The Intrepid Introvert

Travel

Since 2016, I’ve made it my mission to visit somewhere sunny and warm in February. This year: Los Angeles!

Mar 2

Mar 2 Intrepid Traveler Destination: South Africa!

Activities, Travel

Two Februarys in Florida taught me how important it is for my spirit that I get away during the dreariest of months. I struggled to decide where I’d want to go in 2019. Finally, I found the right destination, and two weeks venturing to South Africa with a group of young professionals ticked all the right boxes.

Jan 31

Jan 31 New Year, New Adventures, New Possibilities

I roll my eyes a bit in early January when the two sides of the To Resolve or Not To Resolve camp duke it out in the battle for our new year mindset.

I personally choose to use the time to set goals for myself. The time of year may be arbitrary, yes, but we do use a calendar, so why not use it? I like to look back over the year, take time to remember some of the things I did or experienced, and acknowledge the path I took to get to December 31.

Apr 4

Apr 4 Week 44: From High Tea to Gatsby: New Zealand’s North Island, Part 1 [Score +67]

New Zealand is 8,200 miles from my home in the Midwestern United States. Before January of this year, I let that distance keep me from seriously considering making a trip there myself. I told myself, “Some day I’ll do it." Apparently, what I needed was the right carrot dangled in front of me: an invitation to join two friends who have visited multiple times and could share their familiarity with me. On February 13, I landed in Auckland, New Zealand, and my first-ever two-week vacation began.

Mar 25

Mar 25 Week 44: I Canceled Plans Six Months in the Making... and Went to New Zealand!

I had plans to spend the month of February—escaping Indiana's miserable winter—in sunny Jacksonville, FL. That all changed on January 4 when I got a text from my friend, Schuyler: “I’ve been thinking. Regardless how intrepid you want 2018 to be, you should find two weeks between mid-Jan and mid-March and connect with us in New Zealand.” Hold. The. Phone.

Dec 23

Dec 23 Week 36: A New Spa Experience: Floatation Therapy [Score +16]

Imagine a feeling of complete weightlessness, of floating in a completely dark space, and the loudest sound you hear is that of your own breath. Now make it blissful: this space of peace and quiet and relaxation is all yours, uninterrupted by beeps, dings, messages, conversation, or cries for a full hour. I’ve been there. It exists. It’s called floatation therapy, and I tried it.

Aug 2

Aug 2 Week 19: Nicaraguan Vacation

I spent my final few days in Nicaragua acting the part of a woman on vacation: exploring colonial cities, taking boat tours, floating in crater lakes, and sipping fresh juices. But Nicaragua's reality was never far away.

Jul 21

Jul 21 Week 18: Two Uncomfortable Nights in Matagalpa

I felt I had some advantages on my trip to Nicaragua since I was friends with our leader. But separating from the group had its disadvantages, as well, which I learned quickly on our two nights in the city of Matagalpa.

Jul 16

Jul 16 Week 17: Three Schools. Three Days. One Tired (But Happy) Introvert.

Over the course of three days, our Alianza Advocates volunteer group visited three different schools in the campo on four occasions. One school was held in a standard building provided by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education. One was a new facility built by the Project Alianza team. One was a private building provided by the farm owner himself for the kids living on his farm.

Jul 9

Jul 9 Week 17: Three Slices of Life in Nicaragua

The campo. The bustling, working-class city. The colonial tourist destination. Over the course of my one week in Nicaragua, I spent time in each of these representative areas of the country. The result? I had both relaxing and uncomfortable moments but came away with a greater appreciation and understanding of the realities of Nicaraguan life than I would have if left to my own devices.

Jul 3

Jul 3 Week 16: An Intrepid Expedition: Nicaragua [Score +62]

I enjoy traveling and exploring new places, but I generally keep it on the conservative side of the adventurous scale. So when I decided to go to Nicaragua this summer, my friends’ and family’s jaws dropped open, eyebrows shot up, and “What?!” was the first word out of their mouths.

Jul 3

Jul 3 Setting the Scene: Nicaragua

Activities, Travel

Rather than try to fill my stories with informational background, I’ll instead share some interesting and helpful information here to use as a resource. Ready to learn about Nicaragua?

Jun 10

Jun 10 Week 13: A ‘Very Strenuous’ Venture Underground: Mammoth Cave Road Trip (Part 3) [Score +9]

Our grand finale at Mammoth Cave National Park: seeing inside the cave itself, what we’d been waiting and planning for for months.

Jun 4

Jun 4 Week 13: Road Trip! We Made it to Mammoth Cave (Part 2) [Score +7]

Rainbows, Corvettes, sinkholes, caves, hikes, and thunderstorms, oh my! Day 2 of our Mammoth Cave National Park road trip had a little bit of everything.

Apr 16

Apr 16 Week 7: In the Matrix at the FedEx World Hub [Score +10]