Each year, I create a vision board of places I want to visit. They include places such as Waco, Texas; Montana; Greenland; and Volcano National Park, to name a few. I also include words or phrases I want to invite or practice that year.

I want to share a phase and two words I want to practice while solo traveling in 2024!

It is that time of year when we tend to reflect. We reflect on last January’s goals: did we accomplish them? We reflect on the things that either happened to us or us happening to those things. We also reflect on past relationships, jobs, and our very selves.

This year, I have been reflecting more than ever—even on things that technically didn't happen in 2023. While driving to Pennsylvania, I listened to Mel Robbins’ podcast, "How to Make 2024 the Best Year: 6 Questions to Ask Yourself.”

I didn't realize I was asking similar questions when I first wrote this post. I love it so much that I am bringing these same questions to Wandering Bel! 

After making London my jump-off point to Prague, Vienne, and Budapest this past May and June, I wanted to share my experiences, lessons, and thoughts about my first time as a solo female traveler in Central Europe.

Dear DC, 

You are one big, beautiful hot mess, filled with a naïve ambition to take over the world—or your people are. You aren't shy to have a debate during happy hour or at brunch. Your identity matches no other city in the world. You are:

Just how much duality plays a large part in my life didn't hit me until a month before my birthday. In the months leading up to it, the word duality kept appearing in different writing prompts I was doing in different writing groups I belonged to. It even came up when taking a moment to analyze my travels of the past few years and my overall life. At times, being a Gemini is a real curse. You go from one extreme to another. You can ask my friends how things pique my interest; they’ll tell you I go hardcore on a particular interest for months, but then it ends as quickly as it started. That's because I get bored quickly.

My last 48 hours in Denver were not what I expected. Reflecting on those days feels like a mirage, except I have a tattoo that will always remind me of my time in Denver and the importance of trust, even if it’s short-lived.

Have you ever traveled to a place you knew would change your life but didn’t know how?

I wasn't planning to reflect on one year of Wandering Bel. I wanted to do a play on the words love and Valentine's, but everything turned out differently than planned.

I reflected on what I learned by creating this website, and I only had a little to reflect on, aside from picking a color scheme or how to input videos into my posts. After putting this off for a while, I finally figured out what lessons I have learned, and I hope they help you with your everyday life or traveling too.

This trip wasn’t anything I had hoped it to be, and my expectations were not met. Instead of having a calm trip with my cousin in Sedona, I was met with a panic attack and anxiety.

My very personal story of finding Christmas magic after a few hard Christmases in the hospital with my mom.

The pub was a dark, moody green. I knew I would love this place the moment I first walked in since I have a meaningful relationship with the color green. The bar was a mix of dark wood and old metal strung with white Christmas lights. The place was loud, with people chatting in multiple accents, and it brought a warm smile to my face…..

I am sitting at Dulles International airport, sipping on some mediocre champagne. To my left is a window that looks onto the tarmac to gate C 11. When I arrived at this bar, there was a plane at the gate. But the plane was gone when I finished my first glass of champagne and plate of over-priced fish tacos.

I am the last human on Earth who ACTUALLY loves being at the airport. I am one of those people who gets to the airport earlier than they should. I do this because I want to ensure I get to the airport and my gate with time to spare. You never know what shitstorm you will hit on I-495 driving from Maryland to Virginia. I even got TSA Pre Check to breeze through security, but I am always nervous about missing my flight.

Since I am flying out to England this week, I wanted to reflect on the times I went to England and how the country influenced me as the traveler I am now. In my other posts, I mentioned how my travels changed from wandering around cities and countries to camping solo. But I have yet to share what made me first want to travel and be lost in cities or countries.

My mom and grandmother drove me to the Philadelphia airport on a Saturday afternoon. Driving there with them was a horror and comic show, but mostly horror. My mom and my grandmother kept bickering:

"I told you to stay in the lane."

"No, that's not what the GPS said.”

“FUCK! I missed the exit!"

"Well, I told you to take that exit…"

And then, there's me. I was in the back seat, tired as one could be, since I stayed up super late to sleep on the plane and hit the ground running in England. I learned not to interject after other failed attempts. Instead, I probably listened to The Fray or Flo Rida on my iPod, set to the loudest setting so I could drown out the ridiculousness. I couldn't wait to get out of the car in one piece, get to the airport, and decompress.

I have been to England thrice on spring break when I was 20, 21, and 23. I stayed with my family, who lived two hours outside of London, the first two times. And on my last trip, I visited a friend studying at the London School of Economics.

Speak up for yourself because, when you do, you never know what your words and actions will do for the next solo traveler.

In August of 2021, I went to Florida for the first time, taking advantage of my last opportunity to work remotely(As a side note, everyone I spoke with before my trip told me I was crazy to go to Florida in August because of the heat). I live in the DC metro area and am used to heat and humidity…..

Biscayne National Park

Mayday!

Within 10-15 minutes, our engine died. We tried the boat again, and it started, but then it died. Again. The captain said it was either engine failure or an empty gas tank. We all looked at each other like, how can that happen?!

He mentioned that this wasn't the boat he typically sailed with. Which one can debate if that's a good thing or bad thing….anyways!

We tried calling for help from the boat in front of us, who worked for the same company, but they never responded. So we tried the next best thing … we called Coast Guard. While we called them, we got ourselves stuck on a sandbar…..

I have wanted to write about Post-Travel Blues for the longest time. When you read other travel blogs, you don’t see this topic often, and I believe this is important to discuss.

When I return from a trip, I get into a funk for a few days or weeks. It doesn't happen all the time, but rather most of the time. And sometimes it is more fierce than other times.

I am that human who gets post-travel blues. I googled this phase a few years ago to understand what it meant and why I felt like shit when I returned from trips

Since my first long road trip to Colorado and Utah, I have wanted to write this post. Sadly, I didn't capture my struggle in a video. I did better at capturing my battle for my birthday trip in 2021 and even the suitcase skirmish of 2022. But this struggle?

What struggle am I referring to? The god-awful task of …

PACKING!

"I fucking hate your state!"

Bet you never expected me to say that. If you know me already, I love Colorado; it's my favorite state. For those who don't know me. I have been going to Colorado since 2015. I fell in love with this state because of its alpine, its mountains, the people, the views, the beer, camping, I think you get the idea. I have been waiting to move to Colorado since my second trip out. It's one of the very few places I can lose my Type A personality and just fully relax.

In the Fall of 2020, I visited Dead Horse State Park for the first time to watch the sunrise. I was speechless and a little emotional seeing the landscape turning from black to vibrant reds and browns with an accent of green of the Colorado River. When I planned this 16-day trip, Dead Horse was the first place I wanted to go back to in Moab, but this time to watch the sunset.

After we returned from the tour, we kept talking, and she asked if I was sure about my offer, and I said yes. I told her about my two times in Moab when I had no place to camp, and twice people offered me a spot on their site. And it would be wrong of me NOT to provide her with a spot. I wanted to make sure I paid it forward. As I mentioned in my other posts, the traveling/camping community watches over each other, and I wanted to help another traveler out. She was so sweet and happy she had a place. We ran to get some beer and snacks and headed back to my camp spot. We talked about our travels, heartache, and why we love solo traveling. We also swapped gear, and I gave her some suggestions for Arches. It was awesome to find another solo traveler to share this experience with and be that person, that other people were for me.