Grand Canyon Less Traveled

Since I've been traveling, I have seen some gorgeous and stunning sites across across my own country. From piles of snow in Yellowstone and glaciers in Alaska to tropical forests in Hawaii to the desert like climate of Arches National Park. Along one of my adventures, I got to witness the awe inspiring greatness and splendor of the Grand Canyon.

Instead of choosing to go to the more popular and crowded portion of the Grand Canyon on the south rim, my dad and I decided to visit the western rim. The western rim is unique in that it is not part of the national park services, the area is home to the Hualapai Indian Nation. Hualapai means "People of the Tall Pines" and there are about 1300 tribe members in the reservation, which began in 1883. The Hualapai Nation, like many other Indian nations, have a devastating history of being forced from their lands and homes, suffering through assaults, hunger and and disease to living in camps. Now, the Hualapai Nation has utilized their portion of the Grand Canyon to support themselves and bring in tourists.



Encompassing one million acres and 108 miles of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River, the western rim is certainly a site to behold. It has two main viewpoints, Eagle Point and Guano point, a ranch of the Hualapai people and the Skywalk. You're not allowed to drive yourself through each point but there is hop on hop off bus that is part of your ticket when you book with the reservation.

My first view upon the Grand Canyon was Guano Point. You get a 360 uninterrupted view of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. The hike you have to take to get up to the point is short and well worth it.





If I could, I would have stayed up there forever staring at the views.

The next stop was called Eagle Point... Can you guess why? Yes, the rock is formed in such a way that it looks like an eagle and is sacred to the Hualapai people.



Also at eagle point, is the famous Skywalk. The glass bridge is 4,000 feet above the grand canyon floor and made entirely of glass. It weighs a whapping 1.6 million pounds and cost $31 million to construct.



As scared of heights as I am, I thought I would be scared walking around the Skywalk, but there was just too much to enjoy. Before walking out on the glass walk, you have to leave everything behind, phones, cameras, purses. They also make you wear these weird foot wraps on your shoes and there are only a few people at a time allowed on the bridge (for obvious reasons). One guy was so terrified while walking out, he refused to let go of the railing and tried to walk through people when they wouldn't move out of the way.



Even though the tickets to visit the western rim and go out on the Skywalk are a bit pricey, it's worth it. You get to experience a unique visit when going to the Grand Canyon and learn about Hualapai people. We got to watch cultural dances and in the original festival wear, see the farming habits and learn about the local people.



Have you ever been to the western rim and walked out on the skywalk? What was your favorite view point?

Best of Road to Hana in Maui

The Road to Hana and the Napali Coast line on the Green Isle were my favorite parts of Hawaii. Although all of Hawaii is gorgeous, these two topped it all. Next time I visit though, I'll be renting my own car and driving around. So many gorgeous spots were driven passed and missed since it was a tour we booked from the cruise liner. Still, we got to see many gorgeous areas of the island.

Maui is the second largest island in Hawaii and home to a diverse climate region, just as all of Hawaii is, except it's even more apparent when traveling the Road to Hana. From gorgeous white and black sand beaches, breathtaking waterfalls and lush tropical forest to empty, sun dried canyons and dusty, old lava fields. It was incredible to go from one region so full of green and life to the dried up and dead like region.

The first stop on our Road to Hana led us to Hookipa Beach. This beach is most famous for being the perfect area to windsurf and just surf in general due to the location of the reef system. We got a few minutes to take some photos, but unfortunately we didn't get to walk on the beach or participate in the surfing :(.



Kaumahina State Wayside Park is mostly just for a quick pit stop along the Road to Hana but is open to gorgeous views of the coastline and black sand beaches.



By far my favorite stop along the highway was Wai'anapanapa State Park. This state park is home to a calm and uncrowded black sand beach and lush greenery along with some interesting sea caves. The beach is captivating alone, but the caves give the beach a little something extra. The Park also has sea arches, lava tubes and a blow hole. We didn't have time to do all the exploring I would have liked to have done since I was super fascinated with the caves.



