All the Places I've Been

In case you don't know, I love to travel. Going to new places inspires me and fuels my creative side. Sometimes, I feel like I can sense the neurons firing in my brain as I experience a new place. I also enjoy traveling because I love learning. Building my knowledge of different places does not only satisfy my curiosity but also helps me with my writing. Furthermore, traveling often provides me with opportunities to grow personally and come closer to God. I am always amazed at the great diversity that exists between people and different cultures. God has made each person unique, and each person has a story to tell. I want to see and hear the stories they have to share. Here's a summary of all the places I've been. I'll be posting more details and pictures in the future. I will also post about places I want to go as well. Here are my top 7 most notable trips/ places I have been to.

1. Niagra Falls- When I was a kid, I was blessed to have had the opportunity to see Niagra Falls from the Canadian side. The massive waterfall was awe inspiring to me. More recently, I got to see Niagra Falls from the American side. It is still an incredible sight to me even as an adult. I look forward to going back to the Canadian side again one day. This time I hope to take my daughter with me so that she can experience it too.

2. Florida- When I was a kid, my family pooled money together to send my parents and I on a trip to Florida. I got to go to Disney World, see where NASA launches it's rockets into space, and the ocean.

3. Washington DC and Alexandria Virginia- My husband and I got our engagement pictures taken in Alexandria, Virginia by a very talented family member. We enjoyed walking along the water and enjoying the beautiful area of old town Alexandria. We went back a few years later. I had to get some fingerprinting done for work in Maryland so that I could work as a virtual speech therapist. My company paid for the mileage to get down and back, so we took the opportunity to spend some time in that area as we lived several hours away. We used what was left on a general gift card to pay for a campsite at Cedarville State Forest. We had enough to cover an entire week! While we were camping there, we revisited Alexandria and went to Washington DC. I never imagined I would be able to do such a thing in my life!

4. New York City- I have been to New York City multiple times now. We have family that live in and near there. So, we are over that direction frequently.

5. Pittsburgh- I grew up going to Pittsburgh for school trips and family outings as well. I worked in Pittsburgh for a brief time as well. I come from a small-town north of Pittsburgh but when I travel and people ask me where I am from, I usually just say I am from Pittsburgh.

6. Cleveland- I grew up going to an occasional baseball game in Pittsburgh. Although they have not had the best record over the last several years, they are my favorite team. My husband likes the pirates as well, but he loves Cleveland along with his dad. We go to a baseball game with his parents every year. As such, I have had multiple opportunities to travel to Cleveland. I also went there in Highschool to the Cleveland Art Museum which I absolutely loved and hope to go back to again one day. While it is not necessarily the prettiest city, there are some places worth going to.

7. Israel and Egypt- My senior year of undergraduate school, I took a class on the archeology and geography of Israel. For the final, we had two options, 1) take a test or

   2) go on a trip to Israel and keep a journal of it. Which one would you choose? I ended up fundraising and getting a scholarship to go on the trip. The extension add-on for it was to Egypt and so my scholarship covered that as well. I am so grateful for having been able to go. While I will be posting a blog post about my trip, you can also read about it in my book Why do I Write: My Personal Testimony. Which you can purchase here.

These are the seven most notable trips/ places I have been to. I plan on posting a more detailed blog post for each one aside from the trip to Florida (That is unless I go back there!). Subscribe and follow me on social media so you don't miss out!