Taking Amanda’s Challenge

Emily C Sims

Dear Reader,

I’ve felt a bit like a Travel Fake. I love travel, I adore new places and new people… but I haven’t been doing too much of it lately. Through this site and Travelated’s Twitter feed, I have been praising the glory that is world travel and encouraging others to do the same, all the while hiding a dark secret: I haven’t been getting out much.

And then I read this blog: “When a Travel Blogger is Stuck at Home,” a guest post on Adventurous Kate’s web site by Amanda of A Dangerous Business. It really struck a chord with me.

After feeling sorry for herself, as I have been, at her inability to travel, Amanda wrote this:

“I can either read all about the adventures you, my fellow travel bloggers, are having and become increasingly jealous and bitter, or, I can read about your experiences, become inspired by them, and challenge myself to come up with new travel options of my own.”

Amanda makes a good point and one I have taken to heart—there are still options, even when I can’t leave the country or the city I am currently in. There are adventures to be had just down the street—if I am willing to look. Just because I’m not getting on an airplane doesn’t mean I’m not exploring.

And so I am taking up Amanda’s challenge. I am going to explore the corner of the world I do live in, the place I currently call home: Nevada. Nevada is a beautiful, wondrous state, and I’ve hardly seen any of it. What business do I have jet setting off to Japan or Costa Rica when I don’t even know my own backyard? The Grand Canyon is only five hours away—and I’ve never been.

What the hell is wrong with me? I should know every corner of the Las Vegas Strip, every wave of Lake Tahoe. These things are all within my reach—and yet I’ve shunned them. Up until half an hour ago, in my mind ten minutes in the car didn’t mean ‘travel.’ I now consider myself reformed.

I’ve started a list of all the places I want to explore here at home. Hopefully next year I’ll have a list of places to explore abroad—even better, hopefully next year I won’t regret all the things I didn’t do right now that I could have—that I should have.

So thank you, Amanda. I hope other travelers stuck at home find your blog and take heart from it—we all need a little perspective sometimes.

Safe travels,

Emily