Dear 2015,
Thank you for the opportunities you presented me, both professionally and personally. While I spent way too much time on airplane for business, you helped me reach a milestone and personal goal of visiting my 6th continent. What a magical adventure! Australia and New Zealand were otherwordly and breathtaking. On the home front, work brought me some great clients, interesting projects, good colleagues, and more travel. It was a great year, filled with health, happiness, and love. I wish you, 2015, good bye. May 2016 be as kind and obliging and bring me more opportunities for travel, continued health and prosperity for me and my loved ones.
My deepest wish is for everyone to have safety, access to healthy food, useful endeavors to occupy the body and mind, and a willingness to accept others. May 2016 shine on all of us with good fortune, tolerance, and wisdom.
peace, love, and travel
the Map Pin Junkie
My 2015 travel recap in a few photos. As a reminder, these images are mine and protected by all applicable copyrights.
It's
that time of year when we exchange gifts to celebrate Christmas,
Hanukkah, or just the joy we feel towards friends and family.
Most travelers I know make a point of keeping a travel journal close at hand during any and all adventures. Day 11 gives you a few journal options to choose from so you can pick the right one for your traveler. With iPads and cell phones available you may wonder why I recommend an analog way of keeping notes. Well, there is nothing like sitting in a far away place surrounded by strange smells, unusual faces, hearing foreign tongues, and writing it all down. The scratch of pencil on paper, the smell of the pages, tucking a train ticket stub between the pages....these are all tactile things you cannot get from an iGadget.
So, consider giving your traveler a beautiful journal. One of my favorites is the leather wrap journal from Leatherology, $85. Available in three colors, it has ivory pages with raw, unfinished edges. You can write in it, affix travel ephemera, or sketch what you see from that cafe chair. When you are finished with the day's thoughts, wrap the leather cord around the cover to keep your memories for another day.
If you don't want to give leather, there are some great options from Moleskine or just head to your local Barnes and Noble and check out their wall of journals.
Happy Gift Giving!!
