The post Watch a 71-Year-Old Hiker Celebrate With a Song After Completing 2,653-Mile Trail appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>The video of Pa’at’s celebration was posted on Instagram by couple Auti and Chris, who also walked the Pacific Crest Trail. The pair provided some back story in the caption, saying that they only met the senior towards the end of their journey but were immediately won over by his energy and positivity.
“We only knew him a few days before finishing, but he’s one of those people you instantly feel like you’ve known a lifetime,” Auti and Chris wrote. “He has a heart of gold, the kindest soul, and unmatched optimism and fortitude. Thank you for being such an inspiration to us, Pa’at!”
The video of the 71-year-old’s celebration became instantly viral, with people being impressed by Pa’at and his determination. The original post received almost 500K likes, while the clip was also shared on other social media platforms and reached millions of views.
To put Pa’at’s achievement in context, it is important to note that Pacific Crest Trail goes through seven national parks and requires hikers to deal with unfavorable terrains, including deserts and mountains, repeatedly. As a result, it is estimated that more than half of the people who attempt the hike don’t complete it.
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]]>The post Courtney Myers Paints Landscapes From Different Parts of the World appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>This talented artist creates stunningly detailed oil paintings of landscapes that can be found in different parts of the world. She then shares her works on social media to offer internet users a chance to “travel” to amazing places without having to leave their homes.
In a recent interview, Myers revealed that she started painting landscapes a few years ago after coming up with the idea to capture the scenery of different countries on canvas. She started with the countries familiar to her, including her native United States, her husband’s home country of Mexico, and her family’s country of origin, Scotland. The series soon expanded to other territories.
So far, Myers has done paintings with landscapes from Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, and Nepal, among others, but doesn’t intend to stop there. She wants to eventually have a painting representing a landscape from every country in the world.
“Having only painted for only three years or so, I’m also trying to expand my portfolio and grow my skill—I feel like each painting has taught me something unique,” she explains.
Check out more of her paintings below.
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]]>The post Liz Carlson’s Manifesto to the Solo Female Traveler is a Must Read! appeared first on PlayJunkie.
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Young Adventuress (@youngadventuress)Carlson’s blog post dedicated to the solo female traveler, and presenting a no-filter manifesto to solo traveling, is our first stop. “Without sounding incredibly cheesy, I think my happiest moments are when I get emails and messages from readers asking advice about traveling the world, alone, female or otherwise,” writes Carlson. “The older I get and the more experience I gain roaming the world and talking with strangers, the more and more conscious of the gap between men and women in so many different spheres—especially even in the US—I become.”
Her first necessary tip? Be brave and don’t be afraid to travel alone. “For the number of times I legitimately felt in danger, I can give you 1000 examples of beautiful, friendly, and unique moments that surprised me to no end while traveling.”
We can’t wait to follow her lead!
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]]>The post Let Kelly Lack Be Your San Fransisco Tour Guide appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>Aside from writing, she’s also amassed an impressive following on Instagram, where she shares her experiences with her fans. “When I’m traveling, I go nuts trying to capture it all from sweeping scenic shots to quiet moments in markets to the comings and goings of locals,” she admitted once in an interview with Lonny.
But with travel being more or less impossible these past months, Lack stays close to home. In a piece she wrote for Harper’s BAZAAR, she sums up the 88 things to do and see in San Francisco. Her recommendations include spending the afternoon at Mission Dolores Park (which she calls “the ultimate hipster hang”), and experiencing the Camera Obscura in the shadow of the Cliff House.
“I love an adventure,” says Lack, “I get bored when standing still. I also love how [traveling] smashes the pre-conceived notions you have about the world, even when you don’t realize you have them! We’re all human, trying to get by and struggling with and finding joy in the same things—only in different settings.”
Make sure you follow her lead when visiting California (or elsewhere).
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]]>The post Canoeing, Fishing, Exploring: Follow Jenny Anderson’s Travels appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>With some 19,000 fans on Instagram alone, Anderson (aka Girl of 10,000 Lakes) is especially keen on lakes and fishing. Alongside her husband and two small children, she captures her enviable adventures. Those include ice fishing and open sky camping. An avid fisher, she also loves canoeing.
“There are few places I’d rather be than canoeing in the Boundary Waters, ice fishing on Mille Lacs, or enjoying lake life at the cabin,” she shared on her website.
“I think everyone should experience the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness at least once in their lifetime,” she later added. “And if you can, do it with an outfitter.
“Whether it’s the pristine waters or secluded wilderness, the call of loons, eagles soaring above, the milkiest of milky ways, or the fantastic fishing—there are so many reasons Nick and I go back several times every year.”