The beautiful black sand beach of Wai'anapanapa State Park.



A view from the cave.

The caves hold a dark and sad legend. Its a tale of a Hawaiian Princess named Popoalaea. Princess Popoalaea was tired of her husband's cruelties and fled from him, hiding just inside the caves in Wai'anapanapa. One of Princess Popoalaea's faithful maids ran away with her and stayed with her in hiding. One day her husband, Chief Kakae, went down to drink some water and saw Popoalaea's reflection. So angered at her for running and hiding from him, Chief Kakae killed Princess Popoalaea and her maid. At certain times of the year, the pool fills up with red shrimp and it's said that it is a reminder of how Chief Kakae slayed his wife.



While there are many waterfalls along the Road to Hana, we only stopped at one, Wailua Falls. I have a major obsession with waterfalls, so only stopping at this one was kind of a bummer but Wailua Falls definitely didn't disappoint. Set off to the side of the road, the 80' waterfall plunges into a pool where you can go and take a little dip. We didn't have time to go down that path and try it out, but I heard it is a lot less crowded as most people just pull over for a quick snapshot of the falls.



For lunch, we stopped at St. Joseph Catholic Church, built in 1862. It's a tiny church that seems to be in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have much to look at since we had crossed into the dry side of Maui.



After crossing over that invisible line between lush and dry side, there isn't much to look at except the huge expanse of dry, empty land facing the ocean and the side facing Haleakala.



There is apparently an obvious line in this are where you can see where the old lava flow from a past eruption came down the mountain side. Anyone see any obvious line? Because I don't. Everyone was "oohing" and "ahhing" but I just looked at the "beach" instead.



This dry canyon, Manawainui Valley, is much larger than this picture actually shows and has gorgeous waterfalls and steeps walls of lush foliage (so I've been told). I didn't see any of that the day we went but it was still pretty neat to see after staring at green all day.

The Road to Hana is definitely an activity to partake in when visiting Maui. Although I don't suggest taking it with a tour group, it can be beneficial to do so because they give you a lot of information and tips in the area. You can easily look up all the information of the stops you make and get a rental car. By doing that, you can stop at any of the places you find gorgeous and stay until your heart's content. Next time I go, I will definitely be doing that!

Have you ever been to the Road to Hana? Did you enjoy the sites as much as me or see even more?

Photo of the Week: Roaring Mountain

Roaring Mountain in Yellowstone National Park is a rare and beautiful site. The name comes from the loud hissing and roaring of the many fumaroles (an opening in the earth's crust that releases steam and gas, mostly near volcanoes) located on the mountain side. Back when Roaring Mountain was first discovered, the roaring could be heard from miles away due to thermal activity, but nowadays, it's much quieter.

I visited the area in the early morning in May, so it was still a bit chilly. Because of the chill, we were able to get a better view of the steam coming out of the side of the mountain. While we didn't hear any roaring from the mountain, we did get a spectacular view of the steam coming from the fumaroles. Once it warmed up though, the steam wasn't as visible and it wasn't quite as awesome as when we first passed it. It was just a stroke of luck for us that we passed by it in the morning, as I had never heard of Roaring Mountain before.  The mountain is one of the many gems of Yellowstone National Park.

The Time I Broke My Zip Lining Guide's Hand in Costa Rica

He placed his hands out in front of him as the sign to slow down... I pulled hard on the line, but something was wrong; I wasn't slowing down! He puts his hand on the line to stop me but there's nothing I can do to slow down. Everything happens in slow motion after that. He shouts for me to slow down, I close my eyes and crash into his hand; very, very hard. Upon coming out of my panic attack, I hear cursing and see the guide grasping his hand in pain.

The past few days in Costa Rica had been filled with adventure and thrill and the day in Monteverde started just as exciting. My group and I were going zip lining through the Cloud Forest. I had gone zip lining before in Mahogany Bay, Honduras and believed it would be similar. Boy was I wrong. You see, the zip line in Mahogany Bay was a joke compared to this. It's like seeing a baby bear cub in the forest and thinking how cute and adorable it is, only later to run into it's much larger and scarier mother, not knowing what to do or how you got into this mess. This zip line was on a much larger scale than the previous one I had done. Much larger scale is quite the understatement.



