Traveling is my happy place. My husband and I began traveling frequently after we became empty nesters in 2014. I used to share many photos and stories from our trips on Facebook, and both my friends and my kids encouraged me to start a travel blog. I finally took their advice and began blogging about our journeys in July 2023.
I plan most of our trips myself, which is something I truly enjoy. Once we choose a destination, I do a detailed research on where to stay, what to see, the most efficient routes, and vegetarian food options. I’m happy to say that we’ve been able to find vegetarian choices everywhere we’ve visited.
During the pandemic, when international travel was challenging, we focused on exploring every state in the United States. I’ve always wanted to experience the unique landscapes and history of each state. To us, visiting a state meant spending at least 2–3 days there, exploring a couple of towns, strolling riverfronts, visiting state capitols, and discovering national parks, waterfalls, volcanoes, canyons, and more.
As of July 2023, we’ve completed visiting all 50 states, North Dakota being the final one. Travel Ambassadors at the visitor’s center in Fargo, North Dakota noticed a trend in travelers looking to travel all 50 states in United States. North Dakota was often the last to be checked off their list. So, from what one might say is an embarrassing fact, the Best for Last Club was born. They ask you to purposely “save” your visit to North Dakota for last to be part of the Best for Last Club. At the reception of the visitor’s center, we mentioned that we had visited all the 50 states with North Dakota being the last one. We were given a T-Shirt and a certificate and got some picture taken wearing the T-shirt.
Before moving to the United States, I grew up in India. I spent the first few years of my life in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, before my family relocated to Hyderabad in 1971. I completed the rest of my schooling and college in Hyderabad, which was then the capital of Andhra Pradesh. In 1992, we moved to Pittsburgh, USA, and we have lived here ever since.