Finally! A REAL Travel Blog

The Past

I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of a “travel blog” lately, and this small space on the internet that I call home. Do they even coincide anymore? I mean, this was a travel blog when I first started, but now… I am not sure. I’ve struggled over the last seven years since starting this site with what I wanted to do with it. In the past, I have talked about my own travels, but realized it is more of a journal than anything else. Is that such a bad thing? I know I like going back to read it! 😉 Then, I started finding real joy in connecting with you, my readers, and sharing my tips and tricks about traveling throughout the last ten years.

The Present

But in the present world of upstaging social media photos, blogs seem to be second fiddle to those perfectly photoshopped travel pictures on all our feeds. Do these travel bloggers actually ever blog anymore? (I mean, besides those sponsored posts?!) What I’m realizing about so many travel blogs and travel bloggers are they are all starting to look and sound alike. Am I missing something here? When did travel bloggers stop being real? They no longer talk about travel and helping you understand how to do it, but instead are more interest in making you feel bad for not doing it as they are. With the perfect photo and perfect trip. What about the nitty gritty of travel? It is practically non-existent in the blog and social media world these days.

I’m starting to tire of the profiles filled with nothing but perfectly curated photos of luxury hotel rooms, and selfies of girls in full makeup standing on a yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean. When is the last time you did that? Maybe once in a lifetime, but not every other week.

As this blog so eloquently states, “I’m tired of travel accounts that are 100% about aesthetics but don’t provide any real info about the place or even the location the photo was taken. How are 100 photos of a girl walking in front of a generic colorful wall with no geotag really “travel blogging”?”

When did this become the norm?

And where does that leave A Little Bit Adrift?

The Future

Where I am realizing I find the most joy is when I am:

Talking about my own travels, almost like a journal. Which I hope this means you an learn from my own travels. And…
When I get to share tips and trips with you on how to travel more effectively and efficiently.

So instead of trying to be like everyone else, I realize I need to be better about explaining to you, my reader, what I am doing here. My goal, moving forward, is to be a REAL travel blog for you. The kind that helps you, and hopefully inspires you, to get out of your comfort zone and travel. Whatever that looks like for you. Maybe it’s not traveling the world to exotic locations, but going one state away on your first solo trip. I want to be there for you, and I want to help you get there. Along with the Pack This Journal, I want to promote more meaningful travel for everyone.

I am going to continue to share my own travels with you, as a way to show you can do it too. I know you can. I am a normal girl without sponsorship, photoshop, or a huge bank account, and I am making this happen. I have partner at home who I truly love, and a life that is hard to leave, but I still make these trips happen. Because they feed my soul in more ways than I can ever explain.

My first trip abroad to Australia. So young!

My first true solo trip – Paris!

Best travel bucket list item – Machu Picchu in 2013

London in 2017

I want to show you if I can do it I promise you, you can too! So I am here to support you and share with you my trips each year, and a whole lot of tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way. So happy you are here to join me!