The start was simple, with a small line to get used to the feeling. I should tell you now, I'm terrified of heights and I try activities to overcome that fear. This was one of those activities. The farther along we got in the lines, the harder it was for me to continue. The small hikes in between lines was not the reason for my racing heart and cold sweat. My fear was overtaking my ability to enjoy this amazing activity and it only increased when I nearly broke one of the guide's hand. The lines got longer and longer the further we went along and this particular line was long and out in the open. The guide locking me in told me to begin slowing down when I saw the guide on the other side hold up his hands. As I began gliding across the line, I felt a release of fear. I was doing it! I looked around me and saw the openness and the ground below me. I LOVED doing this, I thought, I can make it through all by myself! I looked towards the other guide, waiting for my cue to slow down, as I felt I was hurtling toward him way to quickly. I even began slowing down before he gave me the signal. Finally, he did but I couldn't slow down quick enough, even though I had placed all of my weight in the one hand to slow me down, and crashed into the guide's hand (which was on the line anyways, so can it really be my fault?), which led to me crashing into the tree because, obviously, he removed his hand when I hit it. In my defense, WHY would the guides be stopping us with their hands that are only wrapped in a small leather piece, especially when they have big wooden blocks on the line for that?? Needless to say, the guide started using the big wooden block after I got off and continued to hold his hand at an awkward angle. I'm not sure if I broke it or not seeing as how he continued working and managed to get me off of the line. I know if I didn't brake it, it was probably seriously bruised and sprained (sorry dude, I screamed at you as I was racing towards you).

[caption id="attachment_4708" align="alignnone" width="669"] The line of doom. Me being to terrified to look at the camera. [/caption]

After that, I could barely get through the next line. I was shaking, seeing black spots and my heart refused to stop trying to find its way out of my chest. The last line was my breaking point. We walked about a fourth of a mile to get to the last line and once we got there, I looked up and immediately went back to my panic attack. Not only was this the longest, most open line we had to cross, we had to climb up about three stories of rickety old metal stairs on a mountain side. I couldn't control my breathing and tears began to drop from my eyes but I kept telling myself I could do this. I would do this. I'm standing on the stairs with my friends and try to get my mind off of what is about to happen. It's not working. Every step up I take is another screaming voice in my head yelling at me to turn around and bolt. It's finally my turn and the guide grabs my harness but I stop him before he latches me in and tell him I can not go on with a look of utter terror. He looks as me in amusement and tells me to stand in the corner of the platform until everyone is done, then he will take me across.

I felt like a failure but at least I didn't embarrass myself by passing out from fear. I breathe a sign of relief and immediately my heart stops racing, my hands stop sweating and I can enjoy the view from the rickety platform. At last, it's just me and the guide. He takes my gloves off, tells me to relax and hooks me onto the line with him. I am extremely happy that I waited for him because I was able to take a video of crossing over. The view is amazing and being able to enjoy it instead of being terrified made the experience much more enjoyable. We made it to the end and I felt very accomplished although I couldn't do the last line by myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-B2gzXCeo8&feature=youtu.be

This next part isn't going to make any sense considering my extreme fear of heights and my experience with the zip line, but we had the option of doing a Tarzan Swing, which is just being attached to a rope by a harness and jumping off of a platform and swinging. I chose to do it, of course, and just felt extremely excited, even after we found out one of the ropes broke during a previous swing from my group (it wasn't a major rope, but still), no fear; probably because I didn't have to worry about running into anyone or holding onto a line. It was exhilarating and I was so proud of myself for doing it!

I was done accomplishing my fear for the week and the rest of my trip went without a hitch!

A Carolina Ghost Story

This past weekend, I spent some time with my family and we visited Alice's Grave. Although the story of Alice Flagg is rather popular in South Carolina, I had not heard much of it other than the story occurred in Murrell's Inlet, SC.



