Hi, I’m Andrea!
Adventure travel junkie, solo-female traveler, Aerospace Engineer, sunset enthusiast, and the writer behind the Andrea Ventures blog. I’m happy you’re here.
I was born and raised in the Midwest of the USA and was taught to “work your butt off now, so you can sit on it later.” This meant going to school, getting a good degree, working for a respectable company, saving for retirement, and eventually, once the golden age of 65 or so came – retiring. That is when my adventures were to begin.
TL;DR — There was a plot twist. I didn’t wait until I was 65. Did you see this coming? You probably did. Keep reading for the rest of the story and what I learned along the way by not waiting.
I followed his advice… mostly. I went to school, got a few degrees (one in Atmospheric Science/Meteorology and one in Engineering), and began my tenure in Corporate America.
A few months into my Big Girl Aerospace Engineering job, we had a furlough. This is essentially an unpaid, “forced” vacation (something I was more than okay with). During this time, I had the idea to visit my friends who were living in New Zealand at the time.
This is where it all changed.
For the first time, I realized just how big the world was and how tiny my hometown was. How on Earth was I going to see it all while working a 9-5? Well, I combatted this by actively choosing to make each and every day that I was lucky enough to have, an adventure.
This meant using my weekends to go on hiking and camping trips . I’d scour the internet for cheap flight deals, say“yes” to things outside my comfort zone, and found jobs that involved travel.
My trip to New Zealand catapulted me into the big wide world and broke all the stigmas and beliefs I had about travel. That travel was hard, difficult, or impossible. It was my first big trip, somewhat alone, and it was life-changing. Not only did I see some of the most beautiful mountains, coastlines, and landscapes, but I had my first major realization.
I realized that the hardest part about traveling was often just booking the flight and deciding to go – and that the only thing holding me back from traveling more, was me.
With travel and seeing the world as my top priority, I could figure out ways to save more money to travel, I could find people to go with, and when I couldn’t find anyone to go with…
I had my second most important realization – that it’s okay to go alone.
In fact, it’s more than okay. I highly encourage it. After New Zealand, I caught the travel bug and wanted to go everywhere and anywhere. The world was my oyster, and I wanted to explore it.
Except there was only one problem: I couldn’t always find people to go with me. I then realized that if I kept waiting for people to come with me, I’d be waiting for the rest of my life.
And I decided that I wasn’t going to wait for others to follow my dreams.
It was such a liberating feeling to realize that I was the creator of my own destiny, travel plans, and life — and that I was allowed to go on trips all by myself. This was the most freeing feeling in the entire world.
At this point, the world truly became my oyster. I hope that my travels and writing can help inspire you to chase after your own adventure, head first, barreling down the highway of life.
Because the 3rd thing I realized is that life is short.
More importantly, the time we have on this beautiful spinning rock and the time that our bodies are healthy and functioning is finite. I’m sure you could look at this in a nihilistic way and see the glass as half-empty. That life is short, and it’s all slipping away, but I much prefer the glass-half-full view.
That life is short! It’s passing day by day! There are so many beautiful places to see! People to meet! Cultures to fall in love with! Languages to learn! Mountains to hike! Pasta in Italy to eat on a Wednesday afternoon! Cute foriegn men to ride on Vespas with around foreign cities! Hostels to stay in! Sunsets to see! Oceans to swim in! I think you get the point.
Between a traumatic brain injury, some weird life-threatening viruses (courtesy of Thailand, not to scare you, you should still go, but just be aware that travel brings all sorts of things), and a few intense knee surgeries – I learned firsthand that life as we know it is fragile and fleeting. So we need to treat it accordingly. And I’ve decided that the way I’m going to treat that is by exploring and experiencing every inch of this spinning rock I can.
Life is short and it’s also beautiful, and adding new things to my bucket list is such a joy to me.
I think that if we are lucky enough to have functioning legs, hearts, knees, and minds, that we should take advantage of the time we have now. We should make it our goal to see and experience as many beautiful things on this spinning rock that we’re living on as we can.
So, my dear reader and fellow adventure lover and traveler, I hope this blog can be an inspiration to you.
Whether it’s a weekend trip to the closest city or a week-long trip to a city across the globe; a National Park or a camping trip; or a backpacking trip through Thailand full of pad thai, Chang beer, and crystal clear waters, I hope you choose adventure.
Because adventure is more than just jumping on the next flight. It’s in your backyard, it’s down the street, it’s in the woods – it’s in you. And it’s time to start living like it.
I’m so excited to bring you along on this journey where I share travel tips and advice, ranging from budget travel tips, solo-female travel tips, and ways to make more money to travel longer and farther. Itineraries for must-see destinations and experiences; outdoorsy adventures, including epic hikes, camping trips, and National Parks; and overall inspiration for your bucket list.
My goal with this blog is to not only inspire you to get out and go, but to empower you to go out on your own and explore the world around you. For you to be armed with some of the best travel tips and tricks – from someone who has definitely had some travel mishaps along the way but made the best of them.
After all, what’s life or travel without a few lemons? One very weak lemonade, I say. And lemonade is good.
So lace up your hiking boots, tie your tennis shoes, clip into your skis, and hold on tight – your adventure is just beginning.
Let’s go – the Andrea Ventures have begun.
