Life is a journey

Reading Time: 6 minutes Editor’s Note: The copy for this post was written by Kristen Brotemarkle  who traveled to a Hedo resort  at a nude beach in Jamaica on behalf of TravelBreak. This post was edited and produced by Stephanie Be. This story is as told in Kristen’s voice. Thank you for reppin’ team TravelBreak!   As a yoga teacher and self-dubbed “free spirit” who has done everything from travel the world solo to move to Hawaii with a carry on luggage, I figured going to Hedo – or Hedonism II – a resort in Jamaica known for it’s focus on pleasure – wasn’t going to be anything new. Surprisingly, I first found myself wildly uncomfortable — out of my element in many ways, and with hesitation. How was I going to “dive in” to this experience? I promised myself to fully immerse into the Hedonism culture — ultimately, I learned that there is a bigger purpose to nude beaches than tanning your tatas (which I’m still totally a fan of). The liber...

Reading Time: 3 minutes Whether it’s Father’s Day, a birthday or a graduation, the best gift you can give the ones you love (including yourself) is travel. Travel. Do travel. Give travel. And rather than giving you a generic (yet oh, so true) list of all of the reasons travel is the best gift you can give, I’m going to tell you about how I practice what I preach. In December 2014, you helped me win a trip for two to Bali with Singapore Airlines. It was my first night (ever) in New York City. I was attending Travel Massive , and I had the highest engagement on Twitter because of you. I was so excited! I always wanted to go to Bali, and it was my first time winning anything as a blogger. It was the perfect start to my week in the Big Apple. I was not traveling full time at the moment, and was in the process of making some decisions in regards to my career. I wanted to make my dreams into goals: see the world, develop myself professionally, grow personally. Howev...

Reading Time: 6 minutes Ten years ago, you’d plan your next vacation by browsing through tour books. You’d purchase a map at a gas station or follow highway signs for a spontaneous road trip. If you don’t know which places to visit in Washington State, your answer might come in the form of Instagram.  Now, the atlas serves little purpose for wandering.  Tour books and maps? That’s pre-Google. Today, mobile apps  and social media are the root of our travel inspiration and planning. Easily, it’s a travelgasmic instagram account or listicle that nudges us for a border-cross. Can a “pin,” a post, or a hand-held social “share” influence where we book our next trip? I’m convinced. I recently took to learning more about Instagram apps to boost my own travel photos  and stumbled upon so many outdoor things to do in Washington State that I was intrigued to learn more. Named after the U.S. President, the Evergreen State is hom...