Well, Hello There!

Hello, world. I have a feeling that we're going to be getting to know each other much better in the coming years...

I guess the obligatory introduction is in order. I'm Hali, a recent graduate of a small college in Colorado. After some bizarre twists of fate (a wedding dress in storage and box full of save-the-dates), I decided to set out to see what lies beyond my back yard.

My interests are pretty standard. I enjoy reading... EVERYTHING. I also really enjoy cooking, but mostly eating. My foodie-nerddom comes honestly, I've worked in the food service industry since I was nineteen (Anthony Bourdain, you are my god). Also, I will jump at pretty much any opportunity to see a beautiful place. Whether that's via raft, horse, rock wall, bike, skis, etc, I'll go for it. Well, within reason. I don't have a death wish.

Speaking of which, I'm from one of the most beautiful places on Earth: Crested Butte, Colorado. CB is the kind of place that people visit and never leave, and for a long time I thought I might be one of them. Of course, graduating with an English degree doesn't really open a ton of doors in a town of two thousand where people are clamoring for even minimum wage jobs.

So, what to do? No longer encumbered by a fiancé, I've decided to do the best thing for anyone in my situation. Get. The. Heck. Out. Luckily, I have a glut of wonderful options of where to travel. These are the two that I'm pursuing first.

1) Houston. Say what you will, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States. It is the most diverse city in America (if I can take my friend Steven's word for it) and hosts some of the most fabulous fine art (ballet, symphony, museums, etc) in the country. My father also happens to live there, so that's the first stop on my journey. I'm going to take some time to clear my head, gear up, and play before I head off on the real adventure to....

2) Jordan. No, not Jordan, Montana. Lawrence of Arabia Jordan. I am blessed to have an aunt who married a wonderful Jordanian man. I have multiple relatives in the country, so not only do I get to travel to an amazing place, it's also a family reunion of sorts. I am being given the opportunity to travel with a group of journalists around the country for a period of time as a quasi internship, which I'm absolutely THRILLED about. Eventually I would love to travel and write as an actual job, so I'm psyched to have the opportunity to pick the brains of people who do it for a living.

So now that I've set up some expectations for you, I'll set some for me.

I will blog every day until May 25 (unless I don't have an internet connection, in which case I'll post multiple blogs to make up the difference when I'm connected again), which is my return to Crested Butte. The blogs will go over what I'm packing, what I'm reading, my freak outs, my successes, etc. At the end of this trip, I'll be plotting my next adventure...

Here's a link to one of my inspirations that I've been playing relentlessly. It's great packing music. A little Gogol Bordello... goes a long way.

Cheers!
Hali