In 1849, Dr. Allard Flagg moved into his new home, The Hermitage, in Murrell's Inlet. Soon after, he invited his widowed mother and sister, Alice, to live with him. Dr. Allard Flagg and Alice's other brother, Dr. Arthur Flagg were prestigious doctors in the area and rather wealthy. The two brothers courted the Ward sisters, who were known to be apart one of the wealthiest and upper-class families in the low country. Alice was happy for her brothers but knew there was more to a courtship than just high class and money.

While out on a shopping trip, Alice met a lumberman and over the next few months, they fell in love. One day, the young man came to call on Alice; Dr. Allard came out to greet him and would not agree to let him see her after realizing his low class status. Dr. Allard sent him away before the young man could speak or see Alice. She was furious over her brother's treatment of her beau and decided to meet the man in secret. During their meeting, the young man presented Alice with a ring and the two secretly became engaged.



When Dr. Allard discovered the ring on Alice's finger, he commanded her to take it off and return the ring at once. She would not be married to someone beneath her and her family name. Alice promised to return it but instead, strung the ring on a necklace and kept it hidden from her family.

To help her get over her love of the lumberman, her family sent Alice to a boarding school in Charleston. Unable to take her family's oppression any longer, she reluctantly agreed to leave and go to Charleston, although promising to never forget her love. Alice continued to wear the ring around her neck and constantly grabbed at it for comfort.



Alice was heart broken when she arrived in Charleston, she hated the city and missed her true love. She became depressed and withdrew, not going out of her way to make friends or meet a new suitor. One night, Alice became seriously ill. The doctors diagnosed her with malaria and sent for her family at once. Dr. Allard left immediately upon hearing of his sister's sickness to bring her back to the Hermitage and when he arrived, Alice had already become delirious. The four day journey back to the Hermitage was not an easy one. The constant rain, jostling and ferry rides did nothing to help Alice's deteriorating condition.

There's different endings of the story:

One version says upon Alice's return, Dr. Allard discovers the ring on her neck and in anger snatches the necklace off and throws the ring in the Murrell's Inlet marshlands. Broken hearted without her ring, Alice dies a short time after.

The other version says Alice dies a short time later after returning from Charleston. While getting her dressed for the burial, Dr. Allard discovers the necklace and throws it into the marshlands.

So embarrassed and angered at Alice's love of the lumberman, Dr. Allard only had her first name carved on her resting stone.



People say that Alice can be seen wondering around in her favorite white dress at the All Saints Church and the Hermitage searching for her love's lost ring.

If you decide to go, there is a ritual you can do to have a wish granted. Go to the cemetery at midnight, walk around her grave 13 times backwards and place a token above the letter A. It is said that your wish will be granted and Alice will appear before you. While I didn't do the ritual, I placed a nickle on the grave just for fun and made a wish. People that visit the grave will place rings, flowers or other such tokens in sympathy of Alice's sad story.



The graveyard at All Saints Church is actually very beautiful and peaceful. Many of the gravestones are from the 1800's and the Spanish Moss hanging from many of the trees, give the cemetery an eerie but elegant look. Alice's grave can be found at the back of the cemetery; you will probably have to look for a few minutes but it can easily be found if you look for objects on the the gravestone and the eroded circular path around the marker.

Costa Rican Adventure: Part 2

Costa Rica is a beautiful country filled with wonderful people. Our group was lucky enough to get to spend a few hours at a local school in a small village located near Monteverde. The school is open for a local village and only had about twelve kids total, varying in age and grade. Unfortunately, we came during a sort of spring break for the kids and many of them were not there for us to meet. The kids that were there danced for us and dressed in the local clothing that's worn during festivals and cultural celebrations. After the show, we got to meet the children and play jump rope, soccer and kickball with them. I enjoyed our time at the school and wish we would have been able to come when school was in session.



Shortly after leaving the school, we went horseback riding. While it was fun riding and seeing the area, I felt bad for the horses; they seemed extremely skinny. If I ever go horseback riding there again, I'll make sure to find a company with nice, plump horses.



