Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Disasters heard around the world.

It's no surprise that when something earth shattering or tragic happens, the whole world hears about it.  When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, LA you could not go anywhere without hearing about it--which is also another place I love to explore.  Disastrous earthquakes hit Haiti--horrid flooding tore through Queensland, Australia--a revolution began in Cairo, Egypt.  Events we will most likely never forget about.

Adding to the list--we have the horribly tragic earthquakes of New Zealand.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-zealand-earthquake-christchurch

The link talks about the level of devistation that has occured.

I always find it heart breaking to hear about anything like this, but especially the Australia and New Zealand area.  I only spent a few hours in New Zealand on a lay over, but I met some very nice New Zealand Natives while on my flight and in the air port.  They remind me a lot of the friendly Australians I encountered.  Australia was such a charming place for me, and I did spend quite some time in Queensland making the flooding issues very personal to me.  Just thinking about another disaster happening in that general area of the Southern Hemisphere makes my heart ache for them.

Keep this place in your thoughts and prayers; there really are amazing things yearning to be discovered there with some friendly, welcoming people.

Monday, February 21, 2011

So what does that mean?

Well if the few of you who may be reading this are a bit curious as to the name behind the blog, let me take a few moments to explain.

When you look up the word, "destination," in a dictionary you will find that it means the end point of a journey, the final stop.  So does that mean I plan to go one place and stop traveling?  No, so maybe I would toy with the idea of the word, "locations," it could be a little less permanent.  Wrong.  Location is more permanent, a place where you want to establish a home or want to stay in one place for a really long time if not forever.  One place?  Oh yeah that's boring.  I was trying to fish around for a word or phrase that could really cover what I wanted this blog to encompass about traveling in general and my love to travel.  I really had no luck.

So an, "infinite destination?"  Well we don't need to be a math genius to understand that infinite and infinity mean continuous, non-stop, no true end in site.  In my mind, I plan to never stop traveling--of course money permitting will cause me to take a few breaks in between each place I travel to.  I feel there is so much to see out there, how could you pick just one destination?  Only one end to a journey, only one final stop.  I want to see so many places, it's ridiculous, of course my destinations will be infinite--a continuous, non-stop journey that hopefully has no end in site (at least not any time soon).

It may seem corny or silly--but that is what I mean by calling my blog, "The Infinite Destination."  There are too many places to see, to experience to say that one place is enough.  And chances are you will find a place you fall in love with and will be dying to go back to, I know I have.

Friday, February 18, 2011

A one on one interview.

Today we are getting up close and not too personal with a new-comer to this blogging community and why they have decided to join!

Date:  Friday, February 18, 2011
Location:  Some place in the Northeast experiencing the effects of global warming on this abnormal warm day.
Who:  Caitlin, our newest blogger.

An interview with Caitlin, by Caitlin.

Q:  Let's start this simple, who in the world are you?
A:  Well good afternoon to you as well, my name is Caitlin.  I'm just an average girl pursuing a degree, enjoying life and having fun.

Q:  What brings you to this realm called blogging?
A:  I've been a skeptic for a long time, seeing how people abuse the idea of blogging by venting about feelings, emotions, and that their life sucks.  I have never particularly enjoyed those types of entries, so depressing and invasive to my thoughts, not a great way to lighten a mood.  After some time though, I stumbled across blogs randomly or ones friends have written that have been informative, inspiring, and just fun, so hey--why not join!

Q:  And what do you plan to enlighten us on with your subject of choice?
A:  TRAVELING!  Oh, who doesn't love a good traveling blog?  Yes there are many out there, and maybe one day I'll define mine apart from the rest, but right now this is for my own traveling enjoyment.  I want to capture my memories, future plans, and maybe inspire someone to travel somewhere out of their comfort zone.

Q:  Anything you want to focus on?
A:  Well, maybe I'll target it towards my age group, you know--those broke college kids and broke post grads.  We all need a get-a-way now and then, but sometimes some are through the roof with prices.  I've been fortunate to travel a lot while I have been in my undergrad education, and have found affordable ways to do so.  If I keep this blog for sometime, maybe I'll evolve it to fit my life as I continue on--when I can afford elaborate vacations thinking I'm only spending pocket change.  But mostly, let's focus on my love and excitement of traveling.

Q:  You're favorite destination as of today?
A:  Hands down, Australia.  Beautiful, amazing, and welcoming country.  The culture is so different and similar to the USA, and you will always have a great story to tell the next day.  This is where I feel I truly found my love of traveling, and caught that very contagious "travel bug," you hear so many people talk about.  While I was there, I really just felt free and completely content.  So thank you, Australia, for being such a turning point in who I am today.

Q:  What inspires you to travel?
A:  Oh, too many things to even begin to count!  So many different cultures and pieces of history out there in our world, there is no way I can go on day dreaming about it, I must see it!  I also have friends to visit who live out of state, as well as family members.  I think our world is so beautiful that if you don't ever leave any farther than your home town and your comfort level, you never really get to live.

Q:  Never get to live, really? That seems controversial.
A:  True, good point I bring to myself.  Yes you can live your life to the fullest staying in the same old place your whole life.  You can experience many things, flourish in family and friends, and be remarkably happy with everything you have done.  It could be a great life in the eyes of someone who does this, but would they ever wonder?  Would they wonder if they missed out on a turning point in world history?  Would they wonder if they missed out on some wild, risky experience in another state or country?  Would they always feel that the world is a mystery?  Personally I would not be able to handle living with all these "what if," questions.  So yes, I truly believe to fully live every second of your life you have, go out and see the world.  This is your only life you have, make every second count.  You'll look back and smile, and be so glad you did everything you had a chance to do.

Q:  To conclude for today, what do you want your readers to really get out of your blog?
A:  There are a few things I would really like my readers (if any) to take away from this.  I hope they find this entertaining, funny, and maybe somewhat enlightening.  I also want them to feel the rush I had when I travel, and the adrenaline I gain when planning new trips--I want them to feel like they are apart of it somehow.  And lastly, I want to inspire them.  Inspire them to try new things, travel far and travel long, and to also really have fun with their lives.

Well thank you, Caitlin, for taking time to procrastinate more on your senior project annotations to give us a little insight on your blog and why you are here.  Can't wait to read more!