As a small-town girl, I always dreamed of seeing the world. We dream constantly, with aspirations higher than the clouds, yet too often our dreams never become reality. My family didn’t have much, but my parents made the most of our childhood—which I know couldn’t have been easy, hauling around a bunch of little girls. They took us on trips, mainly to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee—a place I still love to visit today, full of fond memories. (I’ll share more about Dollywood in an article to come.)
Traveling wasn’t something I took for granted. I remember being surprised when a classmate told me they had never even been to the town over. Until then, I had thought all families traveled. We were lucky—our parents managed to save money to give us experiences that shaped our childhoods. I didn’t fully appreciate the sacrifices they made until I got older.
Those trips planted a love of exploration in me that has never faded. Seeing new places and experiencing different ways of life made my world feel bigger and more exciting. I remember stumbling across a café called “Roadkill Café”—probably a spot many would pass by—but my dad and I went in. If I recall correctly, we just got a milkshake, though I can’t remember for sure. Still, we couldn’t see a place like that and not stop, even if the whole family didn’t come inside.
My love of travel comes from my mother, and it’s one of the reasons I’m starting this website. Growing up, we would sit and talk about places we wanted to see. My mother often spoke of Ireland and Maine—places she had always dreamed of visiting. Hearing her describe them made me want to go there too. She painted them as exciting and beautiful, even though she had never seen them herself.
Over the past few years, I have begun turning my dreams into reality. I haven’t traveled to as many places as I hope to yet, but I plan to change that. None of this—my travels, this website—would be possible without God’s grace. I owe all of it to Him and everything He has made. His beauty surrounds us if we only take the time to notice it, and for me, that awareness deepens every time I travel.
So, welcome to my website. Here, I share my stories of travel—from quiet backroads to beyond—celebrating the journey, the discovery, and the joy of seeing the world.
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