meant to dock the steamboat because of it's primarily wooden framework.  Advocates and owners of the passenger cruise petitioned, successfully, for extensions to Presidents Nixon and continued chugging down rivers until 2008. Which brings us to the locked gate on a loading dock in Chattanooga before an astounding, floating bed & breakfast.

After revealing our name and room number, the bald man with pinched eyebrows checked us out a moment longer before grabbing the door knob and welcoming us aboard the Delta Queen.

"Did you try the code?" he asked.  His bottom lip pouched outward and his words were quick and slathered with a raspy southern accent.

Gaining some trust by helping him give the broken door knob the once over, his demeanor towards us changed altogether.  While escorting us through the wooden french doors, he proudly pronounced his prestige as the longest-running crew member aboard the Delta Queen.  Clabon, who shook Nick's hand and gave me a hug, was on board for the steamboat's final cruise.

While traversing the steep, antiquated pine green and floral-print carpeted staircase pointing straight towards a diamond chandelier, we were invited to coffee in the lobby.  Upon entering, it was impossible to overlook how busy the room was with bookshelves and blown-up, black & white photographs lining the walls adorned by lavish, gold frames.  Not so much with other people.

Despite the late hour, we gladly accepted his invitation.

Two cups of slowly sipped coffee later, we were well versed on the Delta Queen's reputation for housing the Navy during World War II; the rumored haunting, supposedly by the first-ever lady captain of a steamboat, Capt. Mary Greene (chairs flinging from beneath tables in deserted rooms in front of bartenders); the wild parties in the Texas Lounge, now home to The Paddlewheel Restaurant and Bar; and especially this wonderful employee's pride in working the third shift aboard the distinguished boat.

When we finally made our exit toward the room, exploration ensued.  I was mesmerized by the library of history books and novels, along with National Geographic magazines dating back to the late 19th Century.  Colorless photographs littered the shelves, full of people dressed in cocktail dresses and tuxedos sipping cocktails or posing for a portrait.

Paintings of Capt. Mary Greene and her family gave Clabon's supernatural stories some clout, just before bedtime, of course.  After reading plaques inscribed with the history surrounding us, we ventured onto the deck with a view of the artfully constructed, blue walking bridge and the Tennessee River.  Currently, the bridge is decorated with electric white snowflakes.  Their reflections, along with car lights sweeping across the water, had my eyes darting around, on the lookout for ghosts as we chatted in rocking chairs on the fourth floor of the Delta Queen.

By the time we reentered the undersized door (equipped with a real key and everything!), I was content with the limited space inside the room.  While it was rather snug, and the water for the shower had to run for 45 minutes simply to get warm, I would recommend a stay at the Delta Queen Hotel for anyone willing to forgo the luxuries of modern hotel rooms and subdue to the close quarters of an eerily interesting piece of American river history.  According to Clabon, Capt. Mary isn't too fond of technology, either, having several guests report odd incidents involving computers during their stay on the steamboat.

Did I mention you get free breakfast, too?  (It's okay, to be honest.  Maybe not five star, but, again, it's free and hot.)

Takin' a page outta Robert Frost's book...

Today, my best friend and I were headed to (often crowded) Piedmont Park for a quick trip around the lake that we've walked around too many times to count.  On our way, though, we drove past The Morningside Nature Preserve off of Lenox Rd.  With a quick flick of the blinker and a split second change of plans, we quickly discovered our newest favorite stomping ground. 

The steep, yet short hills we gradually conquered lead us beneath the power lines and eventually to a stunning far-off view of the downtown Atlanta skyline.  After crossing the valley beneath the power lines (having ventured deeper into the grass for an even better view.. don't let the shrubbery bewilder you.), we discovered an extensive path through a wooded area.  Aside from the apartments in the distance, through the trees, I felt very far from the city surrounding us.

We came across several people walking their dogs.  Or their dogs were walking them, rather.  The dogs greeted us off of leashes, with panting tongues.  (And while, personally, it does not bother me as long as I'm allowed to pet the fur balls, I have been informed this is not customary according to park regulations...)
At the site of two girls hiking, sans dogs, one bearded and bundled dog walker exclaimed, "What are you doing out here?  It's too cold!"  

 I'm hoping now that the forty degree weather was the only thing keeping the crowds from this peaceful nature preserve.  I just find it so much more intriguing to leap across rocks and feel the burn in my thighs pulling my legs uphill.  On real mud and grass and leaves.  No concrete.  Only in the most necessary areas is the Morningside park accommodated with steps and a wooden pathway.  Otherwise, it's good ol' hiking all the way around.