Traveling Fool

I've had a couple of big trips in the last six, seven months, and I'm planning the next one, or two. I don't want to say too much about it until I get some more things finalized. What I will say is I hope it includes China. That's all I'll say. Every time I take a trip or plan one, my friends ask if I'm going by myself. There's an eye roll, and then "Yes, I am.". Even people who know the answer usually still ask the question; those who don't know the answer are usually surprised, some are in awe. "Aren't you scared?" "Don't you get lonely?" and variations on that theme. A few things: you're never really alone unless you are in some totally remote location, which has not been the case for me; if you can't stand your own company for a few days, a solo trip might be just what you need; I do my best to not put myself in scary situations, like not hiking into war zones, or walking in potentially dangerous areas (w...

On my first full day in York, I took a day tour with Mountain Goat Tours and JJ and seven other people and headed east, toward North Yorkshire and Whitby and the moors. I desperately wanted to experience the moors of the Bronte sisters and Heathcliffe and Cathy from Wuthering Heights . The original tour I planned on was cancelled and nothing else fit my limited time frame. I was told I could probably get up to the Bronte estate on my own via bus and train connections, but my superior ability to get lost, even under the most ideal conditions, I thought a planned tour would be better for me. One of our early stops was in Goathland, which is a stop on the scenic railway, and was also a location used in the British drama Heartbeat , as well as the railway station being used as Hogsmeade in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , but I couldn't tell. We had some time to stroll around, grab a snack and watch the sheep. Seen in Heartbeat The next major stop was...