About us.
Hi and welcome to our travel blog! We are Dan and Rachael....travel and adventure lovers!
Well what can we say... we LOVE to travel! Whenever we have the time, we love to plan trips and go on adventures! Our favorite places to travel tend to be places that are more on the exotic side and make us feel like we got far away from home. We also try to do it as cheaply as possible, while still being comfortable (and without getting bedbugs or caught in a scam of course!) We are both very active while traveling and also we try to find fun adventures on our trips such as cool hikes, zip lining, biking etc. Since living here at the beach in San Diego we have the opportunity to relax on the beach and do nothing any weekend so on our trips we tend to be active. Additionally some blogs and podcasts don't seem to include info on fun bars or nightlife, if a city has it we will be checking it out! When in Rome! :) Lastly, we like to stay grounded on our trips by seeking out some yoga, tasty vegetarian spots to eat, and volunteering opportunities while abroad. Specifically we love animals and you can usually find us petting all the street animals we see on our tips.
We love to gather info for future trips from a variety of sources, one being podcasts. After falling asleep listening to some travel podcasts, due to being on the, well lets just say boring and not adventurous side, we came to the conclusion that we could add something to the travel podcast genre and share our travel experiences. Maybe our stories will even inspire YOU to travel to a new place!
We aren't professional travelers, we aren't professional bloggers, and we don't have a lot of money to spend on these trips; we just happen to love to travel and seek new experiences! We are not paid for any travels so all our opinions are unbiased. Our podcast is new but I hope you take a chance to give it a listen. Maybe you will find out about a new spot and get inspired to go wander around a new country...or maybe we can just make your commute a little less boring by listening to our podcast. 😀
About Rachael:
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| My Mom's first visit to California |
I'm from Pekin, Illinois (I'm sure you probably have no idea where that is... no it's not by Chicago, haha). I travel throughout the U.S. as a Travel Nurse working in different cities and changing jobs about every 4 months, and yes... I LOVE IT! I went to college in Peoria, IL and after being a staff nurse then a charge nurse for 2.5 years in Peoria I had some big life changes and decided I needed a different scenery. I applied for my California Nursing licensure and got a job as soon as that was approved! My first job was in Walnut Creek, CA where I didn't know anyone. I was nervous, but excited to dive into the unknown. I lived alone for the first time in my life, in a completely unfamiliar city. Also, I had decided to leave my car behind in Illinois so I purchased a bike as my mode of transportation. This also forced me to became a semi-pro at navigating BART and how to get around the Bay area.
I am so grateful that I faced my fears and took this opportunity as it has completely transformed my life and forced me out of my shell into the adventurous, outgoing, inquisitive person I am today. After meeting some of the most amazing friends it was so hard to leave the East Bay, I stayed for a year until I couldn't stay any longer according to travel nursing tax laws and headed to Southern California where I met this weird guy named Dan. 😉 We met and by the need of that night we already had nerded out on travel talk and planned a trip over beers! So I worked for a while in San Diego on a Per Diem basis, mainly just an excuse to soak up sunshine on the beach. We finally narrowed down a trip! Dan wanted to goto Myanmar so we went on our first big trip together to South East Asia. Since then I've worked in Oakland, Minneapolis, the Los Angeles area, and Denver, along with a Medical Mission trip as a Nurse in Ghana, Africa. Also I've continued to learn and grow as a person these past few years and For example, I became a vegetarian in February of 2016 when I adventured to Dim Sum with one of my best friends that I made while in California. This friend was always introducing to me to the most delicious Asian foods! Well, after seeing/hearing someone bite into a chickens foot I was completely disgusted and decided I was officially making the change that I had been thinking about for years. She felt terrible about my experience, but accepts my decision haha.
Since then I can say my only regret is not making this life change sooner, as I feel healthier as a person and never feel guilty about my food choices. I love to cook and love to try and new vegetarian recipes. My favorites include tofu eggs and tempeh bacon, anything that can go into a burrito shell and I eat a lot of salads loaded with any and all veggies. My weakness is Trader Joe's cookie butter... I blame dan for introducing me.😏
My favorite things in life are Family, close friends, and adventures.
To this day My top three countries I've traveled to include: Oman, Myanmar, and Ghana. These are mostly based off of the wonderful experiences I had with locals during my travel. I also love the kindness of strangers, especially when in an unknown environment. This kindness always makes experiences and trips that much better!
About Dan:
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Weekends are made for being active and outside!
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I'm from Arizona where he lived in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tempe. After college, I wanted to see more of the world and somehow get paid so I taught English in Japan. During this time I would just fill my backpack and hop on the train and travel solo each weekend to new cities. Not knowing anyone forces you out of your comfort zone let me tell you! I also learned to love travel and many different cultures. After Japan, the beaches and amazing weather of San Diego, California called my name and that's were I currently live.
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| Secretly looking for places to pee not at mtns. |
I enjoy doing anything active especially hiking, biking, exploring, and I also enjoy anything that involves being in the sunshine! On a weekend I'm usually at the beach, off on a hike somewhere or checking out a festival. I truly love going new places and having experiences!
To me, experiences are so much more valuable than material possessions. I also love traveling to countries where I look like no one else and it is me who stands out.
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| I told you I like goofy hats |
While traveling I also enjoy applying copious amounts of sunscreen to myself, which I cant quite get rubbed in. Other favorite activities of mine while traveling are drinking gallons of water, locating everywhere that I can stop to pee, wearing goofy safari hats to embarrass Rachael, and talking to any locals that I can. I credit my parents with inspiring me to always stay curious and explore! Thanks mom and dad! ❤
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| I like 7-11 nachos |
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| I make friends with any local I can |
My favorite countries I've been
to so far:
1. Japan
2. Myanmar
3.India
4. Sri Lanka
5. Oman
And if you haven't booked an AirBnB on one of your trips, book through our link, which gives you and us both a $20 credit towards your first stay. www.airbnb.com/c/imnotlostt
Interesting and well written....keep it going..george g.
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