After passing through five major airports in one week, the world as we know it changed.

After taking some time off from storytelling, and processing my last few years of experiences & conversations, I have found myself renewed, aligned and more passionate than ever about the cross-section of culture, travel, education, and women of all ages, and how we can explore & learn together. Travel Oracles, let’s begin…

With roughly 1 in 4 American students having participated in a climate change protest, and the millions around the world who marched in solidarity with Swedish teen activist Greta Thurnberg recently, the kids - burdened with the mess older generations have made - are taking charge and definitely alright.

Our culture continues to be starved for real connection and generational relationships that would impart the cultural & experiential wisdom we so desperately need. Why does the West still fight this fact and perpetuate stereotypes? With an aging population - lead by women, who are more active than ever and wield more spending power - we have an opportunity to harness the power of experience.

With the return of HBO’s ‘Deadwood’ movie, it had me thinking about why I connected with the series in the first place and how it reminded me of family in Cripple Creek, Colorado

If you follow my writing, you know that I have recently spent a considerable amount of time traveling around the Southwest over the past few years. While it’s true I spent my childhood summers in Colorado and New Mexico to see family - miles away from where I grew up in Western Canada - to visit my wonderful Grandmother and family friends, but did not understand how deep our roots went here - and in America - until research and genetic revelations much later in adulthood. It’s funny how some places have always felt so familiar, without logical explanation.

Exciting news to share today: I have a newly upgraded monthly travel newsletter AND I will be joining Conde Nast Traveler’s inaugural #WomenWhoTravel group trip to Bermuda!

It turns out that hospitality - from boutique hotels to vacation homes - are proving to be the ideal showcase for many talented designers around the country, amateurs and professionals alike, offering spectacular and unique results.

I recently co-hosted the Lux Travel Chat on Twitter, and we discussed what people are looking for in terms of experiences, to connect with local culture. Turns out, this is a high priority for many of you, so it’s no wonder programs like Airbnb’s Experiences or EatWith dining packages are booming.

I’ve recently had some friends in Canada and the UK look at me incredulously when I mention the multiple cities I have lived in, so I explained how America differs in terms of mobility.

I find myself at the tipping point of frustration with the lack of travel executives not speaking up in support of others

It’s been a year of spontaneous road trips to places new & old, conversations with locals & business owners, education, activism, and creative adventures in trying to capture it all.

Is medical tourism a thing? Turns out it is and business is booming. Looking beyond American boarders to find healthcare systems in other countries that are equally as good — if not better — than what you get at home for a fraction of the price, and countries that specialize in areas ranging from hip replacements to fertility to plastic surgery.

In 2011, I was given the greatest travel editorial assignment ever: I covered seven festivals across Canada in partnership with Destination Canada and The New Yorker.

After traveling abroad for so many years, my last few have been consumed with domestic travel in America, exploring its many people, regions and landscapes. This is such a large nation, filled with so many different aspects of culture and landscapes, exploring your own back yard may continually surprise you, as it has me

As an avid reader (and previous literature major), I love roaming grand libraries and tiny used bookstores – don’t you?

If you follow this blog, or any of my social channels, then you know I am prone to road trips anywhere and everywhere. I find them to be the best way to connect with a country, to understand its many nuances, landscape and people. Given our current political upheaval in America, I have also found them to be a form of re-connection, and incredibly freeing. So here are some notes from the road trip.

To my fellow travel lovers, writers, bloggers, photographers and more: given our love of learning when it comes to people and places, can’t we be doing more to highlight issues that need attention and also give back to organizations trying to make the world a better place?

Walking around a city with no particular destination is one of the best travel experiences. Immersing yourself in the sights, sounds, feel of a place yet undiscovered will often tune you into yourself again. So let’s go get lost…

This week we lost a giant. Not just the incredible storyteller, traveler, host, author and chef, but a man of integrity, authenticity and originality who moved around the world with ease, connecting with people from all walks of life. Anthony Bourdain, you will be greatly missed.