Let us introduce ourselves to our new community members! As this is a new platform for you all to share your travel stories and ask questions, we would like to do the same! I am an admin of this group and cannot wait to hear more of your stories and answer more of your questions. I hope everyone who takes the time to share feels comfortable doing the same with each other over time.
I would like to start off by discussing where we are from, the East Coast! Born and raised in one of Ohio's most visited tourism locations, we found passion in the outdoors growing up as kids. As it holds lots of beauty and many things to appreciate, we also found passion in adventure. We were tour guides! We were in the tourism industry for many years and still are. As our jobs were our passion, in nature every day and educating others.... it became more of a job, and less of a home. We went to school for the outdoors, I in Eco-Tourism and Adventure Travel and your other Admin, Lucy, Outdoor Recreation and Education. After years in the industry and meeting new people everyday, we made lots of friends and memories along the way. We became friends over time and as our friendship grew, we built a home together. A tiny home we built, right in the center of our passions, a place to be able to always come back to. With this in mind, we also knew there was more out there just at our fingertips. We just never made ourselves do it, in the back of our minds I think we believed we would only make it if we stayed where we were doing what we were doing.
We had found home within our job initially, as it was out doors, much of what we love... again we knew we always wanted more... Though many things to see in the nature that surrounded us each and everyday, the beauty in wildlife and the changing of seasons and colors. The atmosphere we were in made us feel stuck, often times without room to grow. We found ourselves putting more time into that, than we did ourselves. Often times neglecting the new things we wanted to see, the places we always dreamt of discovering. Without the opportunity for growth, and our longing for more, our longing for travel and exploring, we woke up one day and decided to quit our jobs.
We dreamed for ages of all the places we wanted to go, though we'd mainly traveled the east coast, hiking, kayaking, adventuring, from Ohio, to West Virginia, and the Carolinas. We'd at kids, realize nature is where we felt at best, I did anyway. I always found myself outside, I'd taken small vacations to Louisiana, or Florida and always long for more places to go and see. We would attempt to travel in our off time as much as possible, but it became difficult with the amount of time we'd spend working instead. When I did get the time to plan a trip, I loved every moment of planning, the research that went into it, and right down to the good stuff, camping, hiking, packing, I loved putting detail into the adventures that awaited me. It was a way to know the unknown was out there waiting to be seen. But we finally got to create the plan of our dreams when we woke up and quit our jobs, we had had enough of that feeling that caused us much dismay... We planned for a month before we left. We decided to start in somewhat familiar territory and headed toward NC, we planned a road trip from NC along the bottom of the states hitting as many National Parks as possible, knowing our end would be in the PNW.
Part of our planning process began by exploring new opportunities in the many different places we wanted to travel. We both discovered job opportunities within our field of work, in the PNW and as Lucy is educating younglings in the outdoors everyday I stumbled upon a seasonal job as another adventure guide for the time being. This plan had progressed as we fell in love with all of the places we explored into something much more for me. I want to share these experiences with others and help others see the world. There is so much out there, and we are often times only subject to "our own back yard" to see every day...
That is where this business and platform comes into play. As we have a "Home" back in Ohio, we know we can do what we love now, putting ourselves out there, out of our comfort zones, gaining more knowledge and experiences in all of the places we go. I love guiding people through this world. I love helping others discover their love and passions. Especially in the outdoors. I want nothing more than for others to be able to do the same. And I want nothing more than for those fearful of the unknown to know it is okay to push past your comfort zone and take the plunge, the risk to succeed. As it is okay to take the risk and fail doing what you do love, as you can also fail at doing what you don't love. I was failing in a college degree I was attempting to obtain doing something I did not want to do. It was only when I went with my passion that I found success. And with success comes failure, but lessons to learn and to me with that there is only room to grow.
So with that and more to our travels... We worked our way to White Sands National Park in AZ up the East Coast, visiting places like San Diego, the lovely beaches, and food and wildlife. To the Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, Red Woods, and Crater Lake. We stopped many times to hike and soak up the beauty and adventure that was now at our feet. Though we have reached our opportunities that awaited us where we are in the PNW,w e are discovering more where we are now. It is amazing what happens when we don't limit ourselves. I suppose where we've landed now you can call us weekend warriors. But it is only temporary. The idea of staying in one place and exploring it for as long as possible while making money doing things your love and meeting new faces and places seems ideal to me.
I hope this community allows others to continue to share their stories as they go, and inspires new comers to continue to do what they love doing. As we will continue to do that same. Thank you all for taking the time to share and thank you for taking the time to listen and ask questions.
What does the word "Home" mean to you?
Alway, Travel Far Adventure Hard.