According to Anderson, she hopes to inspire others to seek out adventures (her bio tag aptly reading: Evoking inspiration & wonder through the beauty of the great outdoors).
“I’m not a health care expert, a scientist, or a politician—but I am good at photos, videos, & using technology to connect with others,” she wrote in a recent candid Instagram post.
“My hope is to foster some optimism, positivity, connectedness, & joy while many of us stay tucked away at home more than usual. The world is still moving along, even if it might not feel like it. And by all means, get outdoors! Breathe in that fresh air! It’s good for you.”
We might just take her lead.
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]]>The post Danielle and Tommy Will Inspire You to Hit the Road appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>Travel bloggers Danielle and Tommy of Slow Car Fast Home know this best: “If this year has taught us anything, it’s that life is short, and fragile and we’re not promised consistency or anything really from one year to the next,” they reflected in a recent Instagram post.
“Get after what you want, friends! We have absolutely no idea what this next year will look like for us or where we’ll be in the next 12 months and that’s 100000% okay with us.”
The seasoned travelers put their money where their mouth is. Having lived on the road since 2016, the two have taken on the RV lifestyle alongside their two pooches, Missy and Trip. Their travels have taken them so far to almost all of the lower 48 states in the United States, all over Canada, and up and down Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
Their adventure also includes renovating their vehicles and sharing before-and-after photos with their growing audience online (to date, their Instagram page has amassed some 75k followers).
“We’ve learned so much from our time on the road, and have both grown so much from this entire experience,” Danielle and Tommy write on their website. “From learning how to DIY our RV renovation, to learning how to creating multiple streams of income to sustain our lifestyle. It’s not always easy or beautiful, but life was meant to be an adventure!”
And the past year hasn’t slowed them down. If anything, their commitment to living in the here and now has never been stronger. “We’re pushing ourselves forward and coming out on the other side working harder than ever on things we’ve always wanted to do,” they stress.
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]]>The post Louis John Cole Has a Passion for Adventure appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>A travel guru if there ever was one, Cole has amassed two million subscribers on YouTube and another one million on Instagram. Alongside his fiancé, Raya (a travel blogger herself), he shares his life on the road, treating life as a constant adventure.
“As I reflect back over this crazy year, as it comes to an end, the thing I’m most grateful for is having the most amazing, supportive, and incredible woman in my life!” wrote Cole in a recent Instagram post.
His most recent adventure? Heading across the US and then down to Costa Rica with a converted school bus, aptly nicknamed The Happiness Bus. Indeed, happiness seems to be the key to Cole’s way of life, and his enthusiasm is very much contagious.
His advice to other aspiring travel bloggers (and influencers in general)? “Come from a place of being passionate about capturing and sharing moments—not straight from this mentality that [you] want to make money or jump straight into having Instagram as a revenue generator or a business.”
“That’s an added bonus if you can get to that stage,” explained Cole in a chat with Entrepreneur. “But if that’s your initial goal, it could be quite tricky especially if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing. I think the audience can really notice that as well.”
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]]>The post Welcome 2021 By Spicing Up Your Routine with Michelle Halpern appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>In Halpern’s case, throwing society’s expectations out the window meant leaving her corporate job in fashion at the end of 2015 to go on a year-long round-the-world adventure.
Little did she know that this spontaneous adventure would end up changing the course of her career and reshape the way she thinks about work and life as well. Nowadays, Halpern’s goal is to help others realize their dreams. Her motto (and subsequent blog name) is “Live Like it’s the Weekend”, and doesn’t it sound nice?
“For me, living like it’s the weekend means saying yes to opportunities and invitations because I have the freedom to do so,” explains Halpern. “It means taking spur of the moment adventures to discover something new and beautiful because I don’t have to ask anyone else’s permission.”
Halpern’s optimism is refreshing, especially given the circumstances. In a recent blog post, where she recapped 2020, she reflected on the year’s little joyful moments.
An avid traveler with over 40 countries under her belt, Halpern didn’t let 2020 stop her from exploring, though these explorations were largely restricted to her “backyard”, meaning California.
“This year made me appreciate how much there is to explore in my own backyard and it showed me that even when travel fully opens back up again, I don’t need to take a 13-hour flight to arrive somewhere incredible,” she observed. “There are still so many destinations on my own California bucket list, not to mention just a short drive away in other states.”
And looking ahead, Halpern admits she’s willing to tweak her lifestyle to allow some time for family gatherings and reunions.
“While last year seemed to smash down a lot of my big travel goals, this year I’m going into the year taking a different approach to what I want to accomplish,” she writes. “I also want to work at putting more boundaries in place when it comes to balancing work and play.”