The next day was going to be amazing since we were going zip lining through the cloud forest in Monteverde. I had been zip lining once before in Mahogany Bay, Honduras and had an amazing time, so I was looking forward to it this time because it was on a much larger scale. I'm terrified of heights and try activities to help me overcome that fear. This was one of those activities and I barely made it through all 12+ lines. After nearly breaking a guide's hand and making it to the last line, a guide ended up taking me across because it was so big and terrifying. The positive of this, though, was that I got to relax and record my journey across the extremely high and long line. I got to experience the amazing site of the Monteverde Cloud Forest instead of constantly focusing on the fear of being up so high. The highlight of this day was the Tarzan Swing, which I was ready for. The guides wrap you up in a harness and attach you to a rope; then you just kind of let yourself fall off the platform and you go for a swing, just on a bigger scale than your normal child's swing set. Standing at the very edge of the platform was a thrill and I jumped without any fear (well, there was some but it was the good kind). I viewed the day as quite an accomplishment, seeing as how I made it through all but one line on my own and jumping the Tarzan Swing.



The next morning was spent taking a walk from our tour guide, Gustavo, through the cloud forest. It was relaxing after the thrill of the previous day. Gustavo pointed out numerous plants and different types of critters for us to "oooo" and "ahhh" over. One of the plants that caught my eye was a tree called a "walking palm." The palms grow their roots above the ground which enable the trees to travel along the forest floor, finding sunlight and nutrients wherever it can. The roots are an adaption the plant has made over many years to living so much closer to the forest floor than all of the taller plants and trees. The most fascinating part of the walk was looking up and seeing the clouds move right above our heads. It really is a "cloud" forest.



The original plan was to do another nature walk but Gustavo gave us an option. Another nature walk through the forest... or a crocodile tour! We chose the later and it ended up being just as much of an adventure and educational as a nature walk would have been. Our boat guide pointed out every croc he could find and even fed one some raw chicken! No way! Not for me. In this location, you see more crocodiles per square foot than you would see alligators in the Everglades. And we saw plenty of crocodiles. There was even one sleeping with his mouth open! Other than crocodile central, we spotted toucans, macaws, roseate pinkbills and quite a few more birds. We also saw some colorful little crabs hiding in the mangroves.



Manuel Antonio National park is the smallest national park located in Costa Rica and quite beautiful. The trip to get into the park is about a 1/2 mile walk through a well marked path. When you finally make it to the beach, you're surrounded by rain forest and Capuchin monkeys. There are different types of monkeys that hang out in the trees surrounding the beautiful beach but I only saw the Capuchin, which was fine by me. You're not allowed to feed the monkeys and getting caught doing so will result in dismissal from the park and fine. We spent most of the day splashing around in the gorgeous turquoise waters of the beach to avoid the heat. Costa Rica is much closer to the equator, resulting in a some sunburn for my friends and me. We shared PB&J together for lunch and a nearby iguana watched us as we ate. Others weren't so lucky and the iguanas tried going for their food! Unfortunately, the park is only open until 4 and we stayed until the last possible minute. Manuel Antonio was gorgeous and I really hated to leave.



We finished up the trip with whitewater rafting. It was my first time white water rafting and I wasn't sure what to expect. Before we even got into the rafts, the guides made our group jump off a small cliff (once again testing my fear of heights). The jump was a success and we began our rafting journey. We broke up into smaller groups and paddled out to the rapids. Our guide enjoyed playing tricks on us in the breaks between rapids. Most of the tricks ended with my group and I splashing around and battling cramps from laughter. We ended the day on amazing food and freshly cut pineapple.



My time in Costa Rica was short lived but amazing. I truly enjoyed my time and can't wait to return!

Costa Rican Adventure Part 1

Costa Rica was the deciding factor for my trip around the world. I had always gone on trips with family and friends before, but it was the first time I went out of the country with one other friend and didn't know anyone else. To help me dip my feet in the traveling solo world, in 2012, I booked my Costa Rican adventure with EF College Break. I took the trip with 34 other people my age from all over the US and had the time of my life. Even though I wasn't technically "solo", I went without my family and knowing one other person. That's as solo as I had ever gotten. I was there for a short, activity filled ten days and had not had near enough of the country. While there, it reassured me that I would be able to travel on my own when the time came.

