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Vicariously Through You

A solo female travel blog.

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Exploring Birmingham, Alabama

This final blog post about my trip to Mississippi and Alabama has been sitting in the "draft" section on my website for a while now. I have been struggling to come up with a way to start it. And then today, it came to me via a video that has gone viral. Have you seen the video of Texas Democratic nominee Beto O'Rourke responding to a question about kneeling during the anthem at a town hall he was having in Texas? If you haven't, you should check it out. A section of his response pretty much ... Read More

  • Who else loves the window seat so they can see their destination from above as they’re descending?⁣ ⁣ And this happens to be my favorite view from an airplane - my sweet home Chicago.
  • The view out my window today in Chicago is pretty much the exact opposite of this view I had in Mexico a week ago. ⁣ ⁣ Twinkle lights, lanterns and ocean blues. It doesn’t get much better than this. 💙
  • Did you know that the cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC were a gift from Japan?⁣ ⁣ On March 27, 1912, the trees were gifted by Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City. ⁣ ⁣ Mayor Ozaki donated the trees to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and also celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations.⁣ ⁣ While I’ve been fortunate enough to see the trees in Washington, DC, I still hope to make it to Japan sometime and see them there.⁣ ⁣ Who else wants to see them in Japan too? 🙋🏼‍♀️
  • Sufficiently crispy from the sun, champagned out and colorfully bruised from a wooden beach chair that smashed my hand, it’s time to bid adios to Mexico and head back to Chicago.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Mexico, you’ve been a great hostess. You’re sunshine, people, humidity and chips and guacamole for breakfast can’t be beat. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Until next time... ✌🏻
  • I found one thing I really like about the resort I’m staying at this weekend in Mexico. ⁣ ⁣ They have their own greenhouses where they grow fruits, vegetables and herbs. ⁣ ⁣ I toured one of them this morning. At this greenhouse, they grow the tomatoes, habanero peppers, cucumbers, basil and mint used at the resort.⁣ ⁣ I really appreciate that they grow so much of the food they serve and use things such as coconuts for the compost. ⁣ ⁣ Kudos!! 👏👏👏
  • “Do these earrings match this dress?⁣⁣” ⁣⁣ This is the message and photo my sister and a friend received from me the other night as I was packing for a trip for a friend’s wedding. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Who else sends or receives random texts like this too? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ PS. I’m going with no. The earrings don’t match the dress.
  • The question I seem to get the most from people after I mention I’ve been to all 50 US states is “Which is your favorite?”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ That’s such a hard question to answer because many of them are so different. I love Hawaii. Alaska is beautiful and has a lot of amazing wildlife to observe. New York includes NYC and I will never tire of exploring there. Home is Iowa so it holds a special place in my heart.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ But even with all of that, I usually respond with “South Dakota.”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I really like South Dakota and I mention it because I want others to go there. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ There is so much to see and do. The Badlands. Mount Rushmore. The Black Hills. The Corn Palace. I also think Rapid City is a great small city. And there’s so much more too!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you haven’t been to South Dakota, you should go!
  • It’s really cold and windy in the Windy City today...⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ What would happen if I got on a plane heading to a beach somewhere and just stayed forever?! 🤔⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Do you ponder these things too?