Her blog is a great teaching tool for people looking to spice up their daily routines and truly live like it’s the weekend.
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]]>The post Come 2021, Now’s the Time to Learn About Green Travel appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>Hopefully, when we do resume traveling, we’ll do so with more awareness. “Reducing your carbon footprint can come in many forms, and even small steps can have a significant impact,” writes Alison Abbott from Green With Renvy—a platform dedicated to eco-friendly travels.
Her platform is a thought-out teaching tool that aims to help travelers to consider alternative destinations and adventures when planning a vacation. It also points out the importance of mindfulness in traveling.
“I focus on eco-friendly and responsible travel,” Abbott further explained in an interview with Travel Awaits. “With over a billion people traveling, it’s important to know where your dollars are going. A few simple steps can help to make the industry and destinations a lot more sustainable.”
According to Abbott, the last 40 years has seen tourism grow from 189 million people traveling the planet to over one billion, and by 2030, that number is expected to reach 1.8 billion.
As we begin to get vaccinated and travel gradually eases up, now is the time to take some crucial steps so that our choices align with our eco-interests and values.
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]]>The post This Blogger Will Encourage You to Hit the Road appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>But being a travel blogger in the age of COVID is next to impossible. Still, according to Yeh, a girl’s gotta what she’s gotta do to stay sane and find ways to satisfy her “travelholic wanderlust.” In her most recent post, she shares the silver lining to COVID, explaining she now sticks to local traveling.
2020 is the year of US National Parks! Since there will be no more international trips for the rest of the year and most likely 2021, it's all about exploring the great outdoors in the US. 
When I was a kid, my parents would pack us up and take us on road trips all around the US to visit the National Parks. As immigrants, they wanted to experience what the new home country had to offer. 
Even though we never actually went camping (my first camping experience was during college with schoolmates), I was always amazed by the beauty that nature had to offer. The US is a huge, diverse country. 
Needless to say, my love for travel and experiencing new things started at a young age. 
So I'm out here making the most of what's left in the year. Corona-what now? A girl's gotta what she's gotta do to stay sane and find ways to satisfy my travelholic wanderlust. 
Joshua Tree @joshuatreenps was just the first of many national parks this year. Off to Yellowstone and Grand Teton next! I have ideas for a few more before the year is over so there's still time for some vacation and fun! Life is short and we've got to make the most of it!
Travel Experiences“2020 is the year of US National Parks!” writes Yeh, explaining that since there will be no more international trips for the rest of the year and most likely 2021, it’s all about exploring the great outdoors in the US.
Having visited over 50 countries, Yeh has lived so far in Philadelphia, New York, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. “My love for travel is deeply rooted in my curiosity and desire to learn,” she explains in her bio. “My mom even told me that when I was a kid, she could never take her eyes off of me because as soon as she turned around, I’d be gone—off in my own world exploring,” she recalls.
According to Yeh, when she was a kid, her parents would take her on road trips all around the US to visit National Parks. “As immigrants, they wanted to experience what the new home country had to offer,” she reflects. “Even though we never actually went camping (my first camping experience was during college with schoolmates), I was always amazed by the beauty that nature had to offer. The US is a huge, diverse country.”
Her blog and Instagram page might just inspire you to take a break and hit the road – literally speaking.
Hope you all had a good restful weekend! It's manic Monday blues… Time to gear up to climb and conquer this week's challenges. Reach for the sky! 
Whether it's work-related, a personal goal, or achieving just some sort of "normalcy" during COVID – we've all got to psych ourselves up and be our own hype man. 
Who else feeling down and in need of a cheerleader? 
So I did a thing… I actually flew over the long 4th of July holiday weekend! That's right… I took a flight during the pandemic!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
Emphasis on during not post-pandemic because post implies something is over. And let’s be real here. COVID-19 is far from over, especially in the US.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
After quarantining at home for 4 months, I really needed to scratch my travel itch. Stir crazy would be an understatement. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
It seemed like everyone I knew was getting out of town for the long weekend. I know I’m not the only one who was feeling the need to escape the house (or tiny apartment in my case) and decided “F*** it.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
After evaluating all the options and trying to figure out where to go last-minute, the boyfriend and I decided to jet down to Joshua Tree.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
So what was it like? A few things were the same and a few were quite different.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
I have never in my life seen SFO and LAX so empty with no security lines. As expected, everything was closed. Masks were required. People mostly followed social distancing.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
For more details on my flight experience, read my blog post (link in bio). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 
Do research on your destination and their rules. You may be traveling to/from a place that’s less/more restrictive and has a higher/lower number of cases. Consult a doctor if you need to.The post This Blogger Will Encourage You to Hit the Road appeared first on PlayJunkie.
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