Something happened on my redeye flight from LA to Fort Lauderdale the other night that has me thinking about flight attendant life, external pressures, and assumptions.
A young man came to the back galley, presumably to hit on me. He told me I had beautiful eyes and then proceeded to pepper me with questions as if I’d signed up for an interview. The line of questioning—what school do you go to? What was your major?—alerted me to the fact that he was more than a decade my junior and did not realize it. I graduated college in 2008.

Standing in the back galley of an aircraft during a particularly busy boarding process, two flight attendants watch in puzzled annoyance people failing at the process. They can’t find their seats, they stow their bags sideways in the bins, taking up two spaces—or worse, puffy side down and flat side up in the air, making it impossible to close the overhead. They mosey down the aisle, no sense of urgency, they crowd one another.
One flight attendant turns to the other and says “This is what you get with $60 fares.”

I can’t believe I even have to go into further explanation here. Sea turtles. Babies. Bam.

Every travel blog I consulted before my visit to Puerto Escondido suggested the turtle release as a must-do event. And although they all raved about it, somehow their descriptions didn’t do it justice. Call it my skepticism, but it just didn’t sound thaaaat amazing. Happy to report that I was way off base and to pass along the same advice as all the others: this is one thing you MUST do when in Puerto Escondido.

Dia de los Muertos, the day of the dead, is one of the most significant of Mexican holidays and one I’m so grateful to have been in attendance for in 2019. This year, amid COVID cautions, the celebrations will look a bit different. Most of the large, public events will be cancelled or held virtually. But this spiritual holiday—so important it was named a World Intangible Cultural Heritage tradition by UNESCO— could never truly be cancelled.

I’m two weeks into my stay in Medellin and I am Loving. Every. Minute. Mi español es still muy mal, but I’m understanding a little more every day. And I’m learning lots of other things along the way.
Here are some of my Second week takeaways:

1. Friends are the Enemy.

Things are different, with curfews, restaurant rules and social distancing guidelines to manage, but there is still fun to be had if you know where to look. I recently had two long Seattle layovers that proved that #layoverlife is not dead. You can have some serious good times in a 48-hour span. I’m going to walk you through a quick trip to Seattle, perfect for a girls’ trip, solo weekend getaway, or a layover that will knock your socks off. You’ll be missing that drizzly morning gray and fresh air when you get back!

When you travel, how much time do you spend learning about local culture, history? The plight of the people? Class relations & socioeconomic conditions? Do we have an obligation to do so even when we’re “getting away from it all”, “escaping reality”, off for some R&R? A recent travel experience made me think about these things.
The three days I spent in Mazunte, Mexico in January were some of my favorite days in all my time in Mexico.

The first thing I noticed about Medellin, before I even arrived in the city, on the descent in el avion was how green it is. Mountains surround the city and the jagged lines of the lush, green peaks made me giddy with excitement. I thanked my lucky stars for my last minute decision to pack hiking shoes and vowed that I would spend some time in these vast acres of trees in my free time.
The morning of the hike I had to get up at the crackle of dawn. I was to meet the group at el Terminal de Transportes del Norte. North Station.

Two years ago I visited Colombia with my then life-partner. We stayed in Cartagena, the walled city, Taganga, a fishing village just outside Santa Marta and a great base for exploring Tayrona National Park, and Minca, a tiny mountain town where wanderers find yoga retreats, vegetarian fare and cool fresh air in the lush canopies.

As touristic as these places were—especially Cartagena—many of the locals we encountered spoke only Spanish. A novelty for American travelers used to experiencing new places through an English-translated lens, and for two gringas with little to no Spanish skills, a bit of a challenge at times.

San Diego is one of my favorite layovers and a top contender for favorite U.S. city. The vibe is chill, the weather is perfect, and the food is de-friggin-licious. Here are my top 10 things to do in this sunshiney city. Enjoy!