Chasing Freedom \u2013 A Journey Across Continents & Within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travel is more than a journey through places\u2014it\u2019s a journey into myself. Every destination has a spark, a reminder of who I am and who I\u2019m becoming. From sipping Sancerre and eating p\u00e2t\u00e9 in the vineyards of Chablis to truffle hunting in Tuscany with four generations of my family, including my 88-year-old grandfather and my twenty-something sons, I\u2019ve felt the deep resonance of life\u2019s interconnectedness. These moments are more than memories; they\u2019re proof of life\u2019s beauty, spontaneity, and freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve stood on the untamed tundra of Alaska at Winterlake Lodge, sharing stories with DeeDee, a legendary dog musher who has run the Iditarod more than twenty times. Her grit and grace mirrored the wildness of the lakes and land surrounding us. I\u2019ve wandered through tea plantations in Sri Lanka, where serendipitous encounters with strangers turned into profound, heartfelt exchanges. Whether in the open Serengeti of Kenya, the quiet charm of Prince Edward Island, or the icy marvel of Kiruna\u2019s Ice Hotel, I am reminded of freedom\u2019s essence: it\u2019s not just a place\u2014it\u2019s a feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sense of freedom carries me across continents, a wanderlust that propels me forward. Is it about running away from something or toward something? I wonder if I\u2019ll ever truly know. What I do know is that these experiences stitch together a patchwork of gratitude and purpose. As I anticipate closing in on my goal of visiting all seven continents\u2014Australia and Antarctica this December and February\u2014I can\u2019t help but reflect on the why. Why do I need to explore, to connect, to feel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps it\u2019s because travel offers clarity, stripping away life\u2019s noise and revealing the raw, untamed truth of existence. Whether I\u2019m sitting in hours of traffic in China while tombs are being cleaned on the way to the Great Wall, counting tunnels in Croatia with my husband, seeing bullet holes in buildings in Bosnia, or meeting remarkable women on a walkabout in Bali, there\u2019s an undeniable sense of kismet in these moments. Am I blessed and grateful? Yes, deeply. But gratitude isn\u2019t passive\u2014it\u2019s a responsibility. It\u2019s about utilizing these experiences in the most beautiful way possible, honoring them, and letting them transform me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With every step on foreign soil, every glass of wine shared with family, and every unplanned meeting that feels like destiny, I feel humbled by life’s vastness and empowered by my role in it. Life may be larger than me, but I am the one charting my path, chasing freedom, connection, and meaning. For now, that is enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chasing Freedom \u2013 A Journey Across Continents & Within. Travel is more than a journey through places\u2014it\u2019s a journey into myself. Every destination has a spark, a reminder of who I am and who I\u2019m becoming. From sipping Sancerre and eating p\u00e2t\u00e9 in the vineyards of Chablis to truffle hunting in Tuscany with four generations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,29,27,40,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-empowerment","category-personal-contemplation","category-reflection","category-storytelling","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=871"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":875,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions\/875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/prolificpreambles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}