I was at a meeting a few weeks back. As an “ice breaker” the meeting organizer had us go around the table, introduce ourselves and tell us about our most exotic vacation.

I’ve been on a few cruises and spent the day in places like Cartagena Columbia when cocaine ruled that country and soldiers with automatic rifles guarded the mayor’s office. Wild shit, but hardly exotic. People had spent a month in The Amazon, or Bali or Vietnam. A lot of these people had spent more than a day or a week in these exotic locals. I felt like the country bumpkin who never got off the farm.

I had to dig deep and get creative to come up with something even mildly interesting to the room full of world travelers. I decided to go with my destination marathon, The Bay of Fundy International Marathon in Lubec Maine. Now Maine is hardly an exotic local, but I got to tell my story about running through the border check points on both the US and Canadian sides, twice! I don’t think anyone in the room that night was heading off to Downeast Maine anytime soon but I did manage to get everyone to laugh and they asked some good questions. I’d call that a success, even though my story was as local and non-exotic as you can get.

I do not travel very much but I enjoy reading travel related blogs. I’ve collected some of my favorite travel blogs here. Take a peek at them and see if they spin up your wonder lust.

Travel Blogs

Stretching Into Infinity is written by a Melbourne based teacher who posts photos from her global travels. Her blog is very well-organized. You can look at photos from her home town, or go to “Places” and see her collections of photos from the countries she has traveled to. Her “Photos” page has a seemingly endless stream of very well done photos.

Another favorite is The British Isles are the limit, but soon the world!. Dan and Gemma write about their travels throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Their posts always include great photos of the locations they visit and a history of the area and major buildings. They also write about English history, the Scottish Referendum and such. It’s not all travel articles.

They did a series “Faith & The British” where they highlighted the cathedrals, churches and Abbeys in their travels. As an American I always find it fascinating when Dan and Gemma reference a building first built in 900, rebuilt in 1050, bombed by the Germans in 1941 etc. I love the history and the rich details they provide.

They also have pages where you can learn about the different regions of the UK, overseas territories and the Republic of Ireland. Where they have visited locations in a county or country they have a link to their blog post for that area.

If you are fascinated by English history or are planning a trip to the UK, this is a great site to check out.

A traveler in the Northeast US is My Travels North. In this new blog, David Medici chronicles his travels in the Adirondacks of New York State, and New England. He always has great photos and provides information for those of us who are interested in camping and the great outdoors, but might need a little advice.

Bucket List Publications is written by Lesley Carter. She chronicles her travels and adventures to 44 countries! She always engages in interesting activities to numerous to list here, and includes some great photography of her travels as well.

Pro Active Outside is mainly about hiking and mountain climbing. Bob writes about safety in the outdoors as well as hikes and climbs he has made. I’m pretty sure that I found Bob’s blog through one of his posts on running. Bob Doucette uses a lot of great photos and offers advice on gear for your adventures into the Great Outdoors. Bob has been “Freshly Pressed” and after reading a few of his posts you will see why.

The Friendly Giraffe has traveled the world. Several times over it seems. She recently had a baby but still manages to get in quite a bit of traveling. Those of you who travel with, or plan to travel with infants, might pick up a tip or two from her. The rest of you will enjoy reading of her adventures and cultural experiences as well as her great photography.

There are hundreds of thousand of travel blogs out there. I have been lucky enough to discover these writers and wanted to share my wealth with all of you. Sometimes it is difficult to read their travel posts while I’m sitting in my home with no big plans in the works. But I can’t resist!

Live well my Friends,

Andy

© 2014 anagelin