I hardly consider myself a great world traveler, but I love to travel and have been to a lot of places considering I got a late start. Until my sophomore year in college, I’d been to a total of six states, all in the northeastern USA. Now I’ve been to all 50 states, eight Canadian provinces, Mexico, and 25 other countries in Europe and South America.

I’m always either on a trip or planning the next one. In 2017 I took a four-week tour to Argentina and Chile, focusing on Patagonia and the Andes, plus excursions to Rapa Nui, Iguazu Falls, and Rio de Janeiro, and I followed that with a more relaxing vacation in Tepoztlán and Mexico City. Next up: a road trip to Yellowstone National Park, a two-week getaway to Costa Rica, and a four-week adventure in eastern Germany, Czechia, and Poland next spring.

See the trips I’ve taken

Why I started this blog

Me at Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, 2017

When I’m not traveling, I work. Because I have to.

I am a software architect at a digital marketing agency in Seattle. I’ve been with my company for over ten years, and I’m now maxed out at 20 days of paid vacation. I try to use as much of that as possible for seeing the world, but since I have family on the east coast, I usually end up having to use some to visit them.

When I’m not traveling or working, I’m busy supporting the arts in Seattle, playing duplicate bridge or pub trivia, and finding new places to hike in the city or surroundings.

Visit my web site

See my list of favorite travel blogs and websites

Read my other blog, “Lane Speaking”

Ten facts about me

  1. I grew up in Massapequa, Long Island, New York State, United States of America.
  2. Until I was in college, I’d never been outside the northeast United States.
  3. Until I was in college, I’d never flown on an airplane.
  4. I love architecture. When I was in high school, I planned to be an architect.
  5. I love music. When I was in college, I switched my major from architecture to music. I have Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees in music. For about 20 years I taught music at the high school and college levels.
  6. I don’t do music anymore, except for my own personal enjoyment. I work in computer technology.
  7. I’ve been in all fifty of the United States, to eight Canadian provinces, Mexico, and 22 countries in Europe.
  8. I prefer traveling alone over tours with large groups of other tourists. When I’m traveling, I love to seek out opportunities for solitude. (I don’t always succeed at that.)
  9. I love to walk. When traveling, I often walk rather than taking buses or taxis.
  10. I love to write. This blog and some short fiction are the products of this love.

Countries I’ve visited

(In chronological order)

  1. Canada
  2. France
  3. Switzerland
  4. Germany
  5. Austria
  6. Hungary
  7. England
  8. Wales
  9. Liechtenstein
  10. Italy
  11. Ireland
  12. Mexico
  13. Denmark
  14. Sweden
  15. Estonia
  16. Finland
  17. Iceland
  18. Croatia
  19. Slovenia
  20. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  21. Montenegro
  22. Belgium
  23. Netherlands
  24. Norway
  25. Chile
  26. Argentina
  27. Brazil
  28. Costa Rica
  29. Czechia
  30. Poland

 

The map above is not meant to show every single city I’ve ever been to. It’s a representative list of the towns, villages, and cities I’ve visited with some intention, not just as a place to pass through or spend the night. And I don’t include all the suburban communities and small day-trip destinations I may have hit while living in or on a trip to a major city.

These are the airports where I’ve landed or taken off, even if they were merely layovers on the way to somewhere else.