(From Sept. 2010) Finally saw Eat Pray Love today. For those of us who don’t have a lot of money saved up for travel, it’s hard to sympathize with the protagonist. The movie’s depicted journey of self-discovery looks like most people’s extravagant dream vacations (that they may never get the chance to take). If you […]
Archive | February, 2011
Scenes from Busy African Towns
The other day I was watching The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency HBO / BBC series on DVD. I have just started watching this series about Alexander McCall Smith’s book series of the same name. I’m currently reading #8 of 11. I think it’s 11 total right now, but new books of his seem to […]
1 Year Later: Haiti reflections continued
A post from my original blog written Jan. 9, 2011. It was called “Jan 12th approaching” I’ve been thinking about nothing but Haiti since the new year. Now that I am saddled with my full-time job, the most I can do to contribute to recovery there will be to talk to a group of interested […]
1 Year Later: Thinking about Haiti
Exactly one year ago, I was in Haiti volunteering in a hospital. It was perhaps the most meaningful and most simple time of my life. Life was simple, because I slept in my tent and ate oatmeal. I added milk to my oatmeal if the milk was not sour. If the milk was sour on […]
5 Reasons to Visit South Dakota’s Badlands National Park
1. You’ll be greeted on your way in. 2. As if those prairie dogs weren’t cute enough, the wildlife gets even better once you get inside the park. The best part is that I had actually been INSIDE that port-a-potty building mere minutes before we snapped this picture from the top of a nearby hill. […]
Marisa gets published on Travel with a Mate.com
Dear Readers, I’m excited to share some writing news with you! I wrote a blog post about my earliest hiking and mountaineering experiences for the travel blog site Travel with a Mate. They think my outdoor stories and writing style are a great fit for their website, so they have included my article! The link […]
Fake Deer (?) and other Strange Sights on Mount Harney
I got a lot of good feedback about yesterday’s post regarding sights at US national parks that look as if they were something one would find on other planets, not on Earth. It seems readers like to hear about weird and unusual stuff. Following up on that theme, I have some remarkable pictures from Mount […]
Otherworldly landscapes
Last summer while I was traveling abroad, I had a frustrating conversation with another girl about my age. It doesn’t matter where we were, and it doesn’t matter where she was from. We were talking about traveling in general, and the conversation went something like this: Marisa: Really? You’ve already visited more than fifty countries? […]
An Accidental Masterpiece
When we were living in his car, Shane and I visited his friend Amorin in Ashland, Wisconsin, a tiny town on the southern shores of Lake Superior in the Chequamegon Bay. We spent a whole week in this area– Amorin’s friend took us on a sailboat ride on the lake for camping on the Apostle […]
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I. LOVE. THIS. PICTURE.
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Going back a second time: Is it ever the same?
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Top 5 stops on my Mexican holiday road trip
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Costa Rican critters! (and the presents they give us)
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Salvador Dalí reloaded
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Adam’s Grub Truck at Treasure Island flea market
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Wanderlust Yoga in the City SF!
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Best SF Bay Area flea market: Treasure Island flea market
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Awesome SF Bay Area flea market: Alameda Antiques Fair
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Better SF flea market: Alemany Flea in Bernal Heights
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Martha LaValette: A little jealous. Sounds fantastic! Kefir Chapstic…
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Alice Varga: I came across your post when 'googling' for "dzedu…
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Marisa LaValette: Hi Sydney! Thank you so much for visiting my bl…
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Sydney Girling: It's hard to find educated people in this particul…
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