I love to travel, and have traveled extensively in the past four years, including my first trips outside the US.

This page is dedicated to a timeline of recent travels, with links to photos for the trips.

View a slideshow with photos from my trip to Europe. (plays music and uses flash) - click on the play button to view, if it doesn't automatically start.

 

Here's a little something I wrote in January of 2007, about why I love traveling:

Listening to Poi Dog Pondering on a very bright, moonlit night with wispy grey clouds floating atop the snow-littered mountains.

We’re once again, finally, on the road.

I’m still reading Songlines…almost finished… but in a part now where Chatwin pulls together a mess of travel notes and research about the nomadic nature of humans. He’s making the case that the true nature of human being is to be on the move. That possessions lead to corruption of the spirit. That original peoples were all nomadic, and that the root of our current depression, unending warfare, etc is that we’ve tied ourselves to land and clutter.

The Poi Dog Pondering song currently playing is along the same theme! ‘A long, long time ago, people would walk wherever they had to go.’

So I myself am pondering these ideas. I notice that one hand I want to defend the settled lifestyle – I’m living it! But, on the other, I know how much I love and crave the experience of freedom that comes with travel. And more than freedom, it’s being constantly aware of how much the universe provides for me.

I can’t find a better way of saying right now – but this is the reason I love traveling. I don’t think the constant travel life is quite right for me; I do love puttering around in my garden, and experiencing the slow and constant growth that occurs there. But every so often I do feel a strong urge to be gone from all of those every-day concerns. Meeting new people, seeing new places, just being somewhere else.

And it’s not that I’m unsatisfied with my life and home. I am extremely grateful for my home and the people I share it with. But when I’m on the road, I don’t think about the dirty dishes or bills or any of the other things that tend to give me stress. There’s restfulness in movement, in flow.

Which is how I normally live my life. For a time, I was concerned about my sanity because of how much I love being busy. I relax by cleaning the house and accomplishing things. If I sit still for too long, I feel as if I’m wasting precious time.

And yet, there’s something to be said for stillness. I respect those who are truly capable of it. But for me, I find more contentment in weeding or planting, in cooking and cleaning, in work and movement.

We’re finally on the road. And I am so grateful for the sway of the van, for the shadows and lights playing across the mountain sides, for the very bright moon dancing in the clouds.

 

Seattle and Vancouver, December of 2007

Arthur and I will spend some time in Seattle and Vancouver BC, and then continue on to spend Christmas with Arthur's mom in Grants Pass, OR. (my first real trip to Canada!)

 

Alaska Adventure, Summer of 2008

My lovely housemate Glenda and I would like to spend some time touring the beautiful wilderness of Alaska.

 

Virgin Europe Tour, April 10th to May 10th, 2007

Arthur and I spent four weeks touring ten European countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Monaco. A wonderful trip that included tours of two ecovillages and many visits with amazing people. View photos from the trip on my flickr page.

 

Western Carribean Cruise, December 10th - 17th, 2006

My mother's first time out of the states. Ports of call included New Orleans, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City, and Santo Tomas de Castilla. My mother and got to experience what I love most about traveling - throwing ourselves out into the world, letting the universe take care of us. We met many loving, wonderful people along the way, and came home with beautiful things from the Yucatan. Favorite port of call was Costa Maya, where the beaches were absolutely beautiful. View photos from the trip.

 

Holiday in the Big Apple, November 23 - 29, 2006

Arthur and I traveled to NYC to visit Timothy and his mommies. Adventures included visiting the Guggenheim, ice skating in Central Park, and the off-broadway comedy, Jewtopia.

 

Portland with Mom, September 1 - 4, 2006

Took my mother to see Portland, OR and the Pacific Northwest. We stayed at Trillium Hollow, a co-housing community, and experienced the Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, Saturday Market under Burnside Bridge, and much more.

 

Omidyar Members Conference, Chicago, July 12 - 17, 2006

We flew to Chicago to attend the O.net members conference, staying a bit with Ted Ernst and the remainder of the trip at the Carleton Hotel. Mercer and Jill joined us, and we hung out with the likes of Jean Russell and more!

 

Citizen Potawatomi Nation Reunion Festival, Oklahoma, June 21 - 26, 2006

Drove to Shawnee, Oklahoma with my mom, sister, and aunt Ida to attend my tribe's reunion festival. Camping, dancing, eating, and seeing long lost family was all included, as well as mosquito and tick bites! Ouch!

 

Las Vegas and Lake Havasu Fling, June 6 - 12, 2006

My friend Duke and I saw his brother, Colt, and his lovely wife, Gypsy, in Lake Havasu, where they are work camping. We stopped at Hoover Dam and spent two nights in Las Vegas, being treated to breakfast in bed and Zumanity. View more photos from the trip.

 

New York City, February 2-15, 2006

I spent two weeks exploring New York City and Boston, with side trips to East Hampton and upstate New York. The trip was mostly for pleasure, with scattered meetings about our currency work. I went to Spamalot, The Late Show, the Empire State Building, and much, much more.

 

West Coast Road Trip 2.0, Holidays of 2005

This three week road trip started in late December, and wrapped up the first week of January. The trip has included my first visit to Portland (which I loved), my time learning knitting, and ringing in 2006 in San Francisco.

 

Costa Rica, May 2005

Arthur and I spent two weeks in Costa Rica, meeting many fellow travelers and seeing the beaches and jungles of Costa Rica. The highlight of this trip was my jump from a 40-ft tall waterfall, where I landed badly and injured myself quite nicely. Although, the snorkeling was also nice.

 

West Coast Road Trip 1.0, May 2004

This trip was three weeks through nine states, including Washington, Oregon and California. Highlights of this trip included Crater Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Las Vegas, San Francisco (My favorite city!) and seeing a real ocean for the first time.