Costa Rica was different than any place I had been and it has been my favorite destination so far. I love that the people truly care about their country and take care of it. The few locals I met and talked to were kind and surprisingly funny.

San Jose was where the tour began and everyone met up. We stayed in the main city square area, which was perfect because we could walk everywhere. I loved walking around and seeing how different it all looked compared to what I was used to. The only thing I was not fond of in San Jose were the constant cat calls, lewd comments and leering all of us girls received walking down the street.



San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica. It's full of people and full of love. The numerous parks located throughout the city are packed with couples (and PDA is obviously not an issue with people here). As we walked through the city and getting turned around on side roads, we came across amazing graffiti and street art. There's none of that kind of stuff where I'm from and I enjoyed seeing it in person. The thing I loved most about San Jose was that we could see a bunch of green parrots chilling in the trees next to where we ate dinner.

After leaving San Jose the next day, we headed to INBioparque.



There are different tours you can take through the park and we did the group tour. Our guide was very informative on the biodiversity of Costa Rica and pointed out many things in the park. We saw a sloth, deer, spiders (EEK!), iguanas, butterflies and many other animals and bugs I had never seen. He also pointed out what I thought was the coolest plant called mimosa plant or "sleepy grass". Whenever you touch the plant, it's leaves will close up and then spread out again a moment later.

I was bummed when we got to our next destination, Poás Volcano. It has one of the biggest craters in the world and I was looking forward to seeing it. But instead, all we got was mist and so much fog you couldn't see fifteen feet in front of you.



We still had fun and found a path to a lake that, of course, we couldn't see because of the fog. But the forest we walked through looked like something straight from Snow White.

The next day was a big, tiring, activity filled day. We started with kayaking in Arenal Lake. We kayaked for about 30 minutes or so and got a small little island area. The kayaks took a rest while everyone enjoyed a nice little swim. Arenal lake was man made and provides about 20% of Costa Rica's electricity. Standing in front of the massive lake made it hard to believe it was man made.



On one side of the road, you have the gorgeous lake and on the other, you have the Arenal Volcano. It was funny because when we took our group picture, a car stopped in the middle of the road to take a picture of all of us. I'm assuming they hadn't seen many Americans?

I LOVED our next stop even more, La Fortuna waterfall. This 230ish foot waterfall falls into a stunning turquoise pool of chilly water and provides a backdrop to the lush, green jungle that is just a short distance away from Arenal. The current near the waterfall is extremely strong, preventing anyone from getting close enough to go under it.

The hike down to the waterfall isn't too terribly bad, the stairs are just steep. Heading back up is a different story. After being tired out by getting my butt kicked by the waterfall current, climbing back up was a rather difficult task.

To soothe our aching muscles, we headed to a place called Baldi Hot Springs. There are 25 hot springs varying from cooler pools to extremely hot (felt like boiling to me) ones. It was nice to go there, but I would have enjoyed it more if it were somewhat chilly outside. While there, we met an interesting group of guys from Holland that was visiting Costa Rica as a fraternity trip.

Choosing to relax that night, my friends and I found a nice little restaurant and had some freshly made juices and local food (except I got a burger and learned my lesson about ordering American food in Costa Rica).

I had only been in Costa Rica for three days and already fallen madly in love with the country and people. I knew I would never want to leave. The remaining seven days flew by in a blur, but it was jam packed with more adventure and tons of activities!

Top 15 Bucket List for Round the World Trip

The bucket list I currently have set for myself could cover an entire book. It's probably longer than the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book. To shorten my list for this post, I've made a top 15 bucket list for just this trip. These will be the must see sites. There's so much to choose from that it actually took me a long time to pick just 15 places.

1. Seljalandsfoss, Iceland
I am a huge fan of waterfalls and always have been. Since I began researching places I would like to visit, Seljalandsfoss has been on my top waterfalls to see and I can only imagine it looks ten times better in person.


2. Jӧkulsárlón Lagoon, Iceland
Jӧkulsárlón is an incredible glacial lake that has been featured in several different movies including James Bond and Batman. I'm looking forward to taking a boat trip out on the lagoon and getting up close and personal to some glaciers.


3. Preikestolen, Norway
If I were going to Norway later on in the summer, I would have Kjerag or Trolltunga. Unfortunately, I will be going when those hikes are still under some snow and ice, making it dangerous. Preikestolen is still an amazingly gorgeous area to hike and it is not that hard from what I've read. I'll definitely be getting a picture from the very edge!
Not Completed

4. Manneken Pis Statue in Belgium
Yeah, I just think it's funny because it's actually a well-known statue.


5. Pompeii, Italy
I love ruins, ancient civilizations and volcanoes. Pompeii is all of that wrapped into one nice little package. I remember reading the story in middle school and watching discovery channel shows about Pompeii. I'll actually have the chance to visit it after all the years of wishing.


6. Trevi Fountain, Italy
I have to go and make my wish, right?


7. Hagia Sophia, Turkey
In art history, we had to learn all the architectural parts and importance of this wonderful mosque/museum. Since then, I've really wanted to visit it because it's massive and will be different from anything I visit in Western Europe and Asia. Also, I have a small fascination with architectural awesomeness, which Hagia Sophia is.


8. Great Wall of China
I'm really excited about this particular site because as a child, I thought I could just walk this whole wall, no problem. As an adult, *cough, cough* I know better now BUT I can still show my child self that I can walk a portion of it and still take in the amazingness of the longest wall in the world. I plan on visiting one of the less touristy areas, so I will not be going to Badaling. I have a few spots in mind, but can't decide right now. I still have several months before I need to choose.


9. Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
Of course I have to add a beach in my list somewhere, right? Once I hit the lower portion of Thailand, I plan to do a lot of beach time for some quality R&R and I've chosen Ko Phi Phi Don as one of my spots. But while I'm there, I plan on finding a non-touristy beach scene where I can fully unwind from my hectic travel schedule.


10. Angkor Wat
More ruins. What can I say? I love how the vegetation has overtaken some of the ruin areas.


11. Hobbiton, New Zealand
I know this makes me look like a nerd, but I don't care. I grew up watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies with my dad and now, The Hobbit. Those movies are the reason I've wanted to visit New Zealand, so I figured I would honor the stories by visiting Hobbiton. Besides, I feel like Hobbiton will be perfect for me, seeing as how I'm not even five foot...


12. The Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
In case you haven't noticed, I'm more into nature than anything city like. I love waterfalls, hikes, beaches and pretty much anything to do with pretty, natural scenery. The Coromandel Peninsula hike has rainforests and beaches?!? I'm in!


13. Easter Island
Easter Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world. I'm fascinated by how an ancient civilization could build something so enormous. Hopefully I'll have a chance to see these mega statues up close and personal. I'm interested to see how short I look standing next to one.


14. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Galapagos Island first interested me when I chose to be a marine science major. I had major hopes of going there to do a study abroad and then *big sigh* I switched majors and missed out on my chance to do any study abroad opportunities that I had been wanting to do. But, I can go on my own now. While it won't be with the school, it'll be an amazing learning opportunity and experience.


15. Peruvian Amazon, Peru
I'm not interested in finding the creepy crawlers or insects. Anything with more than four appendages creep me out. Also, slithery things eek me out. But I do like monkeys, birds, jungles and hiking. Maybe the amazon can change my views on creepy bugs, doubt it though.


 

The order of this list is not based off of how I am "ranking" each site on importance. Each of these destinations are equally important and unique and brings a different meaning to me. There are tons more destinations I would love to add to this list, but then it would be too long and I don't have enough time for that. My fingers are crossed that I'll be able to accomplish everything on this list by the time my trip ends. Based off of my route, what other places do you think I should have added?