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An Unforgettable Trip to My Past & Future
I was born in Seattle, Washington, where I lived until I was four. At that very young age my mother, father, and I made the trek to Texas. I have lived there ever since. I haven’t been very...
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The Magic of Traveling
Traveling is quite a magical endeavor. No matter where in the world one journeys, it always seems as if the enchanting nature...
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Bat Flight
“Can we Dad? Puh-leeeez?” I batted my eyes. We had planned to leave Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico before lunch and had gotten to the park around 3:00 AM after a long night of driving,...
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A Glimpse into a Different World
Ever imagine walking up a bell tower to see the Alps towering in the distance. Or hike up a mountain to an abandoned castle that looks as if it came right out of a Disney movie? What about...
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Social Conventions
Car drivers are honking aggressively and blatantly disregarding traffic laws. A walking vendor is bellowing out his wares and prices in hopes of attracting customers. A group of women is shrieking...
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My Family Vacation
Two summers ago, my family and I traveled to the huge state of California. Many might think we were going to the beaches or going to Hollywood, but we didn’t. We touched down in San Francisco...
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Selfish
Hearts beating fast, pounding in our chests as if trying to escape, feet longing for a break from the torturous...
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A Picture-Perfect Beach Vacation
As a last hoorah before college, my Girl Scout troop decided to take a weeklong trip to South Padre Island, a beach destination in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. We had a blast: it was a great way...
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Atlanta: An Unbelievable and Unforgettable Adventure
Sticky beads of sweat trickled from my brow down to my sun-chapped neck as I braved the wrath of the unrelenting Georgia sun. The heat teetered on the...
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Beware of Shortcuts: A Nepalese Trekking Adventure
The winding taxi ride from Pokhara to Ghandruk in the Annapurna mountains of central Nepal was brought to a halt with the taxi driver’s pronouncement of a “shortcut.” My parents had lived in Nepal...
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Road to Paris Island
My adventure began the day my older brother James decided to join the Marines. Around October of 2011 he went into boot camp and about 13 weeks later he was going to graduate. We lived in Florida...
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My Grecian Travels
My family has an impeccable sense of timing when it comes to planning vacations, and my first trip to Europe was no exception. We arrived at the Athens International Airport on June 29th,...
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A Waving Symbol
Wind tangles through a flag suspended high above the central square. Red, green, and white, it wrinkles and snaps, catching the attention it deserves. A symbol of its people, it is a reminder that Cozumel,...
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Our Spontaneous Combustion Trip To Gulfport, Mississippi
The summer of 2011 was drawing to a close. I had been living in rural Missouri for five years and was truly missing the beach. ...
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Scratched the Surface
The morning heat drumed lazily on my forehead as I read The Sun Also Rises in a hammock on my aunts back porch. This would seem like an ordinary porch, but that would be under ordinary circumstances....
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The Exotic East
Arriving in the city of Siem Reap, Cambodia, it was not the sight of rickshaws racing nonchalantly through the flooded streets or the schoolchildren frolicking through the current these vehicles...
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Stars over a Desert Field
I had experienced something of deep, profound intensity. We had just landed in Karachi, Pakistan where the summer heat was a presence in its own right. My mother, little brother, and I had...
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Krabi: Scenic Town Thriving after the Tsunami
At first, my family and I were apprehensive of visiting the scenic Thai town of Krabi due to its recent tsunami disaster in 2005, but we were willing to take a chance to see how this tourist hotspot...
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Paris
Paris. What comes to mind? Is it romantic French cafes, filled with soft music and the murmur of good food and even better wine? Is it the roaring Champs Elysees, with its do-or-die roundabout...
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Furry Encounters
As a family camping is our go to vacation. It’s the time of summer we can forget the rest of society, whether it be school, work, or the neighbors, it’s the period of time we can all...
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Roaming Through Rome
I have dreamed about spending a whole day in Rome, Italy all my life. My family and I this past Christmas finally took the plunge and bought tickets to Italy for the holidays. It was all that I expected,...
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The Adventure of Cement Culture
“No, no, no don’t take the bus. Everything is close enough to ride the train or walk." A native...
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The U.S Second Capital: New York City
The summer of 2011 was the most eventful traveling season my family had ever planned. In July we went to Myrtle Beach then New York City all within a seven day span. New York City was the farthest...
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Unexpected Excitement in Sun Valley, Idaho
I’ve been to Yellowstone, Hawaii, New York, Washington D.C., Mexico, and L.A., but the one unexpected vacation...
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A Tale of Traversing Nice
Though our bus full of school groups had been traversing France for seven days, when we reached Nice, everyone pressed their nose to the window to get a glimpse of the gorgeous new city. The...
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Behind The Falls – A Journey Through Niagara Falls
Ever feel like taking a step across the border to experience an entirely new country. That is what I did last year when my mom and I took a weekend trip to Ontario, Canada to view the amazing Niagara...
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A Personal Paradise
Hopping on a plane and flying to various destinations feels natural to me. I have been doing it most of my life. However, this particular trip had me itching to get of my seat and depart the plane....
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Falling for New York City
Bright lights. Crowded Streets. Seas of buildings. Such assets comprise the typical formula of countless cities—and New York City is no exception. Media often glamorizes New York, along with...
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Journey to Skellig Michael; a Pilgrimage of Dreams
Bacon, sausage, fried ham and eggs, tomatoes and toast were laid before me on a piping hot plate. From the bright bay window ahead I gazed out on a cool grey morning. St. Finnian’s bay curved...
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Discovering The Beauty of Hawaii…and The Pain
The sequestered isles of Hawaii radiate in bursts of sunshine and insouciance. Out of the vast and seemingly interminable...
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Bon Voyage! France and Italy!
Ever since I was a small child, I have wanted to bask in the glory of the Eiffel Tower, feel the true power of God in the magnificent Cathedrals of Europe, and to relax on the seaside of the Mediterranean....
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And All OUR Dreams Will Come True
Recently, me and my family finally got to take a trip that we were working so hard on this year; to Disneyland California. We've been planning the trip for years, but never got the chance to...
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Cruisin’.
For spring break my junior year, I went on vacation with my family, my friend, Sarah, and my brother’s friend, Blake. We flew out of the Hubert H. Humphrey terminal in Minneapolis, Minnesota....
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Orlando Extravaganza
On the morning of June 24, 2011 at 2:00 a.m., me and my church family boarded the bus and headed to Orlando, Florida. By 7:00 a.m., we were well into Georgia and everyone was hungry, so we stopped at Ryan’s...
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South Heaven
On May 25thto May 29th 2012, I went to South Haven, Michigan. In this new city; I laughed and relaxed and was able to appreciate something more than just myself. I went with...
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An Adventure Out in the Wild
My junior year of high school came to a close and that meant that summer was finally here. To celebrate how the long hours of constantly studying for school paid off, my family and I decided to take a...
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Into the Ocean: The Lantz Family Adventure in Maui
My stomach did somersaults. The plane was taking off, the destination: Maui, Hawaii. I had always wanted to go to Hawaii, but never had gotten the opportunity. So, when my Aunt and Uncle decided...
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Unexpected Milestone
My mother had asked another tourist to take a picture of our family. There I stood, waiting for the moment to be over. I was enjoying the trip, but the location was not the problem. While uncomfortably...
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The Land of Color and Culture
To visit your motherland is a life changing experience. I had the privilege of doing so in 2007 when I look my extraordinary journey to the beautiful India. As I took my first step into Ahmadabad, India,...
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The Land of Ice and Fire
Visiting another country is an amazing experience, especially when the country that you are visiting is vastly different from your own. When my family went to Iceland I was placed in another world. We...
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Ghosts of the Past
It was July 4th weekend; after driving nearly two days, we arrived at Washington DC right before the annual fireworks show. We were determined to have the perfect view of the display, and spent...
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Natural Wonder of the World
This isn’t just any blog about some type of cruise that oh-so-changed your life. Or some church missionary trip that has probably been repeated numerous times and just gets boring after a while. ...
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My True Love, Michigan
Whitehall, Michigan. A place where my instincts and emotions run deep. My roots are here. A town where my grandfather grew up…and then my dad, aunts and uncles…and now me. My family has a cottage up...
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Finding Your True Comfort Zone
When you are adhered to the same general vicinity for seventeen years, you develop an enormous comfort zone with a slight curiosity for the world around you. In my personal case, that curiosity is giant...
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Milestones in Maui
It was the summer of 2008 and my family and I were concluding a vacation in Maui. Being a somewhat venturesome trio, we decided we would excursion to the less visited eastern side of the island, the...
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What I Want… Isn’t Always What I Need
The summer of 2011 to date, has been the most incredible summer of my life. Not because my family and I traveled to some upscale, fluffed up resort. Instead, a humbling trip to the island of Anna Maria,...
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How to NOT be a Tourist (and Love It Too!)
My very first kiss was with Mozart, and I did it WITHOUT a time machine. If that’s not talent, I don’t know what is (I’m kidding of course, I don’t think you’d want to read this blog entry if...
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A Life Changing Moment at a Football Game (Of All Places)!
Sometimes, short moments in someone’s life can influence them forever. It was my first Giants away game. It was a battle between the Giants and the Colts at Indianapolis: a sibling rivalry between...
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