travel Archives — SMART Living 365

Travels With Kathy & Thom Part One

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

In 2019 I began a dream of traveling to Spain and Portugal for the first time. I’ve been fortunate to travel to Europe several times in the past but have never journeyed to either of those countries. I did my research, planned my itinerary, made all my plane and train reservations, and carefully selected all the places we would be staying. Then one month before we were set to leave, COVID hit. Fortunately, every single one of my reservations were refunded. Then as 2022 approached my dream began to return—but this time the plan is for an even longer trip. After all, if 2020 taught us nothing else, it was that time is precious and that it is SMART to seize every opportunity to do those things we have always longed to do. [Read more…]

Discovering The Best Thing About Travel

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Two weeks ago, when I published a post about our summer adventure, I featured a few of the gorgeous sites we witnessed along the way. Besides enjoying and appreciating cooler temperatures, we were awestruck at the beauty of nature that combined ocean, rivers, streams, forests, trees and scenic vistas. But something has occurred to me in the weeks that have followed. And that is, no matter how beautiful the scenery, what I remember most vividly are the people we meet and connect with on the way. So rather than provide you with yet another travel log of our trip showing some of the sites, this time I’m talking about the people. Besides, if you really just want to see the sites, simply follow me on Facebook. [Read more…]

The First Leg of The Unfolding 2021 Road trip Experiment

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

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When I first decided to take a break from my weekly blogging schedule for a month or two, I had no idea how easy it would be. In fact, except for a couple of times when Thom and I made short video clips (a potential vlog) along the way, I didn’t think about blogging at all. Now that I have arrived at our first destination here on Vancouver Island, I must admit that I’ve had a few twinges of guilt about not being more productive. But other than those twinges I’ve been just happily experiencing being a nomadic “sort-of” retired person for the time being. However, that doesn’t mean that we haven’t taken dozens of photos (along with our short videos) that I decided I wanted to share with any of you who are interested. So here are a few of the best I thought you might enjoy! [Read more…]

Talking Travel With Intentional Travelers

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware

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Some people probably don’t realize one of the gifts of blogging is the people you will meet on the journey. That’s why when one of those “gifts” sent me an email a few weeks ago telling me they would be in town this week, I responded immediately. Yes we could figure out how to do a physically distant “safe” lunch—but I had a condition. Would they also do a live interview with Thom and me? Of course doing a live interview outdoors is tricky enough. Then throw in the restrictions of a pandemic, other people, and swarms of gardeners and you never know what you will end up creating. However, when you are willing to take a chance with your blog, your vlog and life itself, great things can and do happen. Thanks to Michelle and Jedd Chang from IntentionalTravelers.com for a great interview. And a special thanks to Thom for managing to film and edit another complicated Vlog for us all despite the challenges!

Travel, Birthday Thoughts And Hopes For The Future

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Thankful

Riding camels around the great pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.

This weekend I turn 65. In anticipation of that big milestone, I began planning a trip to Spain and Portugal late last year. We were to fly out of Los Angeles on the 12^th of May and, perhaps like many of you, my plans have disintegrated because of the current situation. At first we were hopeful that we could make the trip later this year. However, as it stands even those plans are too uncertain. But rather than throw myself a pity-party, I decided that I would go through all of my photos from all my previous trips taken during the last 25 years and pick out the ones that meant the most to me. And you know what? Just doing that lifted my mood AND reminded me of how very fortunate I’ve been in my life. If you enjoy hearing about travel and don’t mind looking through a few photos, this week’s post is all about that. My hope is that it inspires you to think back and remember the travel highlights in your own life as well as feel gratitude for the places and people you’ve seen along the way.

[Read more…]

How Pet Owners Can Travel Without Breaking The Bank

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

In case you haven’t noticed from my writing, I love to travel. Fortunately, Thom does too, and we intend to do as much of it as possible while we are physically able. Of course, it hasn’t always been easy. When we were young our work and our finances often took priority. Then we rightsized our lives and most of that changed for the better. But one thing that has always been a concern is what to do with our pets. Kloe, like each of our former dogs, is a big part of our family and adds an incredible amount of good to our lives. But managing her needs with our travel needs can be tricky. Fortunately, we have discovered a great solution. After three very successful experiences, I’m finally ready to recommend this service to everyone who faces a similar challenge with wanting to travel while cherishing a pet. Not only does it cost a fraction of traditional care, I think it provides Kloe with the best attention possible. [Read more…]

Adventures In Travel, Trust and Potholes

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

I’m no stranger to Mexico. My husband Thom and I have visited the country dozens of times throughout the years. But one thing we’ve never done is driven the Baja Peninsula. Every now and then I’d find an article or book describing the many interesting sights and towns we could find the further south we traveled. So, after several decades of hints, Thom happened to read something earlier this year about the Sea of Cortez and specifically about a town named Loreto. With that motivation, I finally convinced him that now was the time. Of course, as with all travel, the journey got more complicated the closer it came to our departure date. And now that we’ve gone and returned, I’m reminded that all travel, like life itself, is a series of adventures, trust, and even a few potholes. [Read more…]

10 Ways To Stay Sane, Healthy And SMART During The Next 4 Months of Politics

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

As many of you know, I am active on Facebook—most of the time. I enjoy it and not only does it help to spread the word about my blog and my books, I also find it fun to connect with people, stay up-to-date with family and friends, and to learn about things around the world. Even more importantly, I have a mission to share positive and inspiring news with others to remind us all that there is always more good in the world than not. But lately it’s been hard. About half of all Facebook posts these days are about politics. And while I do not tolerate hateful or violent remarks, I still find the tone of many to be fearful, angry and defensive.

So what does a SMART girl do? Some people just swear off of Facebook altogether, which is certainly one alternative. Instead, what I did was sit down and come up with ten things I believe can help me, and anyone who is interested, get through the next four months and stay sane. While they are not excuses to put our head in the sand and resort to “magical thinking,” they do help to keep us focused on those things we believe deep in our soul, rather than anything or fear and fight. [Read more…]

How To Rightsize Your Travel & Vacations

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable, Thankful

Thom, Kloe and me near where we first rented a mountain cabin for a month for our vacation.

My husband Thom and I love to travel almost as much as we enjoy rightsizing. But the two ideas are not mutually exclusive. In fact, because we rightsized our lives some years ago, we can now travel more and in better form than ever before. So, if you’ve always dreamed of traveling more, but never seem to have the time or money, perhaps what you need is to rightsize your next trip.

First, I must recommend that you rightsize your entire life. What do I mean by that? If you are new to this website and unfamiliar with rightsizing, here’s a short definition: Rightsizing is taking the time to focus on what really matters to you and brings you happiness—and at the same time reducing and then eliminating everything that brings you down and sucks the joy out of you. [Read more…]

Fearless Travel And Adventures In Egypt

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Camel riding around the great pyramids of Egypt.

For as long as I can remember I wanted to travel to Egypt. I’m not sure if it was a vision of the pyramids or movies about Cleopatra that created the longing or not. I just knew that given the chance, I would go. In 2015, I turned 60, and I had no interest in a big party or an expensive gift. Instead travel, as usual, was at the top of my list. Now, after just returning from nearly three weeks in this chaotic, ancient and mesmerizing country, I still don’t know for certain why I needed to go. But what’s clear is that the biggest thing to fear about traveling to Egypt is the challenge it gives to our comfort zone, our limited scope of history, and our egocentric view as citizens of planet Earth. [